Hi
When our bichon was a year old he collapsed and we took him to vets. He referred us to Edinburgh vet hospital where he was diagnosed with Persistent Ductus arteriosus( heart valve does not shut off properly) the other option would be that it would get worse and he would not last till his 2nd birthday. We agreed to it and the invoice for approx £1600 was picked up by Petplan, even though it was congenital. We paid excess and they dealt with the paperwork direct.

The cardiologists and staff are very professional and any questions can be answered and also by the insurance company. Barney is now 5 years old and walks with us over the Yorkshire Moors for 6-8 miles. Do go into all the details given to you before opting for a lifetime of medication.
Regards
Deb

when he is well it does not show any signs there is anything wrong we had him six days when he went poorly and had him checked straight away,but vet bdidnt know what was causing heart to beat at 400bpm, it was when it happened again that we saw cardiologist that discovered this ,it is periodic

dont know if same prob as your dog we were told between 5 and 6 thousand,we are with kennel club health care plan, i think pet plan are a better insurance we would have gone with them after the six wk free ran out now no one except kennel club will entertain us.i would be extatic if he led normal life after they decided which treatment was best for him.we have to pay excess and ten per cent with this insurance which we dont mind but its if they dont.

I sympathise with the position you are in,  I cant imgine how you must be feeling rememberig how over protective  I felt from the very first day of bringing my pup home, holding him in my arms and the overwhelming love, similar to that I felt when bringing new newborn children home (not quite as powerfull but similar :-))

It would be difficult for me to make a decision but I believe I would put him to sleep, I would be with him stroking him and knowing he knew he was loved throughout his short life, that would IMO bet better for us both as to the suffering on both parts to be had in the future.

I can relate to what you say about owning another dog so soon but I feel it is what I would do and although your new pup will not replace the one you have now you will be able to give it the love and quality of life a dog deserves, you sound like you already know the pup you have now will not have the quality of life it deserves and I feel you can offer a dog a great life, your decision will effect you, your family and your pup for many years, I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decided and realise it will be very difficult for you to make the decision but I feel it will be best not to life a life of suffering and to give another dog a loving family home as so many dogs are in desperate need of one.

I really do sympathise as i have been through something similar (different condition) recently with a young dog (just 13 months) i made the hardest decision i have ever made and put my girl to sleep, i have found it very difficult to cope with my choice but could never have watched my darling girl go through painful procedures with no guarantees it would give her the quality of life i wish for all my dogs, she was in a lot of pain and though there was an option of surgery i felt that it could very well be a gut wrenching time for both of us if the surgery failed, she was loved endlessly in the very short time i had her and if i knew surgery would work i would of done it in a heartbeat!

I dont evny your position but think very carefully!

I held my darling in my arms and told her how special she was and she slipped away in my arms in our living room, terribly traumatic for me but alot less traumatic for my baby.

All the best
Mandy

thank you hopefully we will know more this week,im dreading it,if he was poorly all the time it would make our decision easier.we love him so much it hurts.your story is so sad x

Oh dear you do have problems especially as your child has formed an attchment, let us all know what happens I have all my fingers crossed for you.

so saddened to read this as this was us 18 months ago,we contacted our breeder she did refund the purchase price, she would have taken her back and had her pts. but we already loved her by then and could not face not giving her a chance, sadly the kennel club insurance (6 week free one) she came with would not pay up for treatment as she was born with the problem! and we had even continued the insurance so I was disgusted with them, thankfully for us my sister came to the rescue and paid for her treatment, she had to have a balloon angioplasty at just 10 weeks old. without it she would not have made 6 months, she is now 18 months lives a wonderful life you would never know she has heart problems she is so full of energy and I am so pleased we were able to give her the chance (operation plus tests £5000), we have no idea how long she will live, there is a possibility the operation may need to be done again as she grows, but however long she has she will have a wonderful life.  I feel for you as know how hard this is (ours is a labrador).

We knew there was only a 50 50 chance of her surviving the operation but without it she would have no chance.

Keeping everything crossed you find a way to help him

just a thought but if the insurance say no, would the pdsa be able to help with treatment costs if they are viable?

im so pleased your baby is doing so well,the kennel club is who we are with on six wks free at moment,they did pay part of vet treatment that he had just after we got him,they didnt know then what prob was,i phoned them today and said i need decision so they can start to do scan and monitor they said 7-10 days,i told them he needs medication as he could die at any time,i wouldnt go with them again if i had another dog.vet has told us today to wait for scan to see how bad his heart is and cardiologist will advise what to do i.e pts,or surgery.she did say if he is to be pts better to do it sooner rather than later dont know if there is a better time.dont want this to be happening.x

hang in there, all you can do is see what the cardiologist thinks and make your decision, it is a really horrible time, I know you havent had the pup long, but we do get attached, it is never easy, I had a dog with bone cancer at age 7 we went against everyone and did amputation and chemo, she recovered amazingly quick and live till she was nearly 15, sadly our other dog elly got acute leukaemia at just three, we went to the oncologist but nothing could be done and we had to let her go, then we got darcy our heart girl, and another problem, in each case we talked to the vets then made our decisions it is really all you can do, deep down in your heart you will know what decision is best, and go with it, that way you have no regrets.  I hope the outcome is a good one for you all, but if it is not to be then you know you did what you could but it was not to be.

thank you again he has been great all wk then again tonight about six oclock he went down hill so quick one min he was fine nxt he was laying down heart pumping so straight to vet he went then he vomitted now he is just asleep ,has been for couple hrs.i will be on phone to kennel club in morn,its them thats holding everything up,ill never go with them again.will let you know what happens x

ali,

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. You are doing everything you can to help this little lad so whatever the outcome hang onto to that. There is a limit to the extent we can control nature so try not to ask the impossible of yourselves in trying to deal with this situation. You have enough on your plate with your foster children.

im so sorry to read this ,my heart goes out to you and your family ,lets hope the kc get things sorted very quickly so then you know where to go next ,

best wishes ,joanne x

i know, its really strange all medical problems we got at home and we choose a pup out of eleven with heart condition,someone must have wanted us to look after him.the vet wants us to have him scanned first before we decide and advise us whats best for him .when he is like he is tonight i dont want him to suffer anymore,we will see how he is in morning .x

thanks joanne we will be in touch with them first thing he cant go on like this,its heartbreaking,it has been so lovely having all you guys on the message board with your friendly responses,and some sad stories x

I am so so sorry for  you and the pup.  Whatever the outcome you know you will have all the support from all of us that we can possibly give.

Chin up Hun - you will do the best thing for the pup.

My thoughts are with you tonight.

Snowflake

thank you,we heard of kennel club today they are going to help towards costs of scans and further treatment on his heart,we still not out of woods got to see what scan results are on saturday he is having scan the cardiologist is coming to vets,so we will see what his chances are after this is done,fingers crossed,he got over his turn last night without beta blockers and was fine again this morning,it happens every six days on dot,its so strange and upsetting  to see him suffer.will keep u informed x

Oh my goodness I can only imagine how hard this is for you, so glad the KC are helping pay for the scans, you need those done to really know what the full situation is, my thoughts are with you.

oh i know that feeling...we chose our girl out of 11 puppies and she was the one with the spinal deformities, i really hope you can have a happier outcome than we did, seeing them suffer is just heartbreaking and having such difficult choices to make is never easy. We bond with them instantly dont we...my girl WAS my child,i dont have children. I hope he gets on well with the scans.
Best wishes to you and your family x

thank you.we got in touch with breeder tonight as he bit our little one under the eye which was bleeding,we need to know if his condition could make him aggresive or is he just been dominant,she didnt know what to do, she also said she wouldnt have him back to much hassle.she said we couldnt have our money back as she not legally bound and we could seek legal advise or go to citizen advise wasnt very happy.but if he gets put down we can have another pup free,its just one thing after another.hopefully scans will go well and he can start his medication then we can get him trained properly.x

> thank you.we got in touch with breeder tonight as he bit our little one under the eye which was bleeding,we need to know if his condition could make him aggresive or is he just been dominant,she didnt know what to do, she also said she wouldnt have him back to much hassle.she said we couldnt have our money back as she not legally bound and we could seek legal advise or go to citizen advise wasnt very happy.but if he gets put down we can have another pup free,its just one thing after another.hopefully scans will go well and he can start his medication then we can get him trained properly.x

Yes if he feels unwell that certainly could make his temper very short but also he is a puppy and puppies use their teeth to hard until trained not to do so,

I'm not liking the way the breeder has reacted really, yes its good she has offered another but saying she doesnt want this puppy back is unforgivable in my book, if you breed them you are ever responsible for them, see what the scans reveal and take it from there, a very stressfull time for you all.

I also think the breeder is not acting in a responsible manner.  If it were me I would a) be devasated and b) offer a full refund and to take puppy back and/or let the owners keep him.

We are all thinking of you and darling pup me dear - just hang on in there but whatever you decide is up to you and we are behind you.

Hugs

Snowflake