Oh Hiney...

Amy and I have been on vacation for the past 4 days. When we got home last night we found our 70lb lil nugget not feeling so good. He got out of his kennel with his lil head tucked down and vomited some clear liquid almost immediately. Then I found multiple spots in his kennel. He was having some trouble breathing also. He wouldn't lay down and his lil muzzle was flaring. He was fine that morning, eating all his meal and taking his pill without problem, according to our house sitter. So at 1130 last night we decided to take him to the emergency clinic. When we got there Hines was clearly in distress. After explaining to them his heart condition they took him back for xrays and blood work. After seeing the results of the chest xray the vet suspected pulmonary edema and gave him a dose of IV Lasix. She then put him on an oxygen mask because he was showing signs of hypoxia. Also his white blood cell count was elevated and he had a low grade temp indicating that there is some sort of underlying infection. Possibly pneumonia. They gave him an antibiotic injection, something to help his cough, and decided to keep him overnight for observation.

This morning we picked up our lil Hiney at 7 and headed straight to Dr Todd's clinic. One of Dr Todd's colleagues assessed him and looked at his xrays. He recommended that Hines stay for IV antibiotic therapy, but due to money restraints that wasn't an option at this time (anyone wanna donate to the Hines fund?? lol). Hines is still a bit lethargic and coughing a lot but we decided to bring him home on oral antibiotics for now. Dr Todd will be calling to consult with Hines' cardiologist today for the best (affordable) course of treatment. He ate like a champ when we got home :) Thats a good sign! Now its time for a nap. Will update when we hear from the doc. Please say a little prayer for our cuppycake...