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Old April 27th, 2010, 11:23 PM
dutchie dutchie is offline
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advice for 16 yr old beagle

"Dino" is a 16 yr old 15" tri colour beagle. He has advanced congestive heart failure and takes vetmedin and a diuretic for the fluid in the lungs. My vet has remarked that it is amazing that Dino is still alive - due to his heart.
The other night my kids left some KFC on the coffe table and Dino helped himself. He now has a distended belly, although he is eating and acting normal. I have a vet appt in the morning to assess.
My question is this, what are the risks with giving a dog such as mine anesthetic. What can I expect? Could some one give me some sort of educated guess at the odds on him making it through? I understand the surgury is quite expensive and invasive.
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Old April 27th, 2010, 11:36 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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I guess I don't quite understand what surgery he's undergoing, dutchie? If he's acting normally, he may actually pass the chicken, bones and all with no problem The distension might just be due to gas from tummy upset after his rich meal.

Is he passing blood or showing other symptoms of distress?
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Old April 28th, 2010, 01:58 AM
dutchie dutchie is offline
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Thanks for your reply:
I didn`t explain well enough in original email. Dino has taken 3 days to become distended, my wife and I both noticed his potbelly on Sunday but didn`t get too concerned as it wasn`t big and we totally forgot about the chicken incident. Tonight, it`s quite apparent that he has a serious problem.
By normal, I mean he still eats(small amounts), plays with his toy, wags his tail, and seems to pee okay. He is straining a bit with the bowel movement and only gets out a small amount. He is mildly restlessas well.
I have been on the net this evening about it, and if I had to guess, the blockage is in the small intestine and he`s probably going to need surgury to remove it and any damage cause by it.
I was hoping to get some insight about the anesthesia risks.

Last edited by dutchie; April 28th, 2010 at 02:03 AM.
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Old April 28th, 2010, 09:08 AM
dutchie dutchie is offline
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I just got back from the vets. It seems Dino does not have a blockage as he has no blood in stool, no vomiting, no fever, is eating(small amounts) and drinking. The Vet seems to think the high salt content in the chicken has set off a chain reaction where Dino has retained even more fluid than he normally does due to the heart condition. So he now has a "super" diuretic temporarily and antibiotic to go along with his regular meds.
So far so good, considering I expected a blockage which would require xrays and surgery.
Thanks to all
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Old April 28th, 2010, 09:47 AM
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luckypenny luckypenny is offline
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I'm so glad Dino doesn't need surgery after all. he's feeling better asap .
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Old April 28th, 2010, 04:27 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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for a quick recovery!!!

I'm glad Dino didn't need surgery!
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