Yesterday I walked to the vet's office (Dierenkliniek Aerdenhout) in Heemstede, which is just south of Haarlem. I took Sammy (our dog) with me. Sammy and I walked through the woods on the way there which gave him a chance to run and play. When I arrived they had the medication for Socrates ready for me to pick up. The medications they prescribed are:
Atenolol Actavis, 25 mg. 1/4 tablet once a day. This will lower his heart rate.
Acetylsalicylzuur, 80 mg. 1 tablet every three days. This one will thin his blood.
and Aantal Furosoral 40 mg. 1/2 tablet once a day as needed if respirations over 30 per minute.
The cost for all the medication (3 months supply) was about 21 Euro.
Socrates has early cardiomyopathy. From Wikipedia:
Cardiomyopathy (literally "heart muscle disease") is the measurable deterioration of the function of the myocardium (the heart muscle) for any reason, usually leading to heart failure; common symptoms are dyspnea (breathlessness) and peripheral edema (swelling of the legs). People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of dangerous forms of irregular heart beat and sudden cardiac death.[1] The most common form of cardiomyopathy is dilated cardiomyopathy.
Apparently fluid can build up around his heart and lungs which will increase his chances of thrombosis. I need to keep an eye on his rate of respirations when he's at rest. If it increases to more than 30 per minute we will start giving him the Aantal Furosoral which is a diuretic.
Socrates was diagnosed with this problem four years ago. He is now ten years old. The person that did the ultrasound here in the Netherlands could tell from looking at previous records that his condition has worsened over the past four years.
On the way home from the vet Sammy and I took the most direct route (about 3/4 mile closer!). Sammy started limping while we were walking, so I took a look at his paw. I couldn't see anything between the pads on his foot, so I just held his paw in my hand to warm it up. I think he may have gotten snow in there and it was just too cold to walk. After warming him up for a few minutes, he was fine. Thank goodness!!! Now I know why they make doggy boots!!! We were still about 1.5 miles away from home and I was wondering what I was going to do if he couldn't walk. It's not not I could just pick him up and walk with him that far!!! After that we stuck to the bike paths, which was kept clear from snow. Luckily that time of day there weren't many bicyclists on the road!
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Yesterday morning I went over to Hetty's for coffee and we sat and talked for a couple of hours. She is such a wonderful woman! While I was there the postman knocked on the door saying he had a package for the neighbor (me!!!) and would she hold on to it?!?!? What a sweet surprise! Sally and Jen (my sweet friends in CA) sent me a package of yummy goodies! My favorite teas and Butterfinger candy bars being the best items in the box!!! So sweet and such a surprise!
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