Daisy is in trouble. Yesterday afternoon I had to rush her into the emergency vets, where she was diagnosed with canine dilute cardiomyopathy – a degenerative heart disease. It was touch and go whether she’d make it through the night. Thankfully she has, but the outlook isn’t great – average length of survival after diagnosis is just six months, though if our wonderful vet can find the right combination of drugs he’s hopeful she could possibly live for another two years.
I can hardly believe what’s happened – Daisy is incredibly young for this at just 2 years old (the picture above is from her 2nd birthday pawty last November) and until yesterday she had shown no real signs of illness. She had been a bit miserable, and off her food, but I put that down to the stress of seeing her home being packed into boxes ready for our move. But when her belly started to swell, I remembered the symptoms shown by my first Newfie, Amy who also died of heart failure (but at the ripe old age – for Newfies – of 10 years old), and rushed her straight to the vet.
She has always been so lively and energetic, with a real enthusiasm for life – and simply couldn’t bear to be left out of anything (including Ben’s selfie above!). So please could you send her all your positive thoughts and prayers over the next few day. Although we now know that her life won’t be a long one, I so want to bring her home again to enjoy whatever time she has left with her family.
Aah this makes me cry. I hope she will be better soon! All the best for Daisy.
What a shock for you Helen. You will both be n my thoughts and prayers.
Never easy when one of our furry family are ill, even harder when we know our time with them is going to be limited. She had a good non-furry mommy and you will take care of her and give her all the love she needs
I love to read about Daisy and Ben. So sorry to hear that Daisy is so ill. I will say many prayers for her in the days to come. I have had many unique kitties, so I know how hard it is to hear such news. May God bless your precious ones and your family.
Susan
I am so sorry to hear about this. Our time with our dogs is always too short.
So sorry to hear that, Helen. I enjoy reading about your newfies and I hope it’s OK with Daisy.
My thoughts are with you – love and hugs
Julie xxxxxx
i hope daisy will feel better ferry quickly.
and that her vet finds the right combination of medicin for her.
i love your stories about the to dogs.
i will be thinking of you all
What a difficult time ahead, for lots of reasons. A very poorly dog, coupled with your imminent move. My thoughts and prayers go to you. As a dog owner and lover I feel your pain and anguish.
Hang in there Helen, please stay positive, maybe when the drugs works and she is back home with you, and with your love and cuddles she will feels much better soon. Whis you both all the best!
Daisy is so beautiful, I hope the vet is able to find the correct medicine for her and you are able to love her for a long, long time.
Oh Helen, I am heartfelt sorry to hear this, this must be so hard to bare as she is so young. I will be thinking of you both and hopefully your vet will be able to prolong her life. I’m sure however long she has, she is going to be showered with love. It’s so heartbreaking, I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes. Stay strong and know so many people are routing for her. xx
Sending Daisy lots of positive healing thoughts. It’s so hard when our loved ones get ill, here’s hoping the vets can figure something out for your lovely girl. xx
My thoughts are with you fingers crossed. Bless her.
My thoughts are with you all. Dogs are such a big and important part of our families, such a distressing time for you. Give her lots of love when you can x
Helen, how very sad to read and I know how hard it is to focus on anything when our furry friends are in trouble. I hope that Daisy manages to stabilise and is picking up a little soon. I am sure she has the happiest life and nothing will stop her staying here with you for the longest time ever. Love to you all.xxxxx
SENDING YOU ALL LOTS OF HUGS.
Oh, sweet Daisy, Raspberry and I are sending all the puppy love we can to you, XOXO, I am so sorry Helen, these pups are like kids and getting this kind of news is a real shocking blow, I will say a special prayer for Daisy and for you.
I’m so sorry for you and for lovely Daisy. I lost my boxer to cardiomyopothy, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they can find a good drug combo for yiu to give you much needed time with her. Bless you. Xx
Helen,
I’m so sorry to hear this, my heart breaks for Daisy & you also Ben. I’m sitting here crying for her now. I am an avid dog lover- Like a little over the top lover. Hope everything goes ok for Daisy & you&Ben. Will keep you in my thoughts & prayers
Kathy
Helen, my heart aches for you. HUGS
Praying for Miss Daisy for California. Prayer does change things. Praying for you and family also.
Oh my goodness Helen. Prayers and hoping for the best. Hugs for Daisy.
I am so sorry to hear this. What a shock to have a two year old with such a serious condition! I hope for a miracle, with love, Denise
so sorry, I’m sending off some prayers
I hope Daisy can come home soon; so very sorry! Our beloved Buster (12 year old rescue mutt) was diagnosed with diabetes last week. We’ve been giving him insulin for 4 days now; he’s a tiny bit more like himself. Very worried. 🙁
My prayers r with U and Daisy. I also share a love for Newfs. My family of 4 Newfies has dropped to 2 over the past year. My remaining 2 Newfs are 9 and 10 years old. With each loss I feel a piece of my heart goes with them. No gentler more loving creatures on the earth. I am grateful for every day I get to share with them. Hugs for Daisy.
I’m so sorry to hear the news. I hope you have many more happy memories with Daisy.
I am so sorry to hear that Daisy is not doing well. I hope she gets better soon! Thinking of you, Dawn
Dear Helen,
So very sorry to hear about dear Daisy – I will be thinking of you all and willing her to improve very soon.
Our previous Alsatian died very suddenly (obviously an undetected heart problem) at 8years old which really knocked us for six so I can sympathize with how you must be feeling right now.
All love,
Diana.
xx
sorry to hear such sad news thinking of you and wishing Daisy all the best x
I am so, so sorry to hear this terrible news. All my thoughts and love to Daisy – and her family!
I am so sorry to hear this news! Sending strength and hope to you and Daisy .
Oh! I’m so sorry to hear this!!! Sending much love and prayers from our full furry household to yours…in my experience with all my furbabies, the love we shared seemed to do wonders in times like this xxx thinking of you and sending strength!
Poor Daisy and poor you – God bless and stay positive xxxx
Thats so sad. I’m really sorry to hear about poor Daisy. It’s so hard to hear about our beloved pets becoming ill. Hugs to Daisy.
Big hugs to you and prayers for your puppy, I hope you have many happy days to come. I lost one of my pups this week and I miss her terribly, she was only three
My prayers are with you and Daisy— oh these animal friends of ours are such “loves”!!!
I pray that Daisy will get the meds she needs to stabilize and to be able to live her life to the fullest for whatever time she has left. It is so hard when one of our fur babies is sick. Take care.
Oh Helen my heart goes out to you and Daisy! My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Hugs Jan G.
Oh Helen, I’m so sorry to hear about Daisy. I’m sending my best wishes and prayers to see her home again soon.
So sorry to hear about the beautiful Daisy, hope the vet can come up with the correct combo of meds, thoughts and prayers are with you!!!!! hugs……….
Oh dear, poor Daisy. Praying the vet finds the right medicine for her.
I’m so very sorry, and my thoughts and prayers are with you all…
XXX Linda
Bless xxx
What shocking news for you all – am having trouble typing this because of the tears in the eyes.
All our prayers, love and hugs for you all.
Oh Helen I am so sorry to hear this bad news. I hope Daisy feels better and soon and that your Vet can find the right drugs for her to live as long as possible.
((hugs)) Pauline
very sad to see our pets’ health deteriorate. I lost my dear Shadow (cat) at 14. 5 yrs. to kidney failure in January, and now her littermate brother is slowly going the same route. I know how hard it is to say goodbye to your pets. especially one sooooo young. blessings to you.
I will be adding my thoughts and prayers with everyone else for Daisy and you. I’m so sorry to read that this has happened to her. I’m hoping that your swiftness in getting her to the vet will make the difference in her recovery.
Hugs to you and Daisy.
So sorry, love, hugs and my prayers are with you and yours
Love and hugs to Daisy. Sorry to hear she’s not well.
So sad for you and poor Daisy and Ben too! Poor girl.
Helen I’m saddened to hear this news
All we can do is pray as the power of prayer is so strong xxx
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Daisy. She has so much love in her life and the best owner she could ever have.
Believe and have faith.
Love and hugs for both
So sorry to read this sad news about Daisy my thoughts and prayers are with you all. X
Oh noooo, not Miss Daisy. I am so very sorry, Helen. Sending prayers, love and positive thoughts for you all. You have all been blessed to have Daisy, and she you, for every day you do have together. God bless.
Oh no Helen I am sorry to hear this being a dog lover myself, I am sure the vet will find a way through this for you, it is amazing what they can do.
best wishes
Julie.C
It breaks my heart to hear this. I check the internet for everything. It looks some of the problem can be diet. I would start making foods rich in some of these listed items also with turmeric. Turmeric is for inflammation Without the Taurine I have know dogs to go into seizures. At least the addition of these items can make her more comfortable.
Causes of Dilated Cardiomyopathy
The vast majority of cases of DCM are idiopathic (having no known cause,) but certain breeds appear to have an inherited predisposition. Other possible causes may include:
Deficiency of metabolic substrates (particularly taurine)
Myocarditis (inflammation of the myocardium)
Global myocardial ischemia (lack of blood supply to the heart)
Toxic injury to the heart muscle cells that can be caused by some drugs like doxorubicin or potassium iodide toxicity
Persistently abnormal heart rhythms such as sustained ventricular or supraventricular tachycardia
Chronic hypokalemia (low blood potassium)
– See more at: http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/disease-information/cardiomyopathy.html#sthash.awPIZlju.dpuf
Thank you for these links, I will be sure to check them out. xx
http://www.earthclinic.com/pets/turmeric.html here is a bit on tumeric
Dear Helen,
Poor, poor Daisy. I’m sending love and prayers to you all. Whatever time she has I know she will be loved and have the best possible care.
You are truly one in a billion, Helen.
Love,
Ailsa
So sorry to hear about Daisy. My friend has 6 of these wonderful dogs and they are such a joy.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all xx
I’m so sorry to hear about Daisy’s illness. I hope the vet finds the right medication for her. It would be a shame to lose her at such a young age. My prayers for Daisy are with you Helen.
My friend has 6 of these wonderful dogs and they are such a joy.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all xx
Very sad, bIg hugs to you both xx
That poor sweet dog :'(
Give him a hug for me! I know I would be devastated if either of my dogs was that sick. I hope you can help him to be comfortable and happy during the time he has left.
My deepest sympathies,
Emma
I am so sorry to hear the news about poor Daisy ,my thoughts and prayers are with you all.I’m sure it must have been such a shock for you especially with the house move ,it couldn’t have come at a worse time.sending Daisy and Ben a big hug ,I love hearing all their adventures.x
One of the reasons I enjoy your blog so much is your love of animals. Will be saying prayers for all of you. Love and enjoy your babies. I think they look to us to see if everything is alright. Loving thoughts. Breathe!
Oh how sad, prayers for Daisy and you.
God Bless you Daisy.
I am so terribly sorry to hear about Daisy. I will keep all of you in my prayers, and the power of prayer can be awesome. I have so enjoyed all your posts of you and the Newfies at play and walking on the beach. It is not the length of our lives, but the quality of it that is most important, so each day will be more precious than the last….make more memories and give lots of hugs, and it is my hope that all of you will be blessed with much more time than you think…..Carol Blake
Very sorry to hear about Daisy’s diagnosis but I know the rest of her life will be a happy one full of love. May God bless you all.
So sorry to hear this…I hope she’s feeling much better and that you get to enjoy each other for as long as possible. Sweet sweet dogs…we are so lucky to have them in our lives!
Oh Helen I am so very very sorry.
I send my thoughts and prayers to you, Helen and Daisy and Ben too…..for he will surely miss her when the time comes! Speaking from experience, losing a furr-baby is a very HARD “good-bye” and they take a piece of your heart with them. SO…enjoy her while you can and shower her with all the love she deserves. And if you’re not familiar with the Rainbow Bridge, check it out on line. I have the poem framed above my computer and it gives me peace even if I do cry every time I read it.
Just read about your lovely dog, so sorry to hear she is so poorly and I really hope your vet can get the right medication to keep her well for as long as possible – my thoughts and prayers are with you.x
Broken hearted to hear this news about Daisy. We so love our pets, members of our families. Chrissy and I will keep all of you in our prayers. Hugs to Daisy!!!
Oh what a terribly sad story for you and your family. My prayers are being said for all of you and this sad time. Poor Daisy, she is such a sweetheart and much too young to have this going wrong with her. Take care. Bev
So truly sorry to hear that your big baby is so sick. I have a cat named Junior that has cardiomyopathy an is on medication too. He takes my heart medication Lasix to keep the fluid out of his lungs. I’m a nurse a have a heart problem myself . I listen to his heart a give him the medication when he needs it. I hope and pray that you beautiful big baby dose well. Just keep a close eye on his breathing an give all the love he needs as I do my beautiful friend Junior. You are in my prayers.
I feel your pain and your hopes. Only good thoughts for you and Daisy. Our pets are the only ones who truly accept us for who we are.
I didn’t know about Daisy, I’m in shock about this news.
And as well it’s hard for the both of you.
I loved the stories about her. And yes indeade it’s too young for a dog to die at that age.
I hope you can have some quality time together to take picts and to say good bye to her.
I have lost as well my pets , but it is allways a sad time.
But having good memories and making a memorial craft helped me very well.
You must take time for her and as well to mourn and grieve.
The lost of a pet can be the same as losing a dear human friend.
i will send you good thoughts and for her as well.
You take your time together for now.
i will think of you both,:-D
jet XO
So sad to read the shocking news about Daisy. Prayers for the vets to find the right meds to help her. White light, good thoughts and lots of prayers to all! Theresa
She will definitely be in my prayers and thoughts. I have a dear friend who is going through a similar ordeal. She has a 3 yr. old Coton who they just found out has a rare kidney disease and only expected to live about 6 mos. I will pray for both of them that they may remain with us longer. Take care and God bless you.
Helen, so sorry to hear about Daisy, it is so heart wrenching when our animals are sick, all we can do is give then all our love and comfort God bless
. Eileen..