Snoops

I thought I'd give you an update on Pickle's condition. We took Pickle to the specialist for a check up and we were really hoping for positive news as outwardly Pickle seems very well - bright and wanting to play all the time. But unfortunately the news wasn't as good as hoped. Pickle's heart is still irregular and keeps going from almost a normal heart rhythm to beating 300 beats per minute. The vet said that the periods of very fast heart rate will wear her heart out very quickly if we can't get it under control. He has given us medication for it and she's going to need another ECG in two weeks to see whether it is doing the trick. Also, the ultrasound showed that in the two weeks since the operation her heart muscles have weakened further. The hope was that without the stress of the PDA they would start to regain strength, but the opposite seems to be happening. The vet has given us further medication to try to encourage the muscles to strengthen. With the number of complications that have occurred, the vet says that Pickle's outlook is uncertain and really depends on how effective the medication is in improving things. He said she may have a couple of years or possibly longer if the medication works really well - he just doesn't know. Either way, the operation will have lengthened her life expectancy as he believes the condition was very advanced and without surgery, she would probably have only had another couple of months. It just seems that we caught the problem too late to fix it properly. So, now we've done all we can really and we just need to make Pickle's life as happy as possible and really appreciate the time we have together. Thanks again to everyone for your support through the last few months. It is greatly appreciated.

Lots of get well thoughts on their way to Cromwell and for his worried family.

Thank you to everyone for your concern and kind wishes. Pickle is now home and she needs 3 weeks of rest to recover from the surgery. As Jules mentioned there were several complicating factors that the surgeon identified during the surgery and we very nearly lost our Pickle Pup. So we are just very grateful that she's still with us. Her heart rhythm hadn't stabilised by the time we left the hospital, but it is now not beating dangerously fast or slow, so they thought she'd be better relaxing at home than in the hospital. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that her heart rhythm will return to normal, but as time goes on it gets less and less likely and this could be something that is permanent. We are not yet sure what the implications of this condition are - we've been told that some dogs can live quite a long life with the condition being controlled by medication, but other dogs don't get on so well. It's just a case of wait and see over the next 6-12 months. The outlook is further complicated by her heart muscles having been greatly weakened by the P.D.A and the surgery, so the vet needs to see whether they will regain some of their strength. She is having a check up in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll have positive news then. Thanks again to everyone. Mel

Thanks, again, to everyone for the good wishes. It is really appreciated. Just to update you: Pickle is due to have her heart surgery on Wednesday - so fingers crossed! It's great that they can do the op so quickly and it may just save my sanity Pickle has been driving us loopy this week as she is fed up with having a calm (dull) life of no exercise or play and keeps trying to wall-of-death around the house. Everytime she breaks into anything faster than a walk, we go into panic mode and frantically try to calm her down! Pickle just gives us a grumpy look that says 'you spoil all my fun!'. But hopefully, not for much longer.

I can now reveal who the 'mystery visitor' was...... Tessie

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's Hurricane Tessie! Meet our new addition - Tessie (formerly Jessie - changed to avoid confusion with Jules' Jessie). And boy! Is she an active little pup! She has only two speeds: Fast & faster. This is her in action, playing with Jules' Jessie. And eventually tired out from playing with Jess Giving Ollie a little kiss - aww! And playing with her toys in the garden Tessie is a very sweet, loving dog and we are so pleased to have her as part of the family. Although I doubt I'll get much peace and quiet from now on! But then, Pickle never gave me much of that anyway!

Thanks to you all for your kind words and thoughts and to Jules for starting this thread. Pickle is stable at the moment and we need to keep her very, very calm (easier said then done!) for the next three weeks until she is fit enough for her op. I'll keep you posted on how she's doing.

I completely understand, Sarah. Although, if you think it would be ok to change her name to something that sounds similar - how about Tessie? Or Bessie? Or Maisie (is that too different?)? Mel

Thanks Jules! Wasn't sure how to link the two threads

Hi everyone! Thanks to Jules (Tempest) for starting this thread I'm pleased to say that we shall soon be welcoming Jessie the brindle collie x pup into our home and Pickle will have a little sister to play with As Pickle is best buds with Jules' Jess, we need to think of a new name for the new arrival - does anyone have any suggestions? If you want to see a picture of Jessie, she's in the successful rehoming section. Mel.