Monday, Monday… Can’t Trust That Day…

Monday, Monday, so good to me
Monday mornin’, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday mornin’, Monday mornin’ couldn’t guarantee
That Monday evenin’ you would still be here with me

Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day
Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday mornin’ you gave me no warnin’ of what was to be…

Yes devoted readers… Monday was an interesting morning. Last Friday was more interesting… Little Kai was off on a walk with Les when he collapsed on the dock. Just stopped, had a bit of a coughing fit, rolled over and lay prostate. Heroically, Les provided cardiovascular support with little doggie compressions and the little pup did wake up. She brought him back to the boat and he did it again. This time he lay on the salon couch performing paddling moves, as if he were swimming, a common result of anoxia. At least it wasn’t seizure activity. He was breathing, but slowly, almost agonally. Within about 15 seconds without resusitative compressions, normal breathing commenced and he woke up, a bit disoriented, but alive.

After vet discussions, we scheduled an appointment with a vet cardiologist. Kai was quiet through Saturday and Sunday, but by Sunday was presenting with symptoms that looked like his usual stomach upset. Off his food and water and slumping like a vulture on a post with his little legs tucked between his forelegs. Classic. 2.5 mg of famotidine later he perked up and berated us a bit for not feeding him, sashayed up to his bowl of newly prepared food, ate and had a long drink of water. Nearly normal.

Sunday might he slept comfortably and on Monday morning he was perky… The referral vet office called at 0900 and we went over all of his symptomology: Coughing ending with a grimace, chest xray clear, no masses, exudates not present, but a previously discovered heart murmur was more pronounced with mild left sided ventricular enlargement… and a “decent” elevation in pro-BNP which is suggestive of congestive heart failure. Hmmm… they had no appointments available until the following week and said they’d call back in the morning… Well they called back 30 minutes later and told us that an appointment had opened up for tomorrow at 1400 (which probably means that one of their patients was not going to make their scheduled appointment…) So tomorrow we find out more.

So… little Kai has GERD, mitral valve compliance issues, and probably congestive heart failure at the ripe old age of 11. Hmmm… Sad news, but just the same he’s perky and seems to be doing well today. He just came up to me and did his little bark / jerk thing… which in his language of many words means, “Oie! I’m hungry”! Bit of food and he is now standing behind me as I type this with an Oliver Twist expression on his face. Now he’s back at his bowl doing his bark / jerky lunge thing which means… “Oie “Im still hungry!” He was watching my every move. Perhaps another spoonful with mollify him? I put his bowl down with a bit more boiled chicken and a bit of his favorite canned stuff, and he leapt off the couch and devoured it. I don’t think he’s passing into the great abyss today…

Tomorrow… I’ll report out more.