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Pet Profiles |
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Suzie's Story
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![[Photo of Suzie]](images/suzie_1.jpg)
"My parents were in their eighties when I acquired Suzie for them from a dog breeder," says Mr. S. "That was fourteen years ago, when Suzie was a pup. She's a Bichon Frise. My parents' own Bichon had died around that time, and they thought they might be too old for another dog. Happily, just the opposite was true. I think it was the love they had for Suzie, and her love for them, that kept them alive into their nineties.
"When my mother and father died two years ago within weeks of each other, Suzie's whole world fell apart and she went into mourning. There were several people who wanted to give her a home, but I couldn’t bear to part with her, both because she’s so friendly and beautiful, and also because she's a living connection to my parents. I took her to live with me in my apartment in Manhattan. And, since I have my own business, I bring her to work with me every day."
Very soon after bringing Suzie home, Mr. S. noticed that she had trouble breathing. His exquisite animal companion was found by a local veterinarian to have congestive heart failure. The buildup of fluid in her lungs was caused by a leaking heart valve. A sign of her condition was a significantly enlarged heart.
With deep sadness, Mr. S. learned that Suzie's prognosis was grim. The life span of dogs with her condition is usually between six to twelve months. Unwilling to accept what appeared to be Suzie's certain fate, Mr. S. began to seek a veterinary cardiologist with an outstanding record of success in difficult cases like Suzie's.
His inquiries led him to Dr. Betsy Bond, a cardiologist at The Animal Medical Center.
Says Dr. Bond: "I ordered an echocardiogram for Suzie, which confirmed the diagnosis of congestive heart failure with weakness of the heart muscle. One of the drugs we use for this, as we did with Suzie, is a diuretic to clear the lungs of fluid. Diuretics have to be regularly and carefully monitored, because they can cause dehydration that damages the kidneys."
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