December 2009 - Lucy Spier
Lucy fights on
Lucy is a 16 year old Jack Russell Terrier, who despite all her problems is still fighting on, quite literally sometimes!
Lucy was diagnosed with a grade 4/6 heart murmur in September 2007. Unfortunately this was upgraded to a 5/6 heart murmur 2 months later. The highest grade heart murmur is 6/6. Lucy was beginning to suffer from exercise intolerance, constant panting and fluid was gathering on her lungs. She was placed onto diuretics to reduce the amount of fluid collecting on her lungs, she was also prescribed an ACE inhibitor to lower her blood pressure and volume load on the heart.
Lucy started to improve in herself, she began enjoying her exercise again and things were looking up! Her heart murmur slightly improved and was again re graded at a 4/6 murmur.
In August 2008 Lucy was bought in to the surgery after vomiting frequently and becoming lethargic, on clinical exam her abdomen was also extremely painful. A blood sample was taken to check her liver and kidney functions. The bloods revealed that poor little Lucy had quite severely increased liver and kidney enzymes; she had even lost her bite! The vet decided to admit her for intravenous fluids, multivitamins and anabolic steroids. She was monitored closely over the next 24 hours and slowly Lucy’s bite began to return, this was a sign that she was beginning to feel better. Blood tests were run again the following day, fortunately there had been a significant decrease in Lucy’s enzymes! Due to her small dislike of the vets it was decided she would be better off at home.
Lucy went home later that day armed with her medication and a special renal diet. She was to return each month for a multivitamin and anabolic steroid injection, along with an assessment of her heart murmur. Regular blood tests were taken to monitor her renal function.
Without fail each month since 2008, Lucy’s dedicated owners have followed her medication routine and brought her back for her injection.
Unfortunately it has not all been straight forward since then! She began to react to the multivitamin and steroid injections causing her face to swell. This was overcome by giving her yet more medication; an antihistamine is administered before each multivitamin injection, followed by the anabolic steroid injection 3 days later.
Lucy is still a very happy bright little dog who enjoys her life, but unfortunately not visiting us! Without her loving owners and their commitment to her life for Lucy may have been different.
So we here at Okeford have decided that Lucy and her owners definitely deserve to be Braveheart!
