Thanks to everyone who’s been so, so supportive over the past week as we found out our CCI (former CCI, now) pup, Pharaoh, was being released back to us. I wanted to give you the latest.
You can see where his chest was shaved for the initial Holter monitor.
He was released from CCI because of a cardiac arrhythmia where his heart beats too fast for intervals of time. That meant we needed to get a second opinion and see what treatment, if any, he needed.
We’re super fortunate to live in a town with a university veterinary teaching hospital with two cardiologists and lots of amazing vet students on staff. Yesterday, he had his first appointment with Tiffany (vet tech), Matt (vet student), and Amy (cardiology resident). What a great team! After Tiffany and Matt checked him over, Amy sat on the floor with Pharaoh, really getting to know him and listening to his heart. I could tell she loves what she does and adores animals. When she let Pharaoh lick her in the face, I said to Tech Guy, “I like this woman!”
She recommended a follow-up ECG and echocardiogram, and this is what we learned:
- Pharaoh does have a heart murmur
- But it’s not causing clinical heart disease at this time
- His blood pumps out of his aorta a little quicker than normal, but they’re not concerned about it at this time
Since they weren’t able to catch his arrhythmia on the ECG, they’ll do another in six months. But for now, they didn’t recommend we place him on any type of medication.
So Pharaoh is free to run, play, and generally be a dog these days. We’ll keep a close eye on him for any changes in his health and continue to take him back to the cardiology folks for follow-ups. In the meantime, we’ll let him hit the two-year-old mark (think we should have a birthday party on August 23??), and then we’ll look at having him certified as a therapy dog. I’ve already spoken with one hospital in town, and they think he might make a great visitor for their heart patients!
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Today is Celebration of the Senses Day so take a few minutes to enjoy the amazing sensory gifts we were given. Look for something beautiful, listen for the birds, touch someone’s skin, taste something decadent, and, of course, stop to smell the flowers. Star gazer lilies are some of my faves.
