 Fritz
is a very sweet 12 year old doxie boy who spent all his life with an older
human gentleman, who, unfortunately, passed away earlier this year.
This left Fritz without a home or anyone to love him. From January
to June of this year, he lost 5 pounds, and went for long periods without
receiving his necessary medications. Fortunately, CCDR was contacted,
and Fritz has been in foster care since early June. Through all of
this, he has a typical Dachsie personality - loving, affectionate, loves
to play (although somewhat limited by his health), and gets along well
with others in the house both people and other dogs). In his foster
home, his personality continues to emerge each day.
At this time, Fritz is doing
ok, and with good care and close attention, the vet feels he will have
about 6 months to a year of good quality life; but knowing his strong will,
it could be longer. As long as his appetite remains good, and he
remains alert and responsive, he's doing ok. Because of his age and heart
problem, his chances of adoption are very slim. Fritz will most likely
remain in the care of CCDR for the remainder of his life.
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Although
Fritz is playful, he has frequent coughing spells, and often appears to
have difficulty breathing. He tires easily, and will lay down to
rest when needed. The vet has told us that Fritz has a weak valve
between the left atrium (upper heart chamber) and the left ventricle
(lower heart chamber), which causes blood to flow back into the atrium
when the heart beats, reducing the amount of blood that is pumped to his
body. This is what's often referred to as a murmer, and is also causing
some fluid to flow back into the lungs. Through a stethescope, his heartbeat
sounds like an off-balance washing machine. Although he has a strong
heartbeat, this is not accompanied by a strong pulse in his hind legs,
since much of the blood is flowing backwards through the valve. His
heart is enlarged, reducing the space available for his lungs. This,
coupled with some fluid in the lungs, is reducing the amoun of oxygen available
to him, causing heavy breathing and coughing. Fritz is currently on two
medications - Lanoxin, which helps the heart beat more strongly, and Lasix,
which is a diuretic to reduce the fluid build-up. The medication
he is on must be closely monitored, since it can be highly toxic.
