Any veterinary folk here? My pup died today and I have questions.

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Capm_Spaulding

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Tuesday evening, My 10 year old papillon developed a sudden onset of symptoms including fast labored breathing 60-70 respiration’s/minute and a very fast heart rate - 200bpm. Wednesday, we took her to the vet who took an X-ray and found an enlarged heart, a murmur, and suspected leaky valve. No fluid was found however, and she never had a cough.

She was prescribed 2.5mg of Enalapril 2x a day and released to us less than 45 mins from when we arrived with the vet literally laughing and trying to assure us she’d be fine and while it would cut her life short, this would give her anywhere from 6 months to 6 years.

Unfortunately, she didn’t improve on Thursday, or Friday. I called each day to report and ask what else we can do. I was told just to let the medicine work, initially that it may take 2-3 weeks and then changed to may work in 5-7 days.

She passed away yesterday morning before we woke up. I am completely devastated and just want to know why more wasn’t done.

Every time I called, they acted like it wasn’t a big deal and she was going to be fine, which made me second guess the obvious distress she was in.

So my questions are, firstly, was there a more aggressive approach that could’ve been taken and just wasn’t, or was what I was told true, that all that could be done was to let the medicine work and that this was just inevitable? Secondly, exactly how long does Enalapril typically take to work? And lastly, what would you have done differently in this case, if anything?

This could all be nothing and I’m just angry due to the grieving, I just wish they would've paid more attention to what I was saying and if she was worse than anticipated, wish they would’ve been up front and told us so we could’ve enjoyed her last few days instead of thinking she was going to be fine and that we were overreacting.

I see so many dogs who live a long time on heart meds and i feel so cheated and don’t understand why we were sent away with our concerns dismissed. I feel like 3 days after onset of symptoms is just so soon for her to pass.

Very sincerely asking for advice.
 

Poke78

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Unless you were willing to pay for and could have found a vet willing to do a necropsy (autopsy on a non-human animal), it is unlikely you will get any definitive answers. Everything will be a guess without such examination and objective evidence, IMO.

I'm sorry for your loss of a beloved pet.
 

Timmy59

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Unless you were willing to pay for and could have found a vet willing to do a necropsy (autopsy on a non-human animal), it is unlikely you will get any definitive answers. Everything will be a guess without such examination and objective evidence, IMO.

I'm sorry for your loss of a beloved pet.

Correct and Echo the condolences..
 

Fyrtwuck

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Sorry for your loss. I’m not a vet, but an old burned out EMT. My last five dogs took their final breaths in my arms. One was hit by a car when my GF opened the front door and she shot toward the street like a rocket. I scooped her up and held her as she took her last breaths. The other four were a combination of old age and congestive heart failure. I knew it was coming and made it as comfortable and painless as I could for them. It’s said that one year equals seven years in a dogs life.

Your pup lived for seventy human years. Sadly, it was her time and no matter how much we try or or how much we care, we can only do so much. You did what you could, but like humans, her little aging body can only last so long.
 
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tRidiot

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I can't say anything specific about her condition, but I do offer my condolences, I'm sorry for your loss.

However, yes, I would expect a week or so for enalapril to have it's maximal effect - at least in humans.
 

okierider

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A rather well known vet here in the city looked at my Reilly girls mast cell tumor and told me it was nothing............ At that point it could have been removed and I could have learned what I was dealing with and taken actions to prevent the return.
Not all vets , as well as not all doctors give a ****. Look around and find you a good one ........... If you are in the OKC area Try helping hands veterinary clinic , Dr Wiess is now our vet and she was with me until the end when fighting the cancer in my Rielly girl!
Sorry for your loss and my thoughts are with you .
 

Aries

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I'm sorry you went through all that as well.

At minimum, unless you were dealing directly with the owner of the vet clinic, you could call and talk to the manager or owner and let them know how you feel. If the people you were dealing with directly ARE the owners, you could still let them know that you felt as if your concerns were not taken seriously.

It's possible that what happened is very rare and they had no way to anticipate it, in which case maybe they can explain it more thoroughly. Or... they need to know how to better deal with the human owners of their clients, at the very least.
 

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