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Poor Rufus had his annual vet check-up & shots this week & he
was diagnosed as having an enlarged heart & a leaky heart
valve! (Talk about a timely vet visit), as his symptoms did
not appear until a day or 2 before his visit! I do not know yet
what kind of heart medication he has been prescribed yet, but
it is the mildest one of 3 types & the results have been very
successful to date! Rufus is now over 12 yrs old & the product
of a dubious attempt to create a version of the exstinct
Pocket Beagle! Our elder members from dogjunction know him
well! We thought that his small size would be an advantage &
give him an edge toward a long life...but recently, he has
had more health problems than my 16+ yr old Goober!

Like many seniours, (human & canine)... he will have to take
meds for the rest of his life!

 

[Makaella's Mom]

i'm so sorry to hear about rufus. my prayers are with you.

 

[CarrieD]

Poor pup.

 

[jassy]

Poor Rufus. I hope the medications will work well for him.

 

[Murphys Dad]

It's hard watching our beloved furkids get older.

I sure hope the medication helps Rufus.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I hope Rufus responds really well to the meds! I am sure that catching his problem early will help a lot with his treatment.

 

[angelaH]

Take heart NR. Medication these days is excellent. Snoopy has a heart defect and he is only 8. Come on Rufus you got to stay fit for your dad.

 

[KSycamore]

Poor ole guy. Our Sam is 12 years old, he's a lab sheppard mix, he's showing signs of slowing down. I imagine he'll be on meds pretty soon. Murphy & Kip are still going strong tho.

Hang in there with him.

 

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Thanks all, but Rufus is not ready to cross the bridge yet!
As mentioned in my first post, he is doing much better now as
his vet visit was on tuesday & I posted this on friday/saturday
am. He is already back to his normal self with the exception
that his right front leg is sore to the point that when Pop
went to pet him & scratch his sides, he yelped when his front
leg was touched. (We suspect that the vet may have pulled a
muscule when they took x-rays of his chest). I expect Rufus to
make a full recovery with the help of his meds... (but he will
be lucky if he can beat Goobers record of longevity)! Goober
was found to have a minor heart problem at his last vet visit
but no complications have surfaced so far! The main symptom of
heart problems is coughing as if they have kennel cough but
Goober is still acting like a healthy sob despite being
nearly blind & deaf after 16+ yrs! And we have learned now that
the herbal supplement Hawthorne will elastesize blood
vessels that might have become hard & restricted & promote
blood flow... but we still have to study the benefits of it &
see if there are any side-affects!

 

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Rufus has joined the timex beag tradition with his recovery!
His right front leg is still sore but I know know that his meds
are the mild 5 mg enalapril tablits to be given once daily
until his next vet check next year! Rufus is Pops Snapper as
Rufus is actually the first beag/ dog he got to decide to adopt! Nibbler (would be his second)! (But by that time Pop was in his fifties) & I am now 48! (We will love & own beags
until the day we can no longer care for them)!!!

 

[Murphys Dad]

Sorry to hear it NWR. Give Rufus a rub from us and let us know how it goes.

 

[RhodaTse]

Hope Rufus will get better. Have we seen Goober and Rufus pictures yet?
Ooops I keep forgetting to give Charlie his heart worm pill, even his daily vitimin.

 

[NORTHWEST REDNECK]

MD,Thanks & I will keep everyone posted here about Rufus,s
progress! And CM if you want to see pics of our boys then
send me a private email with contact info & I'll see if this old
puter is is still up to the task! (I am currently shopping for a
new one) but I have several great images of them stored on my
hard drive!(Thumbup)!