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NOTE: This post is a retroactive journal and all dates, times and events have been logged accordingly and will appear in italics. All thoughts and feelings are my own.
July 4, 2015
Fourth of July today, I should be celebrating but I can’t. I’ll admit I’m not as hysterical as I was the other day, but fear resonates strongly with me at the moment. For the past two days I’ve been pouring over canine heart disease statistics, studies on Pubmed and looking for anything and everything to help heal Angelo.
Heart disease seems especially prevalent in smaller breeds and up to some 60% of aging dogs are affected by it. It’s a sad statistic, what bothers me even more is that once a dog reaches congestive heart failure, most die within 6-14 months.
I’ve considered heart surgery for Angelo, but believe it or not, there is NO ONE in the United States that does that procedure. Isn’t that ridiculous? We spend more on our pets than any nation in the world, have some of the most advanced medical technology and yet, a surgical procedure doesn’t exist to help fix a problem that seems to be so common in dogs? Bullshit if you ask me.
I have reached out to several cardiologists and other veterinarians to get their opinion. They all seem to be giving me the same response, “You can wait it out or treat it with pharmaceuticals.” What about all the risks associated with it? I really don’t want to have to put him on medication, unless it’s absolutely necessary. But as we “wait” and let more time pass, the worse his heart becomes. 6 months ago he was fine, now he has heart disease, isn’t that some f*cking rapid deterioration??!! My brain wants to explode.
Angelo doesn’t seem any different. If we go out on the deck we can watch some of the fireworks. Luckily they aren’t loud this year, he hates that. Maybe I’ll have better luck searching for natural treatments tomorrow.
-Marky
July 11, 2015
It’s been a full week since I’ve written. I hate that dogs age that much faster than us. If only there were a way to slow it down? A proverbial fountain of youth? I’ve never given much thought to aging and mortality, but now more than ever I am obsessing over it. Can’t lose Angelo, he’s far too young.
I think I have made progress. I came across two dog nutrition e-books. One is basically a compilation of recipes and the other talking about dog’s and their longevity. I feel even more guilty now. Who the hell knew that commercial dog food was so bad? Even the really expensive ones? Reading about the pet food recall of 2007 pisses me off so much, so many dogs got sick and passed away. Bad nutrition appears to give way to many ailments…including itchy/bad skin.
Could feeding Angelo all that commercial dog food have contributed to his heart disease and other problems? I suppose it’s in the realm of possibility. If humans have a poor diet, we too can suffer from heart disease and other illnesses. I feel like I deserve an award for worse Dad of the year.
Speaking of dog food, he won’t even touch that low sodium dog food from the vets office. (This food was so bad that I ended up returning it and getting my $65 back!)
The recipes in the first book are terrible…chicken gizzards and egg shells? I guess I could modify it. But how do I know if it’s good for him or not, furthermore how much do I feed him and how am I supposed to make this in bulk? The second book has some good studies and theories on aging in dogs, but the recipes border on starvation.
I’m emailing Dr. N copies of these books and asking for some supplement recommendations. She’s probably tired of hearing from me, but I want her opinion. I hope it’s good.
-Marky
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Hey there! I realize this is in the past, but are you trying to cook for the pups still? I gave it a go, but Toby lost interest after a couple of weeks. He’s currently on freeze-dried raw (Vital Essentials). I personally can’t handle actual raw, but freeze-dried raw is still just one beef ingredient but looks more like kibble. 🙂 Anyway, Giuseppe’s mom Ana has a great dog food recipe that she credits with G surviving multiple surgeries, attacks, and going strong until 13.
Definitely! We cook for them (or really I do..lol) a few times a week. I normally cook enough for 2 days. I haven’t tried the Vital Essentials freeze dried, but I know some pups who love it (and I’m so happy Toby does too!). Cooking definitely can get expensive, I normally rotate between grass fed beef and organic pork, and throw in veggies with either brown rice or steel cut oats. Surprisingly enough, they both are allergic to chicken. Oh and yes, ditto, I can’t handle raw either. I don’t know if I’m sold on it completely. Sometimes, by accident, when raw meat falls on the kitchen floor A&A will hurry and gobble it up. But it’s usually just one or two pieces. Beyond that, I don’t think I could feed it to them daily.
Ana told me about some of the recipes and I fully believe they definitely have helped G! 🙂 Praying for that little boy as I know he’s been having some issues lately.
Thanks again for caring and reading! Love you both!