So Sad

I am very sad at the moment .My beautiful bisty[chihuahua]who is 15 years old has a grade 6 heart murmur for some time and now shows signs of heart faliure, she had quite a large amount of fluid buildup which more new drugs prescribed seems to have almost fully shifted.She has only 1 molar tooth and now she will not eat properly so i mush the food up for her and spoon feed her with some difficulty.I have noticed over the past 2 weeks the loss of weight as been dramatic her spine now sticks out,but her ribs still seem to be behind a little fat that she as left.She sleeps alot more now and was badly constipated a few weeks ago i took her to the vet he gave her some liquid paraffin which has not helped,but i have been adding some baby food to her dogfood which seems to have helped although she does seem to still strain for a while before passing a few droppings.She still as a happy episode throughout the day but i am worried that she may be nearing the end,i asked the vet he thinks she has some time yet but i am not so sure.I suppose its because she seemed okay one day the next she changed dramatically.Thank you for reading and if anyone can offer me some advice on a better way to feed bisty and what foods are best in this situation will be fully took on board.

oh bless, its so awful when you know it won't be long before they go the Bridge.

Normally I'd say that when their time is limited, just give them whatever food they like best. Though of course, you don't want to end up with her very constipated.

I wonder if a little bran (though you would have to soak this/mash it/blend it) in her food would help with the constipation?

I do believe in the saying 'better a day too soon than an hour too late' but if she is still having good days and doesn't' seem to be in pain on her bad days, she could stay with you for awhile yet.

Hugs to you...this is the only bad part of dog ownership but through it all you have to remember that you have had many wonderful years together.

Thank you very much for your kind words Hali,i do hope i have a little longer with her yet.She has been with me since she was 2 years old,Bisty had already produced 2 litters of puppys by the time i found her[in a advert]they were asking 200.00 pounds for her which i paid.I went straight to the vet where they said she was underweight,cysts on her body,bad teeth,mammary lump and a hernia which she has had trouble with over the years.I know i have given her a very happy life and inreturn she has given me all the love i could ask for.Thank you.

It sounds like Bisty found a good owner when you got her, she is lucky to have had a good 13yrs with you and I am sure you have so many memories together. Such a sad time you will know when it is right as you know her better than any one. As Hali said it is one of the bad times in owning a dog but the good out weighs the bad ten fold. My neighbours have been given tablets when their dog had a bowel obstruction called Coloxyl. Hugs to you and Bisty
Emma

Thank you Emma,i will look into the coloxyl you mentioned.