We have the results of the heart workup, and the Z-Man has advanced heart disease (more advanced than they were expecting to find), as well as a stage six (of six) heart murmur. The chambers of his heart are significantly enlarged but he seems to be compensating. The vet wants us to keep him on the enalapril (ACE inhibitor) indefinitely, and we need to do blood draws to check kidney and liver function.

As well, he’s got dental issues. We went through the heart workup in part to determine if he CAN have the dental surgery to remove an abscessed molar that keeps swelling and oozing. (It’s OH so pretty.) The decision is that they’ll mask him rather than using injectable anesthetics, and monitor him closely, but they’re giving him a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery. You can feel the murmur when you put your hand on his chest. It’s kind of creepy.

So, why do it, you may wonder? Because if we don’t the infection will linger, eventually spreading to his brain, and the tooth is causing him pain and discomfort.

And either way, our time with him is marked.

He’s not showing any real symptoms now that we’ve knocked his cough out. He’s a little slower, perhaps, and we’re lifting him onto the bed more, but he’s still feisty – picking on the big dogs across the fence, and growling at MissCleo when she tries to play too roughly.

We’re doing the dental stuff on Friday, February 15th.
I will probably be a basket case that day.