Another Chapter in the Dog Saga of my Family

I told my brother when we went out to eat for my dad's birthday a week or so ago not to mention that my poodle has been sick.  My dad and mom lost their poodle 1 year ago to liver cancer.  It's a very tender subject.  My poodle seems to be mending well.  We'll go in next week for a follow up check up to be sure.  Why sadden them unnecessarily.

Well, my brother calls today to say that his new pup has a serious health issue.  There is something wrong with his heart.  The beating of it is slowing down day by day.  What should be beating around 100 times a minute is beating at 30.  Like a typical dog you'd never know anything was wrong with him.  This was found out accidentally with a check up regarding the dog's teeth.  The Vet said the teeth are fine, but there is something else we need to talk about.

My brother and his wife have set up an appointment for a 2nd opinion.  The only treatment for something like this that has been discussed is a pacemaker.  I can't believe it!  My husband's cousin is a Vet he's in his 60's, so has been doing this for a long time.  He told me a few years ago that if you have the money we can do just about anything to fix your dog.

My brother and his wife are DINKs (double income no children).  Not that they have all the money in the world, but their dog is their child.  They are prepared to pay some money out to help their dog live a longer life.  My brother and I had a pretty lengthy talk about what's reasonable and what's not.  We also talked about the quality of life of a pet.  If they were to put a pacemaker in they'd need to let him live a full life.  Not a sheltered life.  Well, sheltered within reason.

Winston (Poodle/Pomeranian... Pomapoo?)

We also talked about why us... why are our dogs having serious health issues this past year?  We realized that up until now we have been very fortunate to have dogs that have lived full healthy lives.  We go the extra mile to make sure our dogs are fed well and healthy.  That's 40 years of dog ownership.  We figured sadly that it's just our turn.