UNBELIEVABLE!! Two years ago, Snickers had stopped eating, was having tremors, couldn’t walk and her heart rate was 200! We took her to the ER and they brought in a cardiac specialist. They said she would not live without a pacemaker, due to a very severe heart condition.
Yet, even doing an MRI or giving her sedation would most likely be fatal. They also said even if she got the pacemaker, it wouldn’t resolve her seizures. They suspected she had either a brain tumor or brain injury (when she fell off the couch), as well as cancer.
She already hadn’t eaten for a couple of days, so they suggested we let her go. I told them I wanted to bring her home for a couple of days and let her say goodbye to Grammy. I also wanted to see if I could make her better, even though they said there was no way she would get better.
I also consulted 2 of my other vets and got the same prognosis. I wasn’t going to allow her to start starving to death, because that is inhumane and torturous. So, we had drawn a line to give me time to see if I could make a difference.
I gave her supplements, enzymes and probiotics through a syringe, carried her around and held her up while she went potty. Within a day and a half, she wanted to eat something! I took her to my amazing vet and he agreed whatever I was doing was helping, but this fatal heart condition is not treatable and he cautioned me that she still probably didn’t more than a few weeks. So, put her on a super healthy diet and because she wouldn’t eat her beloved vitamins she used to beg for, I had to keep giving her a few in a syringe and in her water. Most of all, So, we decided to love on her every day like it was her last!
Two years later, she is still here with us and running around like a puppy! We have to keep her calmed down or her heart rate goes to 200 and it stops and she stops breathing. I have to do heart massages several times a day and often CPR. Between her seizures, heart failure, passing out, dementia, low eyesight, blood sugar drops and needing to be fed eight times a day, she is a TON OF WORK!! But she wags her tail every morning and is happy to be alive! As long as she is happy, I will do my best to care for her!
Needless to say, my vet is astonished she is still here! All the facts pointed to her not having a chance. But doesn’t he know? She is Snickers the Mighty Super-Dog!
Comic strip from 2015. Click on the above image to enlarge.