toffeeman

A life that brought so much joy into our lives cruelly cut short; we miss her so much now and will do so forever. RIP Lucy

Lucy was taken from us on Saturday - such a short life of 8 and a half years. We can't come to terms how sudden this was from the initial diagnosis just over 6 months ago. RIP Lucy - you'll be in our hearts and minds forever

Hello, my BC, now 8 years old, was diagnosed with a heart murmur about a year ago and prescribed Fortekor. She is still very active and willing to go on walks and play etc but, when excited, starts coughing and I have heard her coughing during the night. Her heart sounds are very loud and audible to the naked ear too sometimes, usually in the evening. I would be grateful to hear other people's experiences of their BCs and their heart murmurs as I'm afraid of losing her but don't want her to suffer. Thanks, RM

Thanks 3dogslater and Sue R for your comments; I've never had a heart x-ray done on her until now. The murmur was diagnosed when she was a year or two old but she's never shown any ill-effects up to now and hasn't been on any medication for it. She was seen by the vet quite recently, before the vaccination, who said the murmur was mild and nothing to be concerned about (at the moment). Now she's on medication for the murmur and to reduce fluid on the lungs. The cough now seems to be clearing up and she's due to go back to see the vet in a few days. Apart from that, she seems her usual energetic, playful self. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on her.

Hello, I recently took my 7 year old Border Coliie to be vaccinated against bordetella (kennel cough) as she was going in kennels and she hadn't been vaccinated since she was a puppy. I was aware that she had a "mild" heart murmur but she wasn't on any medication and the vet wasn't concerned and she had no visible signs of having any problems with it. About a week after having the vaccine she developed a cough, which after the initial concerns about the heart murmur I assumed to be due to the vaccination, but the vet said she required a heart x-ray which subsequently identified an enlarged heart. It seems to me a strange coincidence in the worsening of her heart condition so soon after being vaccinated for kennel cough having gone in a perfectly healthy dog and I'm upset and guilty about what I may have done to her in getting her vaccinated. I can't get any reasonable explanation about the reason for this nor for the possibility of a link between the vaccination and the enlarged heart condition. Has anyone had any similar experiences, what do other BC owners think ? Thanks, RM