About Leo
Hello again everyone. Although I've already introduced ourselves to all of you, I figured I would just give everyone a little background info. on my husband and I and our baby, Leo.
Myself, always being an animal lover of all kinds, have wanted a dog ever since we moved into our house about 3 yrs. ago,(either a Boxer or a Choc. Lab). My husband, being a self-employed general contractor, said it wan't a good time considering the house was about to go under construction(and still is...Ha, ha). Anyway, we already had 2 cats, Sassy and Lucy, and we both decided the construction would be hard enough on them. Still, I wanted a puppy...everyday. Anyway, my husband called me up 2 days before Christmas, and said he went to the store to pick up cat food, and his heart broke. There was a Boxer puppy with 2 of his sisters, alone in the cage and he couldn't leave him there. Leo was the Runt apparently. Under normal circumastances, we would have never purchased a dog from a Pet store(I've always had Pure Breds: Collie, Akita, Lab), but I heard it in his voice, that he just couldn't leave him there. Completely understanding where he was coming from, we decided to do it. And we are both very happy and thrilled that we did. Leo was born on October 10, 2004, so he was about 2 months when we got him.
Coming to present day, Leo is 6 1/2 months, and a CRAZY, normal puppy. He loves to chase basically anything that flies around outside, running around the house like a lunatic, playfully chases after his sisters(Sassy and Lucy), gives lots of hugs and kisses and he is spoiled.....Very spoiled. However, this past Sunday afternoon, something happenned that scared and deeply worried us and terrified us.
Leo had just woken up from his mid-afternoon nap, walked over to my husband and I to get his routine rub down, and suddenly had a fainting like episode. He went totally limp, and urinated. The whole episode from start to when he started coming around again, lasted for about 11 seconds, however it felt like an eternity. Of course, I instantly called the ER, told them what happenned, and told them that his gums were now competely white. They told me to immediately bring him in, as I did. The wierd thing was, once the Episode was over, you would think nothing happenned. I mean he appeared to be perfectly normal. The vet @ the ER listened to his heart, looked at his gums, and said he appears fine as of now, but bring him to his vet first thing in the morning. He suggested he get an ultrasound done, fearing he may have Cardiomyopathy. Well of course, first thing Monday morning, he went to the vet.
Leo has a series of tests done, bloodwork, resting EKG, Ekg after exercising, Bile Acid study (organ function), a complete overlooking. On Wednesday, the vet called with all the results: Bloodwork - perfect, Bile Acid - perfect, EKG after Exercising - perfect, Resting EKG - they found 2 abnormal heartbeats. Now I think this is very unusual because just like a person, I would think if they found 2 abnormal heartbeats while @ rest, it should've gotten worse after they exercised him, right? Anyway the other thing the found was a slight level problem with phosphorous, but they said it's probably nothing since his kidney function came back totally normal. Now, the vet and were in complete agreement that Leo should have an Ultrasound done, which he is this coming Wednesday, and that they will send the data to their Cardiac Specialist, and we'll take it from there. They also said, this could be a Neurological thing.
Needless to say, nothing more has occured since then, no episodes of any kind. He's back to being "LEO"!! However, I do find myself watching his every move, and I think my mind is starting to work overtime. Of course, just as a precautionary measure, we're limiting his playtime activity to a minimum, for the time being, just to be safe.
I would appreciate any feedback, if any one has had anything like this happen or just maybe any ideas of what this Fainting thing might have been..Anything, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!!
Michelle - Leo's Mommy
Hello again everyone. Although I've already introduced ourselves to all of you, I figured I would just give everyone a little background info. on my husband and I and our baby, Leo.
Myself, always being an animal lover of all kinds, have wanted a dog ever since we moved into our house about 3 yrs. ago,(either a Boxer or a Choc. Lab). My husband, being a self-employed general contractor, said it wan't a good time considering the house was about to go under construction(and still is...Ha, ha). Anyway, we already had 2 cats, Sassy and Lucy, and we both decided the construction would be hard enough on them. Still, I wanted a puppy...everyday. Anyway, my husband called me up 2 days before Christmas, and said he went to the store to pick up cat food, and his heart broke. There was a Boxer puppy with 2 of his sisters, alone in the cage and he couldn't leave him there. Leo was the Runt apparently. Under normal circumastances, we would have never purchased a dog from a Pet store(I've always had Pure Breds: Collie, Akita, Lab), but I heard it in his voice, that he just couldn't leave him there. Completely understanding where he was coming from, we decided to do it. And we are both very happy and thrilled that we did. Leo was born on October 10, 2004, so he was about 2 months when we got him.
Coming to present day, Leo is 6 1/2 months, and a CRAZY, normal puppy. He loves to chase basically anything that flies around outside, running around the house like a lunatic, playfully chases after his sisters(Sassy and Lucy), gives lots of hugs and kisses and he is spoiled.....Very spoiled. However, this past Sunday afternoon, something happenned that scared and deeply worried us and terrified us.
Leo had just woken up from his mid-afternoon nap, walked over to my husband and I to get his routine rub down, and suddenly had a fainting like episode. He went totally limp, and urinated. The whole episode from start to when he started coming around again, lasted for about 11 seconds, however it felt like an eternity. Of course, I instantly called the ER, told them what happenned, and told them that his gums were now competely white. They told me to immediately bring him in, as I did. The wierd thing was, once the Episode was over, you would think nothing happenned. I mean he appeared to be perfectly normal. The vet @ the ER listened to his heart, looked at his gums, and said he appears fine as of now, but bring him to his vet first thing in the morning. He suggested he get an ultrasound done, fearing he may have Cardiomyopathy. Well of course, first thing Monday morning, he went to the vet.
Leo has a series of tests done, bloodwork, resting EKG, Ekg after exercising, Bile Acid study (organ function), a complete overlooking. On Wednesday, the vet called with all the results: Bloodwork - perfect, Bile Acid - perfect, EKG after Exercising - perfect, Resting EKG - they found 2 abnormal heartbeats. Now I think this is very unusual because just like a person, I would think if they found 2 abnormal heartbeats while @ rest, it should've gotten worse after they exercised him, right? Anyway the other thing the found was a slight level problem with phosphorous, but they said it's probably nothing since his kidney function came back totally normal. Now, the vet and were in complete agreement that Leo should have an Ultrasound done, which he is this coming Wednesday, and that they will send the data to their Cardiac Specialist, and we'll take it from there. They also said, this could be a Neurological thing.
Needless to say, nothing more has occured since then, no episodes of any kind. He's back to being "LEO"!! However, I do find myself watching his every move, and I think my mind is starting to work overtime. Of course, just as a precautionary measure, we're limiting his playtime activity to a minimum, for the time being, just to be safe.
I would appreciate any feedback, if any one has had anything like this happen or just maybe any ideas of what this Fainting thing might have been..Anything, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!!
Michelle - Leo's Mommy