Cardiomyopathy in a rescue dog

[rmorris]

Help! I pulled a 4 yr. old male boxer from a shelter and he has a tentative diagnosis of cardiomyopathy from the general vet. We have an appt. Nov. 9 with a specialist who will perform an US. I am pretty sure the original diagnosis will be confirmed. :(

The problem is he is unaltered, and anesthesia can be fatal for him. We can't adopt him out unaltered, and he's too old for Neuterosol. I don't know what to do! He will either be a permanent foster or PTS unless someone can come up with another solution...

 

[gmacleod]

Well it would depend upon the severity of the cardiomyopathy as to whether or not a surgery is going to be safe for him (and if the alternative were to be PTS, then surely it's worth the effort to try?). Best to see what the cardiologist has to say, I think. It might not be as bad as you think.

I would also have thought that permanent foster was a better alternative than putting him to sleep just because he can't be altered.

 

[rmorris]

I will definitely wait for the final results to make any final decisions. I am just researching all our options. I am assuming the worst because two general vets have already listened to his heart and they both think it's a pretty severe case.

The problem with a permanent foster...we have about 10 total foster homes over 2 states (AL and GA) and each only usually foster 1, 2 at the most. He would be taking up a foster space for 2-3 years (at best). We already have to pick which boxers we can help because we don't have enough open foster homes. I wish this weren't the case, and we've done everything we can think of to recruit foster homes so this won't be a problem.

I can only foster 2 dogs at a time (and I have 2 of my own) and Brigham makes 3 just because I couldn't turn down that face.

 

[CinnamonDog]

Sorry to hear that you are in this situation! But THANK YOU for caring and getting involved in rescue. It is a truly rewarding but thankless job. Best of luck to you and your new boy. I hope the vet has better news for you.