I Love This Dog

I started this post this weekend and sadly after another 2 visits to the vet, Gypsy passed away yesterday evening.  She was an amazing dog and I will love her always.

One of the first pictures I took of Gypsy

Last Thursday was a range of emotions as my dog Gypsy loss consciousness. I was working from home, quickly called the vet to change the appointment I had already made for Friday and rushed her over to be checked out.

Gypsy is more than a pet to me.  I've had fish and hermit crabs and hamsters, but no pet has seen me through as much as Gypsy.  I adopted her from the local animal shelter in 2006 right before I moved into my first post college apartment.  Living with a roommate and another dog was OK, but when our 6 month lease was up Gypsy and I packed up and moved out on our own.  For a couple of years (before I met Chris and he moved in) it was just the two of us.  She was part of the first solo Christmas card I sent back in 2006.

She's been there during the entire duration of dating, engagement and now marriage to Chris.  He might not always admit it (especially when he has to cover my early morning walks with her), but I know he loves her just as much.  

Engagement picture from Lynn Michelle

So when she stumbled, fell over and then didn't move I freaked out.  We made it to the vet and were quickly taken back.  Gypsy has always had a heart mummer, but there wasn't really anything that we could do about it.  After describing what happened, coupled with her coughing up (similar to what I imagine a cat would sound like coughing up a hair ball) he took her back for an x ray.

And I waited.

The vet came to the conclusion that Gypsy has Dilated Cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart.  The only good news to come from the x-ray was that he did not see a build up of fluid in her lungs.  From PetMD:

"When the heart's ventricle does not pump enough blood into the lungs, fluid begins to accumulate in the lungs.  An enlarged heart soon becomes overloaded and this often leads to congestive heart failure"

He prescribed two different medications that she is now taking twice a day.  There isn't really a way to cure what is wrong with her heart, but we are trying to do everything we can to help her until there is nothing left for us to do.

She's had three more fainting episodes since we left the vet, which normally come after she exerts too much energy.  We've cut back the distance on her walks, and take it very slowly.  The two medications didn't seem to be slowing her heart rate any, so we were back in the vet's office for a third medication.  I'm hoping these will do the trick to reduce the 240 beats per minute this poor little dog was dealing with.

As a result of this discovery, I decided to do something I've been meaning to do for a while.

Using some of the left over white clay from the Carnival funnel, Chris assisted me in capturing Gypsy's paw print for an ornament that I will cherish forever.