Question:
I have a 3 year old Chihuahua, that has been lethargic all week. We visited the vet Thurs night, and again yesterday.

X-rays do not show inflated left lung. The vet's first thought was diaphramatic hernia, but has mostly ruled that out after a further barium xray.

The next two possibilities she has are Lung Lobe Torsion (LLT) or possibly a growth of some kind.

An LLT is when a lobe of the lung spontaneously twists, and results in that lung losing function. The fix is surgery to remove that lobe.

This surgery (Thoracic) is so severe that they wanted to send him home for a couple of days to re-evaluate before they do something so drastic. They are still not very sure that this is even the problem.

Gus (the Chihuahua's) symptoms are: lethargic, drinking well, eating (but less), no problem peeing or pooping, no fever. When you pick him up, he moans.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm kind of looking for someone that may have experience with something like this.

Dan

Answer:
Gus been stable today, other than a cough this morning when he got up. Tonight he was coughing again. This morning the vet called in an antibiotice prescription for me, and I started him on that.

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Poor little guy. I'm sorry I've had no experience with that, but sending you and Gus lots of good wishes in a speedy recovery.

Cindy

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to you and Gus. I'm not sure I understand why Gus has been prescribred antibiotics. Has the diagnosis changed or is he being prescribed antibiotics in anticpation of surgery ?

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My wife and I have been a mess. The hardest part is the vet and the surgeon don't know for sure what is wrong. The Lung Lobe Torsion is what they think it might be. This LLT is so rare, they are not sure.

The reason for the antibiotics is, in any of the bloodwork or xrays, he has not shown any signs of pneumonia or other infection. Yesterday he developed a cough, and it seemed to be a productive cough, so the vet prescribed the antibiotics as a precaution.

On the chest xray you can only see his right lung. The vet didn't think he had pneumonia because it appeared to be only one lung affected, and bloodwork is all normal.

The reason that I posted on here is, this LLT thing is so rare, I wanted to reach out to find anyone that might have had a remotely similar experience.

My vet has been great. She keeps calling for updates, she has the surgeon on call this weekend, and I can tell Gus is almost all she is thinking about. His condition has her stumped as well. Short of travelling to a vet college, I can't see any other vet in my area being able to help more than she has.

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Gus was in tough shape this morning.
We rushed him to emergency, but the little guy didn't make it.

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Here is a picture of our little Gus. Give your little buddies a hug from me today.

God bless,
Dan

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I'm so sorry Gus didn't make it. Sounds pretty catastrophic and not much time to act. What a sweet face, how could your heart not break.
Thinking about you today, take care. RIP Gussy.

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I thought I should give an update from my original post, and what the original diagnosis was.

My vet called back after talking to the ER vet.

She believes that the abnormality in his chest was a tumor, not LLT. She thinks it began to bleed this morning. She feels that he would not have suffered.

This site was very helpful for me this weekend, and I'm sure I'll be a frequent visitor in the coming days.

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I am so sorry to hear about Gus. My deepest condolences to you and your wife.

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Yesterday was very hard.

We got out of the house last night, and when we returned we just sat on our front step. We heard a scratching on the door, which Gus always did when we returned. We both immediately thought it was him. It was our cat Sidney, who had never done this while we had Gus. Even though they definitely weren't buddies, she is missing him too.

This morning I woke up at 6:30, almost looking for my little buddy to take him outside. We continue to share happy stories, which ultimately lead to tears.

The breeder that brought Gus to us, sent us a very kind note. She also offered to give us a Grandson of Gus. (We got Gus who was retiring as a stud 4 months ago).

We don't know what to do. Firstly, we want this little guy, and can't find a reason not to get another friend so quickly. Secondly, these have been two of the toughest days of our life. Is it possible that this tumor he had is hereditary? If anyone has any thoughts, we would be appreciative. I should also say, Gus was a Merle, and so is his Grandson. When we got Gus she explained responsible breeding of Merles and the risks with eyesight conditions. Are there other risks with Merles?

Answer:
Surely the breeder would know if any of her 'line', particularly in Gus' generation, had developed similar tumours. If none have, wouldn't the odds be good that the new guy was OK and Gus' case was just a tragic anomaly?

If you are satisfied the newby is healthy - I guess it would be rude to ask that he be checked by your vet, but that would be ideal - why not? Isn't this where the expression 'hair of the dog' came from ?

PS But personally I'd wait a few weeks, just to let your grief settle and clear a space in your mind for the newby.

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