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My vet took a lot of time examining BraveHeart, and the news wasn't good. First of all, he believes BraveHeart to be a senior dog, older than 10, closer to 12 years old. BraveHeart is emaciated, weighing only 12 pounds. His teeth are very bad and he needs a dental. He has a mass on his chest, possibly a fatty tumor or maybe a pocket of pus from an infection. He's definitely deaf. But worst of all, BraveHeart has Sick Sinus Syndrome. That was a new one on me. It's a condition that is more common in mini Schnauzers, and I'd never heard of it. He explained that it is a heart disease where the sinus node in the heart, which is the body's natural pacemaker, no longer functions correctly. The other parts of the heart try to take over, but they're all firing at different times, so what you end up with is a very disorganized irregular heartbeat. There is no pattern to it, no rhythm. This is a sick heart, one that is not pumping efficiently. The blood test results came in today, not exactly good news either. They showed early signs of kidney failure and anemia. His white blood cell count was double what it should be. His rotten teeth are probably causing the infection, but the vet said he'd be afraid to put him under anesthesia now because of his heart.

Danielle had a very long conversation with my vet today. It's hard to know what to do with a dog like BraveHeart. He's old, he's sick, and he has a heart condition. A pacemaker would help the heart, but could he survive the procedure? What quality of life would he have? Would it be better for BraveHeart to free him from his sick body and help him to cross the Bridge? The CPCRN board is still struggling with these questions, waiting to learn more about what medical procedures BraveHeart needs while keeping an eye on this raging infection coming from somewhere and other body organs that are beginning to fail. It's a difficult decision they're faced with, and they are taking their time to make the best decision for BraveHeart.

Please say a prayer for BraveHeart.

I just got off the phone with the vet's office. They said BraveHeart is eating well. He continues on the antibiotics today for the infection. The vet said if he was somebody's pet, he'd tell them BraveHeart could go home today because he is stable and not in danger at the moment.

The vet has not heard back yet from the cardiologist at the university, so he does not have the answers to your questions yet. We will just wait until we hear, and hopefully by then BraveHeart will be stronger...ooops....you caught me hoping.

I've thought very long and hard about whether I want to visit and perhaps spring BraveHeart for an afternoon for some quality time. I think I need to. I want him to feel loving arms holding him while he sleeps. I want to clean him up and make him look and feel handsome. It won't make it any harder if and when we send him to the Bridge. It might make it easier, to know that he knew love and respect and dignity at the end. I have my vet's permission to check him out tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure my vet will call the CPCRN Board directly when he has information from the university. If I hear or have anything new to report on BraveHeart, I will let y'all know right away.

My vet just called. He heard back from the university. The cardiologist would like us to try a couple things before anyone goes on to consider a pacemaker. First thing is for my vet to do an Atropine Response Test tomorrow. He said this is an inexpensive and easy test. This is where he injects Atropine, waits five minutes, and then does an EKG. If the EKG shows a good response to the Atropine, as in the heart settling down into a nice rhythm, then that's good. It means BraveHeart has a problem, yes, but it's not serious and doesn't actually require any treatment right now. She said you don't need to treat dogs with SSS who have a good response to the Atropine Response Test. They can live well with their heart condition.

If BraveHeart does not have a good result from the Atropine Response Test, then that means his problem is more serious and does require some kind of treatment. Before going with a pacemaker, however, she suggested trying two other cardiac drugs that might work. Only after you have tried and failed with all this would she say to go on to consider a pacemaker.

Also, my vet wanted you to know that BraveHeart has a VERY good appetite, but he will only eat canned food. If you mix dry food and canned together, he will eat every single bit of the canned and leave all the dry. It could be because of his teeth bothering him. But they have been feeding him well, and he is inhaling the canned food in no time. My vet said it's possible the shelter only fed dry and he ate nothing during those two weeks he was there. And while he was on the streets, of course, I'm sure food was scarce.

Bottom line, my vet says he is very encouraged by what the cardiologist said and by how BraveHeart is eating. He said that if his response tomorrow is good on the Atropine Response Test, then he would say this dog is not as sick as he first thought.

Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer!!

I have the best possible news to report on BraveHeart!  Our brave little man had a great response to the Atropine Response Test!  It converted him into a nice and steady sinus rhythm!  My vet showed me the EKG from earlier this week and then the one from today after the Atropine, and it was just amazing the difference!  Even though the cardiologist said that a good response would mean BraveHeart wouldn't need any treatment for his SSS, my vet thinks that he would benefit from a twice daily dose of Theophyline.  He said it would help to give him a more steady heartbeat and perhaps give him a better chance at a good quality of life.  So he's going to start that medication, and he said he'd be able to tell if it's working just by listening to his heart.

Based on this good result, he said we can go ahead and schedule BraveHeart for his dental and remove that mass on his chest, and he will give him a shot of Atropine before he starts.  Hopefully this will help BraveHeart a lot if the infection is coming from his teeth.  He is going to schedule the surgery for either Monday or Tuesday, to give him extra time on the antibiotics and good diet to get him stronger.  He is very encouraged now.  He said that he thinks BraveHeart is a very sweet dog, and he's happy that we were here to give him this second chance.  He's not totally out of the woods yet, but it's not looking completely hopeless anymore!

I went and got BraveHeart from the vet's office this afternoon and gave him a bath.  All wet, you could see every vertebra and every rib.  He is nothing but skin and bones.  I did some brushing on him, and his hair fell out in clumps.  I thought I'd have to struggle to get all his mats out, but they just came out in clumps too.  It was so disturbing to see, but I know it's just because he's been so sick and had a bad diet and all.  I hope he feels better to be clean and not have all that dead hair.

After the bath and grooming, we sat on the couch and watched TV.  Well, I watched TV, and he slept in my lap.  :)  He didn't have any accidents.  He's definitely house trained.  I gave him a snack of some canned dog food which he ate very quickly.  And when I had a snack myself, I gave him a bite, and he took it ever so gently from my fingers.  What a sweetie he is!

Thank you everyone who has been praying for BraveHeart!  I really believe that's made the difference here, because things were looking so very bad before.  And thank you, Danielle, for giving BraveHeart this chance!

I wanted to let everyone know that BraveHeart came through his surgery fine!  I called the vet's office a few minutes ago, and they were just finishing up.  He said BraveHeart is okay and that he'll call me later this afternoon with all the details, such as what they found when they did the dental, how many teeth did he lose, and what did he think about the mass on his chest.  Right now, though, we can all take a deep breath and relax because our BraveHeart is doing well!

Thank you everyone for praying so hard for BraveHeart!

My vet called to give me the good news on BraveHeart's surgery.  The mass that was removed from his chest was a benign lipoma, otherwise known as a fatty tumor.  He removed it with no problems.  The dental went fine.  He said BraveHeart was already missing 10 teeth, and they had to remove 6 more today.  I'm so thankful they were able to get that taken care of, because it really should benefit BraveHeart's overall health.

The not-so-good news is that the EKG from today showed the Theophyline is not helping his heart.  BraveHeart will need to be tried on some other things to see if we can't get his heart working more efficiently.  He's not in danger with the way his heart is functioning right now, but he would probably feel better if we could get a better rhythm going.  We won't give up on that, of course, and will do everything we can to give BraveHeart the best medical care.

So our sweet little BraveHeart has crossed a huge hurdle today and continues to survive.  What Cairn spirit this little guy has!  He'll be moving on to his foster home on Friday.  I will miss him, but I know his foster mom will take wonderful care of him and will nurse him back to health.  I bet we won't even recognize him as that sick, skinny, sad little dog by the time Margaret gets through with him!

Just a brief update on little BraveHeart. He is now in his foster home in Tennessee. He arrived here safely under the watchful eye of Susan Z on Friday afternoon.

He had his surgery to remove the mass last Tuesday and his dental done. His staples will be removed in about another week. He seems to be doing just fine from both. He is beginning to recover from kennel cough, as he is not coughing near as much. However, you can see as well as feel his little backbone and when he coughs it takes all he has to do it. Working on getting some meat on those little bones as he had cottage cheese and also had some white chicken breast yesterday and today. I will be adding cooked squash and other vegetables after he settles in more in a few days.

BraveHeart is so very sweet. He is eating really good three times a day, except for last night he let me know he was still hungry so had to feed him a little extra before bedtime. He also got some crushed up animal cookies in his crate to snack on before bedtime.

This afternoon he was outside and after he finished his business he turned and started back toward the house. He broke into a little slow trot and I actually had to trot to keep up with him. I think he had a smile on his face as he was so proud of himself. His legs are getting stronger and he is beginning to act like he has that old Cairn spirit.

Susan Z. and I had talked about him and we believe that he was just so sick that he had totally given up. Therefore, he just kept going down until Col.Potter rescued him. He is beginning to have hope now and knows that he will be fed and loved and cared for. Because of the love and prayers of all of you, BraveHeart now has a chance to have a good life. Someday, and we hope soon, he will be able to be adopted and live with a loving and understanding family.

In just two and a half days here he has already learned how to use the ramp going up and down from the back porch. BraveHeart is very smart. He followed my hand signal and nudging until he knew what to do. He also knows where the kitchen is :-) . Now isn't that just like a Cairn Terrier.

BraveHeart has been diagnosed as deaf. As I held him yesterday and today and looked right into his eyes and he back at me. I talked to him very softly. His little eyes were so expressive as if he was trying to tell me something and his ears were moving. I sometimes wonder if he can hear certain sounds. We have tried the loud sounds, but this was very soft and he responded. Oh yes, he just loves to be held and cuddled.

Please continue to pray for BraveHeart as he has a way to go yet. Thank you CPCRN for taking him in and I promise to do all possible to get our BraveHeart restored to health.

Just wanted to let you know that BraveHeart is getting better. His Kennel Cough is improving with the help of the antibiotic our vet put him on. He hates for me to squirt this in his mouth. Today he decided he would not fight me and just take it. He is beginning to show that typical little stubborn Cairn streak.

The space I have his crate and his resting pad and his water is blocked off with a crate and gate on one side and the other sides are furniture and a small bed. He can't jump so don't have to worry about him jumping over the crate. Well, today he decided he wanted out, so he pushed the gate over with his nose and had an opening just big enough for him. I caught him just in time or his escape would have been completed.

Also today on one of the times we went outside I took the leash off him and let him have a little freedom. Of course, we have a large fenced yard. He did his business and I went to clean it up and was watching him also. In a split second I saw him and then I did not. I looked up on the porch and he had gone up the ramp by himself for the first time and was sitting on the porch. I think he was smiling and quite proud of himself.

I must say this little fellow is very smart. I can really see that as he continues to feel better and get well, he is gonna be one I am going to have to be assertive with as alpha. He is very head strong.

In another few days he will be switched off the expensive C/d Science Diet Food and completely on Chicken Soup for Pet Lovers. I hope that as his mouth heals and the stitches dissolve that he might be able to start on some dry food also.

He is getting much more steady on his feet. He is walking without swaying now. He can also manage the one step up from the back porch into the kitchen now. When he first arrived here he could get his front legs in but his back ones he just had to drag up. His gums and tongue are now turning pink again. When he first arrived here they were totally white. I guess that was due to the anemia. He is moving must faster now and much more sturdy.

I do not know how much weight, if any, he may have gained since arriving here. I will find out when we go to the vet next Tuesday to get the staples out of his chest.

Thanks for all the prayers and support for our BraveHeart. Please continue, as he is not totally out of the woods.
Margaret, Tennessee

7/7/2004 11:49:06 PM Guess I don't need much introduction as my face and all about me has been on the Faces of Rescue since I was found and saved from death. But I am doing so great I just had to let everyone know it. I am ready to get on with life now since you great people at Col.Potter gave me a new chance at it.

BraveHeart is just like his name. He is a very brave little fellow with an appreciative heart to match. He is a black brindle. He has gained one pound since he came into our foster home and now weighs 13 lbs. He walks extremely well on leash. Even though BraveHeart is hard of hearing, he is very intelligent and learns things quickly.

BraveHeart loves to listen to harp music. Now you may ask, how can he do that if he is deaf? Well, I am not so sure he is totally deaf. When I speak he turns and looks at me. When it thundered the other night he heard it and when the dog next door barks he hears it. When I play the harp CD music he lays down and relaxes. Perhaps he only feels the vibrations, but he responds positively to this soft music.

BraveHeart's personality is beginning to come out. He prefers not to have his mouth messed with and he can dance around a little to let you know when he is hungry. He and I communicate pretty good. He bonds quickly and so his little expressive eyes just let me know what he needs. He responds well to hand signals to go up and down the ramp from the porch to the yard and he understands coming to you. We are working on him learning to sit on command.

Whenever he goes out now, he is very aware of the area. He examines everything. Even at night, he walks around to check out just where he is. Guess he wants to make sure he is still in the same secure place.

BraveHeart loves for me to wrap him in a soft towel and pick him up and just hold him in my arms and talk to him. His eyes are very expressive and seem to want to talk back.

He sleeps all night in his crate after a few animal crackers are tossed in for his night time snack. He is up to date on all shots and vaccination. Now get this, BraveHeart is totally housetrained and he does not mark anywhere. How about that for a great little fellow. We estimate his age to be around 10 years give or take a few. BraveHeart is definitely a spunky little man and will make some home a very loving and snugly companion. Fill in your application now for BraveHeart now, a real sweetheart.

Hello to everyone,

Well here is the big news and trust everyone out there will be as excited as I am.

BraveHeart is doing just really great thanks to all your prayers and support.

BraveHeart has a forever home in Pensacola, Fl and will be moving there in a couple of weeks. He will receive all the love and attention he so greatly deserves. He is a wonderful little fellow with a lot of life yet to live.

Thanks to everyone and especially the Board for making that tough decision on his behalf. Thanks to Susan Z. for going to the shelter and actually taking him out of there and to her vet, then for the weekend breaks she gave him.

It took all of us to bring BraveHeart from death's door to a life yet to live. This group is a wonderful team not only in effort, but also in harmony. It takes these same efforts for all our rescues and each one has their particular task they do as part of the team. You do it really well group.

Thanks to all of you for helping to make it happen for these precious babies.