The ER visit

It was a week ago Sunday we were taking Brut on a 3.5 hour drive to an Animal ER clinic and not knowing if we were coming back with him.  It was a horrifying day.  His blood pressure had dropped significanlly and that was all we could figure out at the time.  When we finally arrived at the clinic, they took Brut inside to stablize him and that's when we discovered he was bleeding in his abdomen and more than likely had a large mass on his spleen.

Thank you for your prayers and a Brut update.

Since we last left you:  Brut's eye cleared up and the color was back, but there was fear of blood still in the back of the eye.

We took Brut to the doggie eye specialist last Friday and came home with the diagnosis of high blood pressure/hypertension.  We were both quite shocked at the results of the eye test the doctor did.  By the way Brut did fantastic with this doctor.  Although after the about the fifth test, Brut had had enough and gave a warning growl and bark. lol  Which was fine the doctor had gotten the info he needed.  I was truly impressed with this specialist and would recommend him.  He was very professional and caring with Brut.  We didn't even need to sedate Brut like we thought we might have to do.  

So the appt. went well and the doc sent us home with some medicine for the high blood pressure and told us to continue the eye drops. Today we are taking Brut to our regular vet to get blood work done, urinalysis, and get his blood pressure checked to find the cause.  The doctor thinks Brut may be having kidney problems, which is a common cause of hypertension in dogs.

So what we were seeing in Brut's eye was hemorrhaging caused by the high blood pressure and isn't an eye issue at all.

The diagnosis would explain a lot of Brut's behaviors when he gets so worked up and very touchy.  He's probably had it for a while.  I don't think it explains his aggression, but it would explain the extreme of it and what I could never put my finger on.  Thank goodness he's calmed down so much over the years and his aggression isn't as much of an issue.

We've been in shock for the last couple of days digesting the news and what it means for our boy.  But all in all, I think we caught it early enough to get him the help that he needs.

We will know more in the next few days and will let you know the progress.
Thank you again for your prayers and well wishes.  We needed them.

Update: Brut's eye, our next step

We will be taking Brut to an eye specialist next week.  We were in luck as this doctor only makes a trip up our way once a month and we were able to get an appointment.  It will save a trip downstate which would have been a 4 hour drive and this way we will only have an hour drive (one way) to see the doc, making it convienent for everyone.  Brut doesn't like riding in the car very much, but does eventually settle down some as we drive on.   So it will be just long enough to calm him down so he won't be so hyper seeing this eye doctor.  The whole experience will be nerve racking enough.

Our vet had a look at Brut's eye this past Wednesday and did all she could do with an anxious Brut in a muzzle.  The last thing she could do was measure his eye pressure, but with the difficulty of just trying to keep Brut still so she could look in his eye with a light was about the limited of it.  And I appreciated her honesty.  Brut is not the easiest patient.  She said the eye specialist will know how to sedate him and get a good eye reading.

This specialist is someone our vet knows well and trust, and we trust her judgement.  I also received another confirmation from a friend who knows another vet, who also gave her stamp of approval.  Thanks Friend! ☺

So it sounds like Brut is in the best hands possible.  Now we just have to wait out this week, continue with the eye drops and hope we will find out what the problem is with Brut's eye and a solution to go with it.

Thank you so much everybody for your prayers, well wishes and good thoughts.  We can not thank you enough for being part of our doggie family.  Please keep them coming!

We will keep you up to date.

Thank you again.