Rewind a few weeks, to the first bout of CHF in our dog, Laika. In the middle of the night, my mother suddenly awoke to the harsh, raspy breathing noise of our 11 year old maltipoo, Laika. She had previously been diagnosed with some genetics based cough and our primary veterinarian assured us that it was just a normal bit of coughing, nothing to be concerned about. However, this time, it was much much different from a couple of hacks and coughs. Despite being at rest, Laika could not slow her breathing down, this, we would later discover, was due to the fluid building up in her lungs. Her lack of energy and cold stare into the distance terrified my family and I. We could almost hear her heart pounding despite having just been sleeping, this, we would later discover, was due to her genetic Congestive Heart Failure. 


Unable to put food, medicine and sometimes even water down, my family and I immediately brought her to the vet as soon as possible. In the blink of an eye, the symptoms and issues began to pile on, as the situation escalated out of the ability of not one but two veterinary services we rushed her to the animal hospital. It was there that the cardiologist explained the grim situation to my family and I. Within minutes, my family was briefed on multiple expensive procedures and a long list of medications and dosages we'd be required to administer, this, we thought, was no problem, so long as our dog was safe and healthy. Fast forward a few nervous hours and our dog had been returned to us looking much better, for the first time in months she bounced around with all the energy in the world - showing little to no signs of her previous symptoms. With proper medicine administration and good care, things returned back to normal for a few weeks. However, that would soon come to an end starting last night.


Despite maintaining a good schedule for her medicine, last night she abruptly woke up from her rest in the middle of the night, that same straight, distanced stare came back. After comforting her and attempting to decide on what to do next, my family decided to take her to the hospital the next morning since her symptoms started to ease up. This morning, her unwillingness to eat, drink, walk or even move had returned alongside her other respiratory and cardiac problems. We immediately took her to the hospital where they again suspected CHF (CHF is a disease that has a high chance to happen frequently after the first instance). Despite being slightly more prepared than last time, our family was once again slammed with a brutal multi-thousand dollar bill in addition to the previous one. 


My family loves Laika very much, despite being a rather recent addition to the family, she is just as important to us as one another. The circumstances we've been given are very difficult, but we will continue to fight for our dog's life. We will fight for her to the end. Please keep her in your prayers so she can make a recovery from this bout.


Many of you out there have suggested I make a GoFundMe, so I've done so to help cover her medical bills. Any bit helps, even the sentiment of reading this message and your thoughts will help aid in our faith and mental state when dealing with this situation. My family, Laika and I are forever grateful to those who have supported us in any way possible.