Our big boy Louie is going through a rough time. About a month ago he suddenly began having incontinence issues, we took him right to the vet who told us that he was in early stages of renal failure. We switched his diet and bought him some comically large diapers (we call them his pants as to not hurt his pride). A week later he suddenly developed a very bad cough, back to the vet we went and were told it was bronchitis. He was prescribed Amoxicillin and Prednisone and seemed better right away. Christmas Eve the cough came back and he went back to the vet. They did a chest X-Ray this time and said his heart was enlarged and he has multiple tumors or fluid in and around his lungs. He was switched to Dexamethasone and Lasix. Louie got progressively worse over the next few days to the point that he could not lay down at all and was falling over sitting up due to exhaustion. His abdomen was distended and he was just so uncomfortable, distressed and sad.
(Louie enjoying a “swim” in his pool)
We took him to the emergency vet yesterday evening and they sedated him and did more imaging. We were very hopeful when we learned that he did NOT have tumors in his lungs but instead had a build up of fluid. They diagnosed it as heart failure (which would be made much worse by the high dose steroids he’s been on for the last 3 weeks) and atypical pneumonia. They also told us, to our surprise, that his kidney function looks great and they see no signs of renal failure as the first vet had diagnosed. They suggested that he be kept there overnight so that he could be given IV heart failure medications and have access to the oxygen chamber in hopes that the changes would make a big difference in his ability to breathe.
(Babysitting for his little people)
This morning we spoke to the vet who unfortunately did not have good news. With the medication changes they expected a noticeable improvement in him but he is unfortunately still uncomfortable and having a hard time. At this point they have recommended a sonogram of his heart/lungs and an echocardiogram, as well as to see their Internist who can hopefully better determine what is going on. Both vets that we have spoken with have expressed that they do NOT think it is the end of the road for Louie and are not yet at the point of recommending euthanasia. We love Louie so much but would never ever want him to suffer for our benefit of having him around longer and we wholeheartedly trust the Vet to give us their advice on this.
(Working on his ABC’s)
We have spend thousands of dollars in the last month to try and help our big boy, last night alone with his overnight stay, imaging, testing of fluid from his abdomen, IV medications and oxygen chamber was over $2,000. The estimate for the further testing today is $4,000-$5,000 and that is before the additional cost of medications as well as the cost of his prolonged stay at the hospital today.
(Proudly doing a tangle)
We are asking for help in figuring out what is going on with our boy so that we canget him the best possible care in order for him to be comfortable. He is the goodest big boy and he really and truly deserves it! 
(Mlerm)