Windy needs YOUR help!
Donation protected
I'm Vicki and this is Windy. I love this pic of her because of the hearts reflecting off her coat around her eyes. Cute, isn't she? She helps me manage Doberman Video Central on Facebook.
This was her last December. Could she look any more innocent? lol
But very late Sunday night, she began breathing heavily. I watch her and my cats closely. There were no warning symptoms. No undue restlessness or pacing, no coughing, etc, she has not been showing any exercise intolerance, no coughing, panting. Just...nothing.
In the morning she was still breathing heavily and, more alarming, had walked past bowls of cat food, not once, but 4 times! without showing any interest, (this from a dog who's head had snaked over and grabbed a piece of pumpkin pie as she walked by without a break in stride just two nights ago) though she did go outside and poop and pee and drank some water when she came in.
I took her straight to the vet who checked her out and took some x rays as she did not hear air moving on one side of the chest. When you look at these you should be able to see large black areas where the air is in the lungs. They should pretty much fill her chest. As you can see, that's not the case. Her blood-work came back looking good, no concern about liver or kidney failure or infection.
The two possibilities are either congestive heart failure allowing a build up of fluid in the lungs (the vet does not hear any murmur) or tumor and said the best place for her would be downstate at Michigan State University.
At State, they did a number of tests, determining that her heart is just fine. There is no sign of any heart disease. For a 9+ year old Doberman this is big news :) But, and there's no pretty way to say this, they were also able to determine that she has a tumor growing next to the heart and that the cloudiness in the xrays is fluid.
Without a very advanced type of scan and surgery to sample the tumor there no real way to put a name to it, but they are sure that it is a cancer of some sort because of cell changes found when they analyzed the fluid drawn off of her lungs last night.
They do not believe that surgery is a real option, so she is home. Windy is on Prednisone for now and has a med to prevent nausea and increase appetite if needed. Actually, she's back to eating like normal which means anything she can get! And she is lying beside me with her kitten as I type this.
I have been talking to her vet, Dr Wendy (yes, Windy and Wendy, how fun is that lol) about her diet and supplements to both keep her as happy and comfortable as possible and possibly even improve her condition. While she may need additional procedures, the most important things are going to be her diet, supplements and medications.
Besides being a dearly loved pet, more than a partner in crime on Facebook, Windy is a connection to my late husband. Joe had had Dobermans since falling in love with them in the South Pacific during WWll. Then, eight years ago he was in the hospital, dying. He wanted to be home with 'his girls', Windy and her mother, Diana. He was on his way home to them when he passed, but he knew he was on his way to them. Diana is gone now, leaving just Windy.
She loves life and is a fighter and I intend to take my cues from her, but I find myself holding my breath as I watch her breath and my heart aches. I don't even know what to compare it to. What I do know is that no matter what happens I will have vet and food bills I will have trouble paying off.
I can not tell you how much it would mean to me if you can help me with this. You can, of course, donate here; my paypal address is [email redacted] or you can call my vet's office, Companion Animal Veterinary Service at [phone redacted] and let them know you're calling about Windy Roudonis. Prayers are ALWAYS welcome!
This is us wearing our #BugStrong tee-shirts supporting our friend Bug who was hurt and had to learn to walk again and her mommy
This was her last December. Could she look any more innocent? lol
But very late Sunday night, she began breathing heavily. I watch her and my cats closely. There were no warning symptoms. No undue restlessness or pacing, no coughing, etc, she has not been showing any exercise intolerance, no coughing, panting. Just...nothing.
In the morning she was still breathing heavily and, more alarming, had walked past bowls of cat food, not once, but 4 times! without showing any interest, (this from a dog who's head had snaked over and grabbed a piece of pumpkin pie as she walked by without a break in stride just two nights ago) though she did go outside and poop and pee and drank some water when she came in.
I took her straight to the vet who checked her out and took some x rays as she did not hear air moving on one side of the chest. When you look at these you should be able to see large black areas where the air is in the lungs. They should pretty much fill her chest. As you can see, that's not the case. Her blood-work came back looking good, no concern about liver or kidney failure or infection.
The two possibilities are either congestive heart failure allowing a build up of fluid in the lungs (the vet does not hear any murmur) or tumor and said the best place for her would be downstate at Michigan State University.
At State, they did a number of tests, determining that her heart is just fine. There is no sign of any heart disease. For a 9+ year old Doberman this is big news :) But, and there's no pretty way to say this, they were also able to determine that she has a tumor growing next to the heart and that the cloudiness in the xrays is fluid.
Without a very advanced type of scan and surgery to sample the tumor there no real way to put a name to it, but they are sure that it is a cancer of some sort because of cell changes found when they analyzed the fluid drawn off of her lungs last night.
They do not believe that surgery is a real option, so she is home. Windy is on Prednisone for now and has a med to prevent nausea and increase appetite if needed. Actually, she's back to eating like normal which means anything she can get! And she is lying beside me with her kitten as I type this.
I have been talking to her vet, Dr Wendy (yes, Windy and Wendy, how fun is that lol) about her diet and supplements to both keep her as happy and comfortable as possible and possibly even improve her condition. While she may need additional procedures, the most important things are going to be her diet, supplements and medications.
Besides being a dearly loved pet, more than a partner in crime on Facebook, Windy is a connection to my late husband. Joe had had Dobermans since falling in love with them in the South Pacific during WWll. Then, eight years ago he was in the hospital, dying. He wanted to be home with 'his girls', Windy and her mother, Diana. He was on his way home to them when he passed, but he knew he was on his way to them. Diana is gone now, leaving just Windy.
She loves life and is a fighter and I intend to take my cues from her, but I find myself holding my breath as I watch her breath and my heart aches. I don't even know what to compare it to. What I do know is that no matter what happens I will have vet and food bills I will have trouble paying off.
I can not tell you how much it would mean to me if you can help me with this. You can, of course, donate here; my paypal address is [email redacted] or you can call my vet's office, Companion Animal Veterinary Service at [phone redacted] and let them know you're calling about Windy Roudonis. Prayers are ALWAYS welcome!
This is us wearing our #BugStrong tee-shirts supporting our friend Bug who was hurt and had to learn to walk again and her mommy
Organizer
Vicki Mueller Roudonis
Organizer
Hart, MI
