Dog Trumps Birds

I dipped out on this...

Grey-headed Lapwing (photo by Jun Osano)
They saw this on a guided trip I was supposed to
help guide but had to forego.

to be with this adorable little boy...

Our Furby boy =)

Furby is our 9-year old mixed breed little boy. He is 50% Schnauzer, 50% Spitz, and 100% pure love. He was diagnosed with petit mal seizures just last February. Petit mal seizures cause involuntary convulsions resulting coordination problems in dogs. He was prescribed with maintenance phenobarbital meds for the rest of his life to prevent or at least minimize the seizures.

Last week though, Furb got pretty excited when my dad came home from a long trip, and afterward slipped into one of his "episodes" which meant he would have mild muscular spasms and would be inactive for a day or two. Usually, he would recover quickly, as if nothing happened. But this time, Furby seemed to be getting worse.

Last Saturday, we rushed him to the emergency room of the UP Veterinary Hospital in Diliman. His attending doctor, Doc Rey, took excellent care of him, rushing to the E.R. minutes after we arrived.

After taking his temperature (which was a bit low) and taking some blood for tests, he was given a heating pad and was hooked up to an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine which showed irregularities in his heartbeat...

Furby being hooked up to the ECG machine.

We transferred him to an examination room where the cardio vet, Doc Carlo, used the two-dimensional echocardiogram (2D Echo) to check Furby's heart and found that parts of his heart were not functioning so well anymore...

A very weak Furby beside all the hospital equipment.

Furby's heart being scanned.

2D Echo image of Furby's heart.
If I heard correctly, one of the heart's valves
wasn't pumping blood efficiently...

They also took Furby's blood pressure using a tiny cuff.

According to the vets, his BP was slightly elevated.

After all the tests were done, he was given an IV drip to give him some sustenance since he hadn't eaten for a day already.

Furby was very weak...

After settling our bill and buying Furby's meds, we drove home hopeful Furby will recover.

That evening, things took a turn for the worst... Furby stopped responding to us. My sister checked on his eyes and she said with tears in her eyes that he wasn't responding anymore and that his heart rate was really low. His neck was pulsating real hard... and we expected the worst. I broke down, broken hearted.

I woke the following morning, and rushed to my parent's room where Furby was staying. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I opened the door. When I opened my eyes, I saw two round eyes staring back at me. Furby was wide awake!!!

I dropped down to the floor next to him and he looked at me with eyes that were alive and alert! I found myself crying again as our Furby blinked up at me from his pillow. I went out to get him some water and gave him some from my fingertips. He licked at them, thirsty. My parents woke up and watched him with big smiles. He finished a dish of water and tried to change his position. We tried giving him some dog food which he gently licked off my fingers.

Today, Furby was able to push himself up to a sitting position and after being helped into a standing position, was able to walk around a bit, usually to his water bowl. He gets tired very easily and sleeps most of the time. BUT he is eating and drinking water consistently and is a very good boy when it comes to drinking his medicines =)

Furby standing up to eat some food! =)

I may have dipped out on a lifer, but our Furby gained a new lease on life and I wouldn't miss it for the world =) The lapwing can wait =)