February 2004: Hi. My name is Shorty. My owner passed away and her daughter took me to her house. They were renters and could not keep me. Westie Rescue was called to see what help could be given me. Rescue required that I have my rabies shot up-to-date and then they would accept me. I was teken to the vet for my shot and the vet told the people I had a irregular heartbeat. They didn't seem to care. When I was surrendered to Rescue, I was taken to their vet. He was very concerned about my heart and my wheezing. He took x-rays, and EKG, and other tests. His concern was such that he called in a heart specialist. The tests proved that my heart was large, but no problems. My lungs were tested next and it was determined I have bronchitis. With medication and a lot of TLC, I'm much better. My wheezing is almost nill. Now I'm looking for a nice family to adopt me.

Update, May 2004: This is the continuing story of Shorty, who we adopted on February 24th 2004. Since the date marked our 3rd wedding anniversary, we assumed the call from Westie Rescue was a sure sign that this would be the day we would welcome a dog into our home for the first time. We were told that 5-year-old Shorty was recovering from a bad case of bronchitis. He had just a couple days left on his medication and after a couple more days of recovery, he should be in good health.

Unfortunately, more than a couple of weeks went by and Shorty did not get any better. He still had the same cough, wheezing and difficulty breathing as he did the day we picked him up. We took him to a vet near our house, which proved not to be helpful. We then returned to the Westie Rescue vet who also was concerned about Shortys lack of progress and referred us to a respirtory specialist. The specialist took x-rays, which showed that Shortys heart was enlarged, meaning that his bronchitis was chronic and had gone untreated for some time and possibly much older that 5 years. The specialist also did some blood work that showed Shorty wasnt getting enough oxygen into his blood because his airways were constricted. His liver was also enlarged due to the cortisone medication that he had been on to help his breathing, which gave him the appearance of being overweight. All that being said, the specialist hoped for the best, and that if a higher dose of cortisone medication would prove to stop his coughing, then perhaps Shorty would be able to get on a bronchial inhaler that would be administered daily for the remainder of his life. The cortisone appears to be doing the trick so we are scheduling an appointment to get Shorty fitted for the inhaler. Were hoping that off the medication he will begin to show more of his personality and live a happy and healthy life with us.

Update, May 24, 2004: Shorty returned to the respiratory specialist a couple of weeks ago to be fitted for his inhaler. The inhaler fits into a plastic chamber that fits into a facemask for Shorty, and is to be administered twice a day. So far, Shorty has been using the inhaler without any difficulty. He has been very easy-going during the entire transition process into a new home, new doctors and new medications. We are still in the process of weaning Shorty off of all oral medication, which should take a couple more weeks. His condition appears to be stabilized, which is at best what the specialist hoped to accomplish. He still coughs, wheezes and has difficulty breathing and unfortunately, these symptoms are something that Shorty will have to live with since his condition went untreated for so long. We try to take into consideration his disabilities and monitor his activity. Being that he is an older dog this isnt too much of a problem. We will be returning to the specialist once again to confirm that he is getting the appropriate amount of his inhaled medication everyday and then hopefully he will only have to return for his yearly visit after that. Unfortunately Shorty will never regain 100% of his breathing ability, but with the help of WestieMed we have been able to give him the care and the attention that he has needed for some time.

Update, August, 2004: Although Shortys respiratory condition appeared to be stabilizing, a new ailment developed that caused us concern. Shorty developed serious congestion that lingered for a couple of months while we battle to discover the cause and cure of his constant sneezing and stuffiness. For a dog that cant breathe very well, not being able to breathe out of his nose was quite a problem. We took him back to the vet to confirm it wasnt part of his chronic Bronchitis, since everything we tried to treat him for allergies did not work. The vet did a series of x-rays again to confirm that the source of his congestion wasnt in his chest and noticed that Shortys heart was getting larger. He put shorty on three different antibiotics for his congestion and at the end of the month, he was much better. We also scheduled Shorty for a second ultra-sound to determine why his heart had continued to grow larger. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that despite his symptoms, the ultra-sound did not show signs of heart or lung disease - which would be fatal. It did however show that the blood flow in and out of Shortys heart is not working correctly - due to complications from his chronic Bronchitis. Fortunately It did confirm that the current inhaled treatment that Shorty had been prescribed is the right one. Hopefully over time his heart wont have to work so hard but for now, Shorty just takes it easy as we continue to monitor his progress.

Stacy

Update, March 2005: Shorty is doing great! He went on his one-year check up in February 2005 and had an oxegenation test - showing major improvement from 75% to 100%. He also had a liver test - showing signs of prolonged steroid use (he had been on Prednisone since February 2004) so we have dramatically decreased his dosage and hope by the end of this year he may be off of it completely. In it's place, Shorty has been taking Tavst - which should be completely safe for him to use, as well as his inhaler twice a day. His X-Rays still showed an enlarged heart but the vet said that is most likely not going to change. He is showing signs of increased energy, curiosity and enthusissiam and is acting more like a real dog every day. We have been taking him to the dog park to socialize and is having a blast now that he is able to be more active without coughing as much. We hope that he continues to improve and are greatly enjoying his company. Thanks again to Westie Med for help in diagnosing his condition so that we could properly treat it.

Thanks Again!
Stacy

Update, July 2005: Shorty is doing very well. Everyone in the neighborhood has commented that he is "a completely different dog." His breathing has greatly improved. We are now able to take him for walks and to the park, where he is now very much interested in joining in and playing with the other dogs. After much trial and error we have found the right combination of medications that have improved his condition without the side effects that were disruptive to his mood and personality. He is on Flovent and takes two puffs a day (morning and night) as well as Tavst twice a day. We still have him on the Prednisone at a very small dose every other day. We are hoping to completely eliminate this at his next vet visit in the fall. He has lost some weight as well so now he can scratch his ears with his back paws. Everyone who meets Shorty has commented as to what a beautiful and happy dog he is. His transformation is truly amazing and we greatly appreciate the help of Westie Med for making it happen.

Thanks again,
Stacy Kenny

Update, May 2006: Wanted to send you an email to let you know that Shorty passed away on Saturday, May 13th at 6:30 p.m. As you know, Shorty was suffering from chronic bronchitis and pulmonary fibrosis. On Tuesday of last week he began to have trouble breathing and was in great distress. We took him to the ER where they immediately put him into an oxygen tank to help with his breathing and stabilize his condition. His lungs were filling up with fluid. He was then transferred in oxygen to a cardiac specialist who determined that he also was battling with pulmonary hypertension. They put him on some new medications and we waited 48 hours to determine their effectiveness. Unfortunately we were not able to get him out of the oxygen and the doctors determined on Saturday that there would be no way for us to take him home. Shorty was very sick when we adopted him through Westie Rescue on February 24th, 2004. With much determination and help from WestieMed, we were able to improve his quality of life for 2 years. During this time he became an important part of our family. He was such a pleasure to be with. He will be greatly missed. Attached is an updated picture.