I haven't been blogging because I was scared Bao was going to die.
His heart murmur got worse, much worse. He has a faulty mitral valve (a common condition in small dogs) and the first prognosis was grim: "When he starts coughing, that means he's in congestive heart failure. Here are some pills. But there's not really much we can do. Just watch him, and bring him in when he starts coughing."
So you can see why I didn't feel like blogging!
Then, more bad news. Bao's developed a hernia (probably as a result of the surgery he had last year) and it's become difficult for him to poop. He squats and pushes, but nothing comes out. Awful. The hernia could be easily repaired surgically, but because of the heart condition, anesthetic now poses real risks.
Okay, that's it for the bad news.
Now for the good news.
We've found a wonderful veternarian in Scottsdale -- Dr Mike Soltero. He's trying to manage the hernia/constipation problem pharmeceutically and (fingers crossed!) it seems to be working.
More good news -- there's a specialist canine coronary unit at Colorado State University, and they've developed a technique to repair faulty mitral valves in small dogs. We went up there last month.
The best news of all is that the heart problem hasn't affected Bao's day to day life one bit. He's his happy little self. Watching him prance along Scottsdale Road, you wouldn't think anything was wrong with him.
So, we're back ... this has all been very difficult, but I guess as we get older, we have to anticipate these kinds of problems. People, and dogs too. I've learned a lot in the past few months, and I'm thinking that if Bao and I share the rest of our journey together, our experiences might hopefully be helpful to someone else.
I've missed you.