Barkley became very lethargic 5 days ago and didn't eat or drink for 2 days. Vet kept him for observation and did blood work. Lungs were raspy but blood work was all pretty boring. Chest xray revealed fluid on lungs and around heart. They also revealed atleast one mass in neck/throat area. He was coughing,sneezing,gagging and drooling up until 2 days ago. Vet wanted me to euthanize him on Monday. He had a lasix shot and continued prednisone and antibiotics. He regained appetite and felt a little better for two days. Temp is normal now on antibiotics and prednisone only but breathing has started to get heavy and fast again I'm guessing due to fluid building up again. We're waiting for referral to diagnostics. Are we fighting a losing battle? Are his meds what he should be on while waiting? Prednisone vs anti inflammatory?

My jack russell had problems breathing, very lethargic,sick and not drinking. Vet diagnosed an irregular heart beat and a build up of fluid at the bottom of the heart and lungs. She is 1w years old and on a low dose ofnsteroids in the summer for being allergic to almost everything.

Rizzo was diagnosed with fluid around the heart when we took her in for continual vomiting. She was prescribed anti-nausea medication and we were told that she "could" have cancer. We took it upon ourselves (after looking online for causes) to have another vet run a stool sample.....took over a week to come back normal. I don't know what to do because she was 94 pounds and has lost at least 20 pounds in 3 weeks. She cant keep anything down....even the pills. HELP DOC!!!

My 70lb retriever mix went to ER on Sunday. Pericardial effusion, and idiopathic effusion. No masses found. The sac was drained. All tests came back negative for cancer, however blood was found in the fluid. No abdominal ultrasounds or x-rays were done. He's home now and recovering. Follow up with vet 2 days later: did tri-view chest x-rays, which showed some fluid on the left front of his heart. The ER notes don't mention that they didn't retrieve all the fluid at that time. Vitals are still good, however, he is not energetic & has difficulty getting his back lets to want to work. Meaning getting up from a laying position is difficult. He walks ok, once he's standing. This is new since the ER. There is normal evacuation and voiding, though, just no stamina and increased difficulty in getting up. He was a very "peppy" dog only a few hours before the "attack", so, this is dis-heartening.

Our beloved Maltese went to the new vet for a routine allergy shot of cytopoint. Within 6 hours of getting the shot, he had lots of inflammation and threw up yellow phlegm as well as went diarrhea three or four times in a row. This was followed by intense labored breathing and he paced at night and cried in discomfort. so I brought him back to the new veterinarian and she thought he had an infection. I told her he was bloated so she gave him antibiotics and gas medicine for his stomach. Four days after that he showed no signs of improvement and his breathing was still very labored. So I took him to another veterinarian who immediately took an x-ray and found him to have fluid around the heart which was impinging into his lungs and esophagus. I was referred to a specialist who gave him an ultrasound and an echocardiogram which he said showed a mass within the right ventricle at the AV junction. It measured 17 x 19 mm and was hypo Echoic. There was a large amount of pericardial effusion and tamponade also a mild amount of plural effusion. He told me the prognosis was grave and he might only live 1 to 3 months with intermittent removal of fluid. We Took him to yet another veterinarian for her opinion and were told that she would euthanize it if it was her dog as the pain would worsen and he would surely die. So two weeks from the initial acute pericardial effusion, our dog was euthanized. My question is, shouldnt The specialist who did the ultrasound have given us options regarding having a biopsy or removal? We were told that a pericardiocentesis could be done however the dog would still surely die within 1-3 months. My question is as follows: was the location of the mass in an area that was not operable? Or might the tumor have been biopsied? I can’t sleep at night because I feel like he wasn’t given a fighting chance... We feel terrible

My Boston Terrier just turned seven years old. I woke up one day and she did not want to get up from the floor I gave her water and she was drinking it very slowly I then refilled it 2 more times and then she laid down again and isn’t want to go for her usual walk. I chk her gums and they were white so I took her to the E.R and within 5 minutes the doctors came back to tell me that she has fluid in her heart and they had to drain it and I had to take her to see a cardiologist, or I had to put her down. Because I just lost my job and the cost just to remove the fluid was almost $2,000 after asking the Doctor 3X if she was sure if it was a tumor she said most likely but the fluid was going to keep coming back. I decided to put her down. That was 2 days ago and now I’m wondering if it was the right decision or could I have more test done. How did the doctor know in less then 5 minutes she had fluid in her heart?