Rapid decline and death of my CHF&CKD dog

[Keekudu]

My Toy Pomeranian has been on heart medication for an enlarged heart and related coughing/fluid build up since the age of 4. He was diagnosed with Kidney failure 2017 March with a BUN of 54 and Creatinine of 2.7. He was put on renal diet for life and Rubenol for 2 months after which his values normalised to 1.3 and 17. Vet asked to continue with renal diet (Hills and Royal canine) and stop Rubenol. There was not much talk of fluid therapy as well likely because he had the heart and fluid build up issue. He was seemingly doing fine till the evening of 2nd Nov 2017 when he started vomiting and refusing food, though he was drinking lots of water. We took him to the vet on the 3rd Nov who administered IV as he looked dehydrated. His Kidney values were rechecked on 4th Nov and found to be 8.9 creatinine and and 124 BUN. The vet laid out a grim prognosis and asked that more IVs be administered to see if he responds. However, his condition declined very rapidly the night of the 4th and had 2-3 seizures before he breathed his last on the morning of the 5th. He was 12 years old and always a fighter. He had fought his heart ailment for 8 long years but went without warning due the Kidney issue. I had got his blood work done only May'17 and was guilty of not having repeated it a little earlier. Also feel the Vet should have let me continue the Rubenol, as that seemed to control the values till such time it was given. Feel could have done more to allow him a few more months or years with me, but had him off radar and he slipped under it. From a playful, eating dog to a dead dog in 3 days, the transformation was very quick. Wondering if any one else has seen such a rapid decline in their Dogs with CKD.I was focussing on his heart condition too much and may not have paid attention to the Kidney issue as much as I should have. The Vets advised the Kidney diet alone should help manage and I lost track of time since his last bloodwork 5 long month ago. Perhaps testing him sooner might have helped take steps in time to prolong his life. Feel devastated. He was the light of my life and had been by my side through my life's journey. How I wish I hadn't taken his condition lightly. The Vets got me into a false sense of security - that Kidney diet alone would help sustain. Never warned me to keep his blood values monitored more often than once in six months. He gave no noticeable signs of any distress either, seemed quite fine till 3 days before he died.

[Keekudu]

Just to add to my post, he was 12 years old when he died. The CKD was diagnosed January of 2017 and his enlarged heart condition in 2010.

[tonyb286]

Hi. Firstly, let me say I am very sorry for your loss. I can certainly identify with your story, as I lost my first dog just 3 days after being diagnosed. Some dogs simply do not show any symptoms until far too late, and by then it's like they have jumped off a cliff edge. The deterioration can be alarming and intense - and incredibly fast.

There is really nothing to be gained by second-guessing yourself or your actions in the lead-up to your dog's demise. We all do this. But it really isn't going to help you or your dog, so it becomes a pointless thing to do. All the "what ifs" in the world won't make any difference to where you are now.

It happened. And it would always have happened at some stage, sooner or later because this dreadful disease cannot be rectified. It CAN be slowed down, but not stopped.

The enlarged heart would certainly have complicated the kidney disease management, because a key feature of controlling creatinine is fluid therapy - but in dogs with enlarged hearts, that can itself cause a worsening of the heart condition. So, it tends to be a cautious approach of tentative SubQ fluids rather than IV fluids, but this is not always successful. So, even if you had known the blood numbers, it may not have prevented things deteriorating.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss. I hope you can reach a point where you are able to remember the happy times. The many years of love, care and adventures you provided to your dog. He was lucky to have you as his owner and, if he could, I am sure he would say simply, thank you.

Take care

Tony