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Congestive Heart Failure - Could I buy more time with my dog?

My 12 year old, 21lb mixed breed dog was euthanized on 11/16/13. She was diagnosed with CHF about 18 months ago, but showed no symptoms until April of this year when she began coughing. Putting her on Enalapril and Lasix had significantly reduced her coughing and she was doing fine for w while. She seemed to be getting tired more easily, but other than that she seemed happy. Then one day in July, she got excited and fainted. I rushed her to the vet, who had increased the dosages of meds she was already taking, adding Vetmedin to the mix. Then in October she fainted twice more, but was doing quite well otherwise. Over sudden, on Nov 8th she started getting bloated. I took her to the vet on Nov 11th, as the bloating was significant by then. He gave her Furosemide, Midazolam, Morphine and Acepromazine shots, put her in an oxygen cage for about 8 hours, and increased (yet again) dosages of meds. Her murmur level was 6 of 6 by then. The following day (Nov 12th) she seemed a little better, but by Nov 13th she was bloated again. I took her to the vet again, who drained the fluids from her belly and said that she should be ok for 3-5 days. Unfortunately, she started getting bloated the very next day and began breathing really hard. She completely stopped eating and I noticed that she lost a lot of weight. She seemed very uncomfortable without being able to breathe well, so much so, that on Nov 16th I took her to the emergency vet somewhere else (our regular vet is not open on weekends). After examining her, the vet recommended a 24hr oxygen therapy. She also recommended a cardiologist visit and a more aggressive treatment. Knowing that the prior 8 hr oxygen therapy and med dosage increase was ineffective and that I my dog went through 3 emergency vet visits in in one week, I have made a decision to end my her life by euthanasia.

I would like to know what would be the prognosis in (the best case scenario) if I decided to proceed with the 24 hr oxygen therapy and the change of meds for my dog instead of euthanizing her? Is there anything that could've been done to prolong her life (good quality life that is)?
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for your comforting words, they mean a lot. My vet said that even with further treatment she only had weeks to live, not even months. Had they been good few weeks, I would've gone for it to be with my baby a little longer. Unfortunately, those weeks would've been most likely filled with pain and frequent and stressful vet visits. I just didn't want my girl to go through this, knowing that her death was inevitable. :(



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612551 tn?1450022175
The only thing I can say for sure is you went to great extremes to prolong your dogs life, she was fortunate to have such a loving owner(s).  I think the decision to end it may have also been something she would thank you for if she could.  Suffering, to prolong life for only a short time (what a few months?) is something I have seen my fellow human beings forgo, they have chosen to wait it out with pain management/hospice rather than undergo extreme measures to extend life.

Let yourself heal, and remember the fun you and your pet had during the good years.
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