Aquila had her vet visit on Monday. Dr. Rember couldnt figure out what was wrong with her leg. She did a full range of motion and even flexed her head and neck to see if she could tell if there was any pain... nothing...X-rays were done, still nothing showed. Rember also did an x-ray on her chest that came back showing an enlarged heart. Seems we have to go through this again.
I had been wondering where the weak gene was coming from for Iris and Ursa to have heart problems themselves. Mercury is still very fit, Griffin looks great and all the other siblings that I keep in touch with in other homes are doing fine. But if Aquila is showing a weak heart this must be where the bad gene came from.
Unfortunatly we had no idea of this problem when she was bred for those two litters (Iris in one and Ursa a year later in the other) and even her daughters didnt express problems until they were 5 and 6. Griffin now is going on eight and still the perfect picture of health. It is my guess that he didnt inherit this trait and that his pups will hopefully be fine since they are out of Salmon, a completely different bloodline.
It is a little unnerving not knowing what is going on with Aquila's leg but since she doesnt appear to be in pain and managing quite well I guess its not a huge issue. Her heart is the main focus now and as soon as I can get back with Dr. Rember to hear about her EKG results we can get her on some medication that will help.
I hate to think of her having to deal with this, or any of us to have to go through this again, but I have to remember that she is going on 10 years of age and so many health issues could start cropping up. I guess its an inevitable thing as these guys get older... part of me doesnt quite believe weve been together that long. Time goes by so fast these days and our relationships are always so short even if some are considered long in dog years... in the end they can never live long enough...
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