need help for my 2 1/2 month chihuahua!!

[chiluv87]

about two weeks ago i got my lil chihuahua willy. the same day we got him checked and the vet said he had a heart murmur, a 3 on the scale. he suggested we take him back, but i was already so in love with him i couldnt! the vet set it was unlikely, but it MIGHT fix itself since he is just a puppy. about a week ago he started wheezing and making coughing noises whenever he ate or drank... and sometimes when he played. the last two days though got worse so i took him to a different vet and she told me it was his heart problem contributing to the problem and gave me amoxidrops because she said his murmur makes his immune system weaken so she wanted to put him on this medicine to be sure its not turning into pneumonia. bad news? that she said that murmur could drastically shorten his lifespan and that we would probably have to get surgery for him. (which she estimated would be "thousands of dollars") we took him to the place that we bought him at and they said that they have had many problems with murmurs and that they've always fixed themselves in puppies and that the drops that we give him is something that they also use to help their puppies when they have symptoms like willy.
so i guess a big question of mine is have anyone had this condition like willy in their pets and was it a "miracle" that it did fix itself? or is there someone that has had this surgery and knows approximately the costs and how its done?
i hope willy's going to be ok....

[mynameislola]

Has a cardiac ultrasound been done yet? If not, you will need one before you will know if surgery is even an option. Murmurs can be caused by infection, so keep on the drops.

[suebgone]

unfortunately it sounds like you got him at a pet store which means he came from a puppymill.

I hope that his mummur does go away on its own but don't get your hopes up to much. just give him the best life you can for as long as you have him

[chiluv87]

we haven't gotten the ultrasound done yet. vet told us that we could try waiting one more month to see if the murmur lessens (which would surprise her), and if not, fork over the money for the ultrasound.
the place that we got him from actually buys from the breeders themselves. the guy says that he has received dogs from this couple a few times and my bf has a miniature pinscher that he got there with no problems... so i dunno about the puppymill...

[lindsayanng]

askfor the breeder's name... I BET that he won't give it.. i can't tell you how many times pet stores SAY they get their pets from local breeders, ect but if you ask for a name (which they should always provide for you) and they dont offer it.. Then they are lying..

[That_girl]

we took him to the place that we bought him at and they said that they have had many problems with murmurs and that they've always fixed themselves in puppies and that the drops that we give him is something that they also use to help their puppies when they have symptoms like willy.


I know you already got attached to your Willy, but this should be a RED FLAG! Responsible breeders don't breed animals with known health issues. They also don't sell them as 'perfectly healthy'.

If you ever get another dog, please don't buy from this place. They are not practicing ethical breeding - and I agree, it's most likely a puppy mill.

I hope your Willy makes it through this. If he doesn't I would want that place to give my money back.

[katiem]

I think a huge red flag is the fact that this place is continuing to buy from a "breeder" who has dogs with known heart murmers! Doesn't that just scream "lying, scamming pet store" to anybody else? Obviuosly they don't care about the dogs, just the money!

[suebgone]

reputable, ethical breeders do not sell to pet stores, under any circumstances.

if you got papers look there for the breeders name.

this murmur should have shown up at the vet check the "breeder" did

[katiem]

reputable, ethical breeders do not sell to pet stores, under any circumstances.



Agreed! If they tell you otherwise they are lying.

[chiluv87]

well im writing for the last time. just for an update, willy is fine. i went to a vet that banks at the bank i work for, he checked willy recently and had various vets in the same clinic check and willy has no heart murmur, he is perfectly healthy. maybe i worded it wrong, but the vet told me almost the EXACT SAME thing as the pet store owner. that a lot of puppies, especially really small ones, have what SOUNDS like a murmur, but as they get older can be something as small as their breathing making funny noises. i wont get into further detail with it.
i thought it was interesting that nobody helped me with the issue at hand, but rather bashed the fact that i bought him at a store and so on, so on. i believe that ONE person had something thoughtful/helpful. i had already bought him, i wasnt returning him, and if something was wrong with him, i already would have known to not buy another dog from them.
to those that helped tho, thank you.