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thanos_gw

My Buddy (7 y/o Boxer) has 'Boxer Cardiomyopathy' /ARVC : (

thanos
15 years ago

About one year ago Leon first had a collapsing episode. We had no idea what it was and at first thought he just slipped and fell. We took him to the vet at that time and the vet didn't seem to find anything wrong with him.

Well, it happened again recently. This time it was very scary. He collapsed and went limp. I thought he was gone, but after I carried him inside the house he came to.

I've brought him to the vet and we've just finished our first Holter Monitor test. My vet got the unit from Cornell and sent the results up there for diagnosis.

Well, 24 hours after we removed the Holter, my vet calls me and tells me that the specialists in Cornell are concerned about what they've seen. They hadn't even finished analyzing the whole tape, but they want him on meds now.

I started him on Sotalol last night.

I'm 6 feet tall, 230 pounds and haven't cried for longer than I can remember.. But last night I barely made it out of the vet. When I got home I lost it, thankfully my wife was there to comfort me.

Leon is my best friend in the world. He is all that is good and true about life and he doesn't deserve these problems. I've has dogs before and I have others currently but I've never met a soul (human or otherwise) as innocent and good as Leon.

My vet seemed like she wanted to give me some good news and some hope but the facts she presented were not inspiring.

I've read that this is pretty common in Boxers so maybe someone out there has experienced it. I really need someone to talk to about this.

Is there a good chance Leon can live a long life with help of the meds? Is there anything else I can do to compliment meds? Change in diet, herbal or holistic treatment, exercise (lack thereof)?

I'm terrified that my oldest and truest friend in the world may leave me soon. Can anyone out there give me some hope?

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