while the vet feels that currently betty is critical and this could possibly be life threatening, we decided to bring betty home for the night. while at this moment, the vet does not expect betty to pass away tonight, the possibility exists if she deteriorates and neither one of us wanted her to have a midnight crises or die alone in the clinic with no one there.
the vet no longer feels it is just heart failure, while she does have some fluid in her chest and her heart is somewhat enlarged, it is not enough to explain her symptoms. she has found a large mass in her abdomen, and if it involves the liver, it could be metabolic acidosis which is affecting her breathing...but now we are just guessing. and quite frankly at 15 yrs of age for a very large dog, it could be many things all piling up on betty all at once. they gave her everything they could in the clinic that might help but wouldn't cause more harm. they sent her home with colleen's contact phone number and some more meds just in case. and now we wait for the bloodwork to come back tomorrow to hopefully give us some real kind of clue of what is making betty so unwell.
i made her up a couple of very soft and private beds in my room so she has a choice of where she wants to rest undisturbed. i have the fan going so she feels like she can breathe more easily and i held a bowl while she had a good long drink.
fingers crossed that betty feels safe and comfortable and unafraid until we can figure this out. she really likes my room, it is her favorite place.
I hope all goes well tonight and Betty rests comfortably until you can find some answers and hopefully offer her some type of relief. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for a good night!