Taz is adopted
Taz / Male / Chihuahua Mix / 10 lbs / 8-10 yrs old
Shortly after Taz arrived into foster care his foster Mom noticed that at times he walked with an unusual gate and held one of his back legs up. As well, the little guy was coughing quite a bit. Off to one of our fabulous veterinarians where Taz had an extensive check up including X-rays to determine what was going on with this sweet little man. Taz’s diagnostics revealed that he is dealing with a number of issues – all of which he has now begun treatment for.
Taz has a collapsing trachea which is a very common problem in dogs of his breed. This is the primary cause of his coughing and Taz will be on both a low dose of prednisolone and a cough suppressant to help this. Any dog with this condition should always be walked with a harness as a collar causes further aggravation of the trachea.
Taz was found to have a grade 3 heart murmur which our vet believes is caused by a leaky mitral valve. At this time there are no signs that Taz has congestive heart failure and while there is a chance that he may develop this condition it is possible that with medication, good nutrition, a proper diet, and maintaining a healthy weight that Taz may never develop CHF. Taz has started on a medication called Fortekor which will help with the function of his heart. His heart is enlarged from this and will need to be monitored.
The primary reason Taz went to the vet was due to what appeared to be an issue with one of his legs. X-rays revealed that Taz has a completely fused vertebrae. The good news is that this is not causing any neurological deficits nor is it expected to in the future. Unfortunately this is not something that can be surgically corrected and as Taz does not appear to be in pain or discomfort from it the vet feels that we should take a very conservative approach. It is felt that the prednisolone that Taz is taking for his trachea will also help his spine.
Due to the fairly complicated health issues that Taz has, we have decided he will stay in palliative care with his foster family. Day to day, he’s happy and enjoys life but he does need to be on a careful balance of medications and monitored carefully. When he is not feeling his best, he can be moody and difficult to deal with (which also makes some vetting difficult for him).
All in all, Taz will continue to enjoy life outside the shelter. He is loved greatly by his foster parents and his biggest concern each day will be deciding which bed he’d like to take his naps in. He’s happy, warm and safe.
Want to help Taz?
If you would like to make a donation to assist in the palliative care that Taz is currently receiving, or would like to sponsor him monthly, please contact us at donations@savemedogrescue.ca. As a sponsor, you would receive updates from his foster family each month on how Taz is doing.
