Furry family update

Shadow was up for her visit to the new vet this past Friday. The purpose of the visit was to hear the new vet's opinion on her previously diagnosed heart murmur. Lets just say the appointment didn't go as anticipated. Her heart murmur diagnosis went from a 1 out of 6 (mildest form) to a 3 out of 6. The vet said she thought it could be an issue with her aorta which would most likely result in her living only a few more years. Yep, that news pretty much sucked. This was also the point in time during the visit where I cried. Did I mention I have a strong attachment to this dog? Anyways, I had to leave her at the vet for some testing and when I got back, the vet recommended I take her to Texas A&M's vet school. There she could receive a diagnosis and we could determine if there were any applicable treatments.

On Tuesday I loaded Shadow in the car and headed to A&M, about an hour drive. The small animal clinic was amazing. I cannot express to you how awesome the staff were - every single one of them. After the tests, I was prepared to ask lots of questions but the cardiologist said that based on the tests, Shadow was in almost perfect health. What? Although he diagnosed her heart murmur as a level 4, it was the result of two slight abnormalities that do not and will not affect her ever. YAY!  Of course, I was not at all expecting that but we are so relieved that our sweet Shadow is healthy. Now, hopefully we're working our way back to the regularly scheduled program around here! :)