I just took Ralphie in for his annual exam & shots...he is almost 4 years
old, and has a heart condition.  The vet could barely hear it, he didn't
want to diagnose just on that & said we could put Ralphie on an EKG to
actually *see* the issue, but...he thought he heard what he termed a
"heart block", basically that occasionally the electrical signals that
are sent to make the heart pump get blocked, and so his heart skips a
beat.  It was very faint.  The vet said that eventually he could
prescribe a heart med that would lower Ralphie's blood pressure,
basically make his heart last longer by not beating as often.
 
My question...can anyone else who's had this issue, do you have an idea
if this is a medical condition that can end up costing a lot of money?
We just bought a house, and I have been waffling about whether to get
Ralphie a friend (he's my only one left, I've lost 3 in the last 3
years).  Sometimes Ralphie seems lonely, but he's always been kind of a
loner himself -- he likes to "hang" in his hammock and watch stuff going
on.  I'm not real sure he *needs* another friend, and I don't want to do
anything too drastic because our financial situation at the moment is not
as flexible as it has been in the past.  Ralphie plays with our 2 year
old daughter, and he wanders the house.  Soon he'll have a much much
bigger house to wander, 2 stories, lots of new carpet to roll around on.
 
Anyway, if anyone can share an experience they had it would be
appreciated!
 
Minta & Ralphie, the Lone Survivor...
[Posted in FML issue 4154]