2 mysteries solved

I'm pretty sure we've figured out the case of the missing weight. Just to recap - Isabel was down a bit between her unofficial visit to the Doctor in September and her 6 month well baby check-up in October (but up in weight from her 4 month well baby). About a week ago we decided to slowly increase the amount of food we offer her at breakfast and lunch. We wanted to do this slowly because the last time we offered more food she had a horrible night with what seemed to be stomach cramps. No fun for anyone of us. Well, Monday night the "increase slowly" thing went right out the window.

She nursed for 10-15 minutes before I left for class, then Ryan finished up with her dinner. Apparently she wouldn't stop crying when the bowl was empty (she's been crying at a lot of things being taken away like toys & musical instruments). This isn't new, but the intensity of the cry was a little through the roof. So, Ryan figured he'd feed her more...and more....and a little bit more. She ended up eating 11 tablespoons (up from the usual 5) and 7 ounces of formula! So, from Monday night through Wednesday night each meal has been nursing for about 15-20 minutes and 10-12 tablespoons of food. If this doesn't put the weight on, I don't know what will. This morning she had only about 6 tablespoons - I got the impression she didn't like any of her choices, and the prunes apparently were tainted with green bean juice because she didn't devour them like normal.

The mystery of Emory's (our 13 year-old shepherd mix) heart murmur was also solved. We took her to a cardiac specialist at UC Davis vet hospital yesterday (cha-ching) per the recommendation of our regular vet. After an hour long ECG they found a mitral valve prolapse (when her valve shuts, one side goes a bit further than it's supposed to allowing a little blood to rush back into the ventricle). Of the two types of heart disease dogs get (valve or muscle), valve is the best to have. The progression is very slow. It's normally seen in small breeds, and since Emory isn't a small breed (although not a big dog) we're lucky. There is no treatment to stop the progression. We can only treat the symptoms as they come up, and for now she has none. According to the vet, dogs don't have cardiac episodes, so I can stop worrying about Emory having a dramatic heart attack in the living room and dying at my feet. This is especially good news since Isabel has really taken to Emory. Well, both dogs really, but Emory doesn't lick so we spend more time petting her.