u/ParticularCrafty8489

Was out walking my dog just now and saw this,there are 3-4 of them all clumped together and its not something ive ever seen before

So went to go in the back door in to the kitchen (UK) and this little one was there! I grabbed some gloves and moved him to a quieter area of the garden as we have a dog and didnt want him interfering with our little friend here! He was SO tiny and SO beautiful ❤️ put a little bottle cap of water nearby and within 20 or so minutes he had gone off on his merry way.

Rocco is 14.5, and has always been a snotty dog. Out vet(s) have treated it as allergies with apoquel, limited ingredient diets, basically anything we could throw at it. 2.5 years ago his breathing became significantly worse including extreme snot all the time that I happily roll with tissues, but he also started open mouth breathing and reverse sneezing. We saw multiple specialists who did scopes, swaps, labs, and even an MRI to rule out nasal/head tumors all to be told he has idiopathic chronic rhinitis. It was managed for some time with antibiotics and steroids, but we eventually had to stop the steroids as he recently developed cushings disease. Because he has some other underlying conditions, including arthritis and a slight heart murmur, we made the decision with our vet to not put his body through cushings medicine (we’ve had two other dogs with cushings and medicate both, so we didn’t make this decision lightly)

Fast forward two weeks ago, Rocco’s breathing and restlessness has been very bad again. Vet advised us that putting him under anesthesia for another scope and dental would be risky considering his already poor breathing, but also his age. He had moments of calm, but 50-75% of his days he sounds like this. We’re finishing up 2 weeks of antibiotic and going back to the vet this week to retest his blood as his one panel showed he was fighting an infection.

I’m really at a loss what to do next. He loves to eat, is always a happy boy, and will occasionally still beg for a walk. But I just know his breathing like this has to be uncomfortable. I really don’t know what my other options are besides beginning to consider end of life plans.

Not really sure why I’m posting. Just extremely emotional. Not sure what to do.