May & June 2001 Pet of the Month
Nippie Schwarz 
Nippie Schwarz, a 16 year old spayed female 10 lb toy poodle, was presented after several episodes of seizuring that had become more frequent. Further history revealed that she had
developed an increased thirst and had also had some urinary accidents as well. She also developed a dry cough over the last 2 months with any exertion. Physical exam demonstrated a
pronounced heart murmur and a mouth with severe dental disease in addition to her other problems. Blood samples, urinalysis, and a minimal cardiac work up presented us with a list of problems.
- Seizure of unknown origin, possibly epileptic, brain tumor, or due to heart problems and anoxia to the brain or emboli.
- Progressive kidney disease but not end stage.
- Early congestive heart failure.
- Extreme dental tartar and gingivitis.
Her owners were not ready to give up on Nippie and a step by step approach to her problems was proposed in an attempt to improve her health and quality of life.
Because she didn't like the prescription diets, she was placed on a home made diet which restricted sodium and was lower in protein and phosphorus but was still
higher quality. She was additionally started on Enalapril to improve heart function. Her kidney functions improved sufficiently to the point that we felt it was time to
address her dental disease, which could be showering her heart valves and kidneys with bacteria as well as causing oral discomfort.
For her dental procedure an IV catheter was placed and fluids were administered to maintain blood flow to her kidneys. A new generation of anesthesia, "Propofol",
was used for induction because of its lack of cardiac and seizure side effects. She was maintained on gas anesthesia with heart and respiratory monitors in place.
Post dentistry she was placed on antibiotics for 10 days, then instructed to repeat this for 5 days each month to help delay further periodontal disease. She
responded well but her seizures became more frequent so it was decided to place her on Phenobarbitol. This drug did an excellent job at seizure control for her. A
low dose of furosemide was also added to control fluid build up in her lungs. Five months after her initial visit Nippie is no longer coughing, has fresh breath, is
maintaining her kidney function, is seizure free, and is looking forward to a warm summer of listening to her owners' golfing exploits..
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