bentley_faceBentley was a 2 year old, and a nice size at 14 1/2 pounds; a handsome, young, neutered boy ~ cream colored with a few black hairs on ear tips.

 


He was being treated for a mild cough, which was originally thought to be the result of food allergies. This soon became a more complicated vet study and Bentley underwent extensive testing and scoping as his cough worsened and he was rapidly loosing weight.bentley_1

Bentley had "dry eye" and needed eye treatments 4 times a day to prevent early blindness. At one point it was even thought he was having a reaction to those medications.

Today Bentley's condition rapidly deteriorated.  He'd lost control of his bladder and bowels sometime over night (soiled his bed) and that continued throughout the morning. He could barely weight bear and even walking was difficult.  His loving foster mom tried to cheer him up with steak (cooked medium rare) but he couldnt hold it down and his swallow reflex was erratic.  He also began (again) to regurge everything he ate. The vet was called with the new symptoms and she suggested that Bentley be brought in for observation.  I washed his precious little face, eyes and muzzle with baby shampoo and spritzed him with "silk" before we left.  He had a bit more of his favorite food which he spit up in the car. At the vet's office he stayed swaddled in a cozy blanket on my lap while we waited and he fell asleep intermittently between coughs. The vet looked at his condition and felt confident that with these new symptoms the problem was neurological and that his condition had clearly deteriorated . With great compassion she suggested it was probably time to let him go. She complimented HRI on their committment to Bentley and she too was upset that we just couldn't seem to find that "magic pill" to help Bentley.

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From his loving foster mom:  Bless his sweet soul, Bentley went to sleep for the last time in my arms,  nuggled into my chest.  It was such a relief for me to not hear him struggling to breath/swallow anymore.  Of course I am heartbroken. I'm so terribly sorry that I couldn't fix him... but I know he is comfortable now and with my mom (a real dog person) in heaven.
He  crossed the bridge peacefully and now his eyes are clear, his tummy is full, his cough has ceased.  He truly is in a better place.

In the end, the Doctor confirmed a rare and fatal disease called Dysautonomia.. which causes failure of the autonomic nervous system function. No known cause, ingested neurotoxin is suspected. In hind sight all the symptoms were there, but it is so rare and mostly seen in Mo. and Kansas.. that no one would have suspected.

Changing lives ... one Havanese at a time.