We've a lovely field spaniel called Jake. Had him all his life and he's nearly 13. He's had various health problems over the years including major spinal surgery but he's come through it all and is a gorgeous dog and we all love him.
But the past couple of days I've noticed him failing. He's panting and yesterday on his walk, he was so slow and tired, he's drinking a lot but has poor appetite, apart from ham (!). This has followed an episode about 3 weeks ago where he looked like he was fainting (his eyes rolled and he shook, but after an hour or so he was back to his normal self).
I've always known that he was the sort of 100 mile an hour dog who would conk out and I suspect he's struggling with early heart failure. I'll take him to the vets tomorrow and cross my fingers that they can give him drugs that will make him comfortable, but he's old and tired now and I'm not up for loads of tests as he absolutely hates the vets and quivers as soon as we pull up outside.
We just can't bear the thought - just want to sit and cuddle him.