GOOD NEWS FOR GRETCHEN!! (a/k/a Ziah)

Gretchen (Ziah) received great news today at her appointment with Dr. Eva Sikorska, a cardiologist at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center (PVSEC).  Although Gretchen does have a hole in her heart, the defect is small and unlikely to cause any clinical symptoms.  What she has is called a ventricular septal defect, which is a hole between the left and right pumping chambers of the heart and is a congenital condition.

Gretchen was given a wonderful prognosis of having a normal Weimaraner life with no restrictions and no cardiac medications prescribed.  She is allowed to undergo spay surgery and I'm working on scheduling that appointment for the near future.  Dr. Sikorska did recommend a follow-up echocardiogram in about six months, once Gretchen is fully grown, to monitor for any progressive changes, but she said that she does not expect to see any change.


The whole day was quite an adventure for Gretchen, as she had not left our property for two weeks.  First she had the ride in the car to the vet and she was well behaved and quiet in her crate.  She enjoyed watching all the activity at PVSEC and loved the attention she got from people commenting on how pretty she is.  She stayed quite calm and was easy to manage.  Even Dr. Sikorska and her staff commented on what a great personality she has and how easy she was to work with.  Today was the first day Gretchen wore her new no-pull harness and she did pretty well tolerating that experience.


All in all today had many positives for Gretchen.  Besides getting a glowing prognosis for her heart health in the future, she showed that she is a tolerant dog who is able to adjust to new environments and able to stay calm in situations that might be scary to many dogs.  She showed a healthy curiosity of her surroundings but showed no fear or anxiety.  What a good little Weim pup she is!