We took Zola to the Vet, explained her symptoms and the Vet done a few tests which revealed she has Left Sided Heart Failure, which has also caused fluid to build in her chest cavity and abdomen, he told us that Zola's heart is weak and has put her onto some tablets to help regulate it, ( although they won't cure it ) she also has some tablets to help to stop the fluid build up, and will have to be seen every two weeks from now on.

The Vet told us that due to her age and condition of her heart, Zola is now on borrowed time.

I am going to treat every day I have left with Zola as a precious gift, surround her with love and tenderness and be there when she needs me most of all, how I'm going to do it!!  when all I want to do is break down and beg her not to leave me,, I just don't know!! but I will for Zola's sake.

This sweet little Mastino of mine has spent a whole 10 years giving us her love unconditionally, her loyalty has never faultered once, and Zola will continue to do so right to the end, ( which I hope is a way off yet ) our Grandchildren all love her, as she does them, she will always sit close by them when they visit, watching them play and keeping her eye on things, if any of them have cried she will lick their tears, then fetch a toy from the toybox and drop it at their feet in an attempt to cheer them up, failing that, Zola will then roll over onto her back to be tickled, or fetch one of her tripe sticks for them, she has even brought in bread from the lawn, ( which had been thrown out for the birds ) for them, her patience, compassion, love and intelligence goes far beyond what I ever thought possible for any breed of dog, and Zola has taught me a lot over the years, but then this breed are unlike any other, you have to live with one to know this.

Well, no trip to the Vet, Zola just seemed to pick right up, and is back to her normal self again, wanting her daily walks, playing etc, if it wasn't for the fact that Zola hates going to the Vets, I would have taken her anyway, just for a check up, but I don't want to stress her while she seems fine. A friend suggested Zola may have had a mild stroke, and I think she's right, maybe her operation and losing her daughter Ambra did take it's toll after all, I'm just thankful we still have her with us and she's better now, but she certainly gave me a fright!!!!!

My girl Zola is my eldest Neapolitan Mastiff and my most precious little girl, she is 10 yrs old, a very good age for this breed, and I cannot imagine life without her. I thought I was going to lose Zola a few months ago, when Pyometra struck, she has very low blood platelets, so I didn't want to risk having her spayed, ( although I know Pyometra is a risk in older females ) but the decision was taken out of my hands, I knew from her symptoms she had Pyo, I took her straight to my Vet who confirmed it, there was no question and my Vet wanted to perform the op straight away, I spent the next 4 hrs in hell not knowing whether I would see my Zola again, I trusted my Vet, he is aware of her history and of the breed in general, he promised me he would make sure she was tied off tightly, but her age was against her, and it would be getting through the next few days following the operation, and Zola's will to live. Well, she pulled through with flying colours, and has gone from strength to strength following her op, until yesterday!!!  I noticed Zola was reluctant to get up, I had to coax her to go outside, she seemed disorienated and unsteady on her feet, her temperature was normal, she had no upset stomach, no injury, she hadn't eaten anything poisonous, it was as if she was unsure of where she was, she went to lie down under the laurel trees and no amount of coaxing would get her to come out, when she finally did emerge, she wouldn't eat anything but drank some water, then came indoors to lie in her bed, every now and again she would tremble too, after a few hours she was back to herself, and today she seems very lethargic, she ate her breakfast, and hasn't behaved in the way she had yesterday, but, she has a worried expression on her face, so I'm taking her to the Vet tomorrow, there is obviously something wrong as she has never behaved in this way before, my stomach is in knotts thinking the worst senario, at this age as well, I am dreading what the Vet might say, I just have to try and remain posative for now as Zola is highly sensative to my feelings and will instantly pick up any negativaty from me.

I will keep an update on her progress and Vet report tomorrow.