I am quite frankly sick at heart about the whole situation. But I am not really posting this in direct response to the Div 4/Lynn incident (I maintain that this should never have aired publically.. I choose to stay in the dark, this is none of any of our business...).. but I did read the posts.. it's like a car wreck, you don't want to see, but you still look.
Bottom line, some puppy died and some family was heartbroken (I assume the baby died already?) That to me is the real tragedy here. But again, I don't know the full story. I just hate that no one has asked how the other family is doing. I hate seeing babies die. That must have sucked.
I digress..
Anyway, something to know about heart murmurs.
Yes, many low grade murmurs are innocent.
Case in point. At National in FLA we had a cardiac clinic and one of the three dogs I had tested was found to have a murmur. We chose to do an ultrasound to find out why. No problems were found, she got her OFA number and she is fine.
Vet told me she sees it often at clinics at shows. Murmurs found to be innocent upon ultrasound. Nerves can play into it.
Now if we went by stethoscope alone, we would have chosen not to breed this bitch.
The point here is, do not trust the scope alone. You need to follow up with a cardiologist if you have any questions. Some problems are not as "noisy" as others and, most vets will tell you, bulldogs are not easy to listen to because they tend to be noisy breathers.. Some grade ones might in fact be grade twos. If the vet doesn't get a clean listen, it's hard to know for certain. Some slight murmurs are never heard.
The different heart conditions Are heard on differnet sides of the heart too.
This breed is prone to several heart conditions. Some are genetic in nature, some are congenital (genetic means passed on.. congenital means born with the condition, not necessarily passed genetically).
Make yourself familiar with the various heart conditions bulldogs are prone to.
No breeder is totally immune to any bulldog related defect, although many breeders have made health a priority and have limited their exposure to disasters by breeding as wisely and as informed as they can.
Go here to read about some of the heart problems bulldogs are prone to;
http://www.bcahealth.homestead.com/conditions.html
Pulmonic stenosis lists bulldogs as the one breed who gets this condition more than any other.
Ever wonder why so many bulldogs are found dead for no apparent reason? Why some bitches die in whelp? Most of us (me included)are very guilty of not doing autopsies and while some of these deaths are found to have no pinpoint reason.. bad heart is one issue that creeps in over and over.
So, if you get a pup with a murmur, get a cardiologist to diagnose exactly what is causing the murmur, if anything.
If the murmur is innocent, get verification and move on.
If the heart is defective, well, this is one of those times that being a breeder is no cake walk.
You can choose to euthanise it (not an easy choice, not one that I would personally elect unless the dog was suffering). you can chose surgical correction if the condition allows for it, you can choose to sell it.. place it . whatever, but be advised that once you do, you open yourself up the exactly the same situation the lynns found themselves in. Some states are very breeder unfriendly (we should all know that by now) and lemon laws typically favor the buyer, even with a contract.
Being a breeder is many thngs.. Easy is not one of them.
Good luck.. be nice to each other and for pete's sake.. Jo.. stop making this nightmare even more rediculous and sign the name we all know you belong to.
e