Dog Health issue thoughts?? (long post)

I'm hoping someone out there is a vetinarian and can give me some insight.... My dog starting breathing funny 3 weeks ago. I took him to the vet right away and the vet said he had swollen lymph nodes in the neck and back legs and there was a 50/50 chance he had cancer. They xrayed him, took blood, took an aspiration, gave him a bordatella shot and said bring him back tomorrow for a biopsy. At this time he had no fever. I brought my 5 year old Lhaso Apso named Jack, back the next day and they did the biopsy.... waited 3 long days for the results that came back negative for cancer. A week later I had to bring Jack back to the vet to get his stitches removed. By this time, Jack had started a small cough and I told them this and so they gave me some antibiotics (Clavamos & Baytril). A couple of days later I get in the mail the xray report from the lab they sent it to and it said possible pneumonia in the lower right lung. I IMMEDIATELY called the vet and asked them about this and the vet said he thinks the report was wrong. Last Friday, Jacks cough was getting worse and he was becoming lethargic.... I take him back to the vet and they took more blood and said his lungs sounded good and he wasn't running a fever, so maybe its an allergy cough and gave me an antishistamine antibiotic (Temaril-P). On Monday Jack is still hacking very bad I call the vet and he says sit with the dog in the bathroom with the shower running on HOT and let the dog breath in the steam, this should help loosen anything that might be in the lungs. I'm to do this every 2.5-3 hours. Th vet calls me on Tuesday and says the heartworm test came back negative... I tell him Jack seems to be getting worse. The vet says its probably an upper respiratory infection and if so the antibiotics that he's been on for 21 days is the strongest meds available and should help. I called the vet again yesterday as this can't be right, should I bring him in.... Vet says no, but I'll give you some cough medicine w/Codiene and it should help. Needless to say it didn't and Jack was hacking all night. This morning he could barely walk or stand without heaving and hacking. I finally said enough and picked up my puppy and brought him to the vet. Low and behold the dog now has a 106.7 fever.... the vet says Jack has to be hospitalized and they have NO CLUE what is going on with him. But they want to put an IV in him to keep up his fluids and to get him on some stronger antibiotics. They are going to take more blood and xrays and possibly an ultrasound to make sure thier is no fluid around the heart. I ask if he will come home today and they say probably not. I ask them who stays with the animals at night? No one they say. They are alone from 8:00pm to 6:30am..... I don't like this idea at all... I ask if thier is a chance that if they can get his fever down, can he come home tonight and I'll bring him back in the morning... they say we'll see..... Sooooo.. here I am (after crying for an hour) and just plain frustrated. The xrays taken today said the lungs look good, but they sent them off to be read by a radiolotist. The vet wanted to keep Jack over night, but they do not have anyone who comes in at night to monitor the animals. So I brought my baby home and I will stay up with him all night again if I have to. Are there any vets on this board who can give me some insight or words of encouragement???? Has anyone else had this with thier dog??? ALL of his labs have come out as normal, no tick diseases, no lyme disease, heart checks out fine (no fluid around it), no heartworm, no fleas, the kidneys are fine. He started with a fever for the first time today, despite seeing the vet 6 times in the past 3 weeks... his temp was always normal. The one thing that has been consistent is swollen lymphnodes.

Hi, Peggy How is Jack? Any improvement? They are just like your babies. I hate when one of them gets sick. We lost an alpaca to a bizarre bacteria picked up from the soil that he wasn't supposed to get. We didn't even know he was sic****il it was too late. Do you have another vet around that may have more experience in this area? When things get really bad down here we take our critters to the vet school about 4 hours away. I hope by now he is frisky and dashing around again. Joanne

I don't know about the fever and other syptoms. But I am thinking now about the cough. I've had three dogs with coughs. In EVERY case it was "Congestive Heart Failure". I'd get your pooch to a vet for an chest xray. If it is CHF, then the Heart will be HUGELY ENLARGED. My Mom almost died of CHF. It is a nasty, brutal disease. IF it is CHF, your dog needs a heart medicine. Mine used Endacard (Spelling?) and Furosomide (Lazic) which is for fluid retention. The heart gets enlarged with presses on the laranex and causes coughing. The person or animal usually is very tired and weak. Also because the heart is working so hard it gets enlarged and it can't pump effectivly and fluid builds up in the body and lungs. ect ect ect. I can't believe a vet did'nt take and xray and check? Perhaps they did? Write me if you want.