FINNICK'S FIRST SEASON
Finnick's Wellness Hub
Ten years old, wagging, and surrounded by a very good team. Here's how he's doing, at a glance.
Finnick's map below shows how each part of him is doing. Green means doing great, gold means we're keeping an eye on it, and clay means it's a focus this season. Tap any bubble for the story.
Grab a time with Carter whenever you want to talk anything through. New reports, lab results, and photos go straight into Finnick's shared folder.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
- The new home-cooked batch is made without olive oil
- The batch trims from about 13 oz a day toward 11, about an ounce a week
- 3 to 4 oz of his Goodness Gracious now fills his night treat instead of going on top
- Proactive Paws is paused through the labs, and Ease stands in for Heal while his back settles
- Full plan below
- Thu 10/22: internal med visit with Dr. Ponteres, fasted labs and a weigh-in
- Fri 10/23: most results expected
- Mon 10/26, 1 pm ET: call with Carter to read the results together
- The new batch goes in without olive oil; the first ounce comes off
- Ease in place of Heal while his back settles
- Creatine: back at a conservative dose or not, based on the creatinine and SDMA
- Heal comes back once his back has settled; Carter confirms
- The second ounce comes off the batch if his weight is moving the right way
- The Michigan State thyroid panel and the VDI panel may land around now
- Any thyroid dose change is his vets' call, with a recheck in about 4 weeks
- Weekly weigh-in and one calm home blood pressure reading
- Sun 11/29: his heart recheck window opens (the echo with cardiology)
- The 10/22 NT-proBNP is the baseline it gets read against
- Dental stays in the background until after the echo
Why the ounces matter: Finnick weighed 93 lb on 10/22, with a goal near 90 that his vets are rechecking now that he is older. Small trims, an ounce at a time, and treats counted inside his day rather than on top, move him there without a crash diet. His heart and kidneys like a steady, lean dog, and his weigh-ins show whether the trims are working.
UPDATED FRI 10/23
Where we are this week
This plan is yours to adjust. Tap Edit this plan, then tap any line to change it, add a line, or remove one. Changes save for everyone with this link.
Results are in. The 10/22 draw shows his kidneys, urine, liver and inflammation marker all in range, with creatinine at 1.3, the lowest since 2024, and his T4 back up to 2.7. A few numbers differ between the lab's final report and the clinic summary, so that question goes to Dr. Ponteres, who plans to call next week with the thyroid panel and the proBNP. Until then the routine holds: Proactive Paws stays paused, the new batch goes in without olive oil, the food trims an ounce at a time, and Ease stands in for Heal while his back settles. Next call with Carter: Monday 10/26 at 1 pm ET. His medications stay exactly as his vets direct.
The last seven days, newest first
- Fri 10/23Results from the 10/22 draw came in from Rise. Dr. Ponteres will call next week with the thyroid panel and the proBNP.
- Thu 10/22Internal med visit with Dr. Ponteres: the fasted labs and a weigh-in, 93 lb. Collar: 14 night wake-ups, breathing median 11, average heart rate 81 bpm, 38 active minutes.
- Wed 10/21Collar: 3 night wake-ups, breathing median 11, average heart rate 99 bpm, 7 active minutes.
- Tue 10/20Home blood pressure 124/68. Collar: 9 night wake-ups, breathing median 17, average heart rate 74 bpm, 19 active minutes.
- Mon 10/19Tweaked his back, maybe from walking too far and too fast; acupuncture that evening. Ease in place of Heal for now. Collar: 3 night wake-ups, breathing median 14, average heart rate 88 bpm, 28 active minutes.
- Sun 10/18Collar: 1 night wake-up, breathing median 14, average heart rate 78 bpm, 26 active minutes.
- Sat 10/17Collar: 4 night wake-ups, breathing median 10, average heart rate 83 bpm, 26 active minutes.
What the collar is saying
- Since the 10/19 back tweak he has been resting a lot more: active and excited minutes dropped to about 22 on 10/20 and about 10 on 10/21, against 50 to 70 on most days in early October. The hope is that this climbs back as his back settles.
- Sleeping breaths stay well under the 35 on his cardiology report: nightly medians of 10 to 14 most nights, and 17 on 10/20, the night after the tweak.
- Heart rate: daily averages mostly between 75 and 88. 10/21 averaged about 99, the highest in two weeks. One day, worth watching alongside his back.
- Night wake-ups: 9 on 10/20, then back to 3 on 10/21.
- Drinking time was lower on 10/21. Check the collar fit first (a loose collar reads low); his water stays high on purpose for his kidneys.
- Shaking episodes are down to a handful a day since 10/19.
- The collar battery was at 23% on the morning of 10/22, so a charge is due.
The bowl right now
- The home-cooked batch (Raw Concierge rabbit with Dr. Harvey's Raw Vibrance) is made without olive oil from the new batch on. His omegas come from the Wolf Creek oils and sardines instead.
- The batch trims from about 13 oz a day toward 11, about an ounce a week, not all at once. No crash diet.
- Goodness Gracious stays at 16 oz a day, and 3 to 4 oz of it now fills his night treat instead of going on top.
- Treats: freeze-dried rabbit, 8 pieces a day at home (about 64 kcal). On vet days he gets about a cup of treats, so dinner is halved that night.
- Lick mat: goat whip with steamed zucchini or green banana. Skip sweet potato and apple.
- 1 teaspoon of psyllium husk a day, never at the same time as his thyroid pill.
- The oysters are already boiled by the maker, so no steaming needed.
- The kitchen closes about 5 pm and opens about 5 am.
Supplements right now
- Proactive Paws: paused since 10/15, because its creatine can raise the creatinine number on its own. Creatinine came back at 1.3 on 10/22; a conservative restart waits for Dr. Ponteres's call next week.
- Ease in place of Heal since 10/19, while his back settles. Carter confirms the amount and when Heal comes back.
- Lion's mane in the morning, reishi in the evening. The Tremella from Feed Real goes wherever the day's stack is lighter.
- NHV is down to Milk Thistle and Hearty Heart, every day.
- Myos stays at 2 scoops each meal, dry in the bowl. L-carnitine stays.
- TEF powder in his water, for his teeth.
- On hold: the phytoembryonics (alcohol base, no clear fit right now) and the FMT capsules (a microbiome panel comes first if they come up again).
What the 10/22 labs show
- Kidneys: creatinine 1.3 and BUN 21, both in range and the lowest since 2024. SDMA 7.3, normal.
- Urine: no protein (protein to creatinine ratio under 0.1), microalbumin normal, sediment clean. His kidney protein story stays quiet.
- Liver values all normal.
- CRP, the inflammation marker: 4.2, inside its 0 to 12 range. A calm baseline before the November echo.
- Total T4: 2.7, mid-range, up from 1.4 in August.
- Still to come: the proBNP, the Michigan State thyroid panel, the fecal PCR and the VDI panel. Dr. Ponteres plans to call next week.
Questions for his vets
- Dr. Ponteres: which numbers are final? Antech's report and the Rise summary differ on the pancreas enzyme (PSL), sodium, chloride, magnesium and white count.
- Dr. Ponteres: his body condition and muscle score, and whether 90 lb is still the right goal now that he is older.
- Dr. Ponteres: is another abdominal ultrasound due?
- Dr. Ponteres: once the creatinine is back, is a low dose of creatine reasonable again?
- Rise: the thyroid result against his current dose. Any change is theirs to make, with a recheck in about 4 weeks.
- Cardiology: why taurine, NT-proBNP and CRP were not part of his workup, and how the 10/22 NT-proBNP fits the November echo.
What we are watching
- Back: any hesitation on stairs or jumps, and how his back legs look on walks after the 10/19 tweak.
- Activity on the collar: low since the 10/19 back tweak. A closer look if it stays under about 30 a day for several more days.
- Drinking: high on purpose, 100 to 130 oz a day. A clear change for several days is worth a look, after checking the collar fit.
- Night wake-ups and overnight heart rate: mostly steady. A steady climb after any medication change is worth a note.
- Sleeping breaths: in his normal range. Consistently above 35 is the threshold on his cardiology report.
- Blood pressure: one calm home reading a week. Home readings since September run from 112/68 to 136/81.
- Weight: 93 lb on 10/22. The goal near 90 gets rechecked with his vets' body condition scores.
- Stool and itch: good stool lately. A bath or yeast dip when he scratches.
Call his vet if you see
- Loose stool lasting more than 2 days
- New vomiting
- A clear change in thirst
- Unusual tiredness
- Loss of appetite
- Fast or labored breathing while he rests
- New weakness in his back legs, or pain when he moves
Finnick's medications, doses and lab decisions belong to his veterinary team, and any change to what is in the bowl gets decided with them.
COMING SOON
Live from Finnick's collar
Finnick's Maven collar has been on since 9/10. This space fills with his real numbers, updating on its own, day and night, sleeping-breath counts included.
What the collar watches for Finnick
- Sleeping breaths, every night. The number his cardiology team cares about most, counted while he sleeps instead of by hand.
- Overnight heart rate. The low point of his night, which is worth a look after any heart medication change.
- Drinking. How much time he spends at the water bowl each day. His water stays high on purpose for his kidneys.
- Activity and rest. Active minutes and night wake-ups, the honest scorecard for his back and his comfort.
One small thing: a loose collar reads low on drinking. If the drinking line dips for a day, check the fit first.
The last 7 days of this view, at a glance
A week of comparisons appears here once the collar has a few full days of data.
Vitals
Breathing
Shaded band is a typical resting range, for context only. His care team likes sleeping breaths under 30 per minute; a steady trend above 35 is a call-the-vet number.
Heart rate
Use Day, Week, Month and All time at the top of this section to change the span, and Earlier and Later to move through time. In the Day view every dot is a real reading, with the hours marked along the bottom; tap or hover a dot for its exact time, or open the list under the chart. In the Week, Month and All time views each dot is one day, the median with his low-to-high range behind it, and the Month and All time views mark the Mondays.
Activity pattern, hour by hour
Day versus evening
Patterns worth watching
Rest interruptions
Drinking
Shaking
Daily activity mix
Straight from the collar, refreshed on its own. Day totals are for the latest full day Maven has reported. These numbers are for tracking trends together; his vet team makes the calls.
Action steps
The shared to-do list for Team Finnick, and what we're each waiting to hear back on. Anyone with this page can add, check off, or clear an item, from either end of the leash. Connecting to the shared hub store...
Action steps
Waiting on
Open questions and results we're expecting back. Clear an item once it lands.
The three things we track at home
Small habits, big signal. Two take a minute, and the collar handles the third on its own. Anyone in the house can log them, so nothing depends on who's home. Connecting to the shared hub store...
Blood pressure
Once a week, when he's relaxedCuff on the front leg while he's lying calm, one or two readings, done. Just like Dr. Ponteres showed. Log both numbers; the chart draws the top number and the bottom number as two lines.
Weight
Once a weekSame scale, same time of day. Vet-visit weights count too, so log the ozone and internal med numbers when you get them. Weight tells us things bloodwork can't, quietly and early.
Sleeping breaths
His collar counts itHis Maven collar counts his sleeping breaths on its own every night, so there is nothing to log here. Each dot below is one night's typical (median) rate, with a bar behind it running from his lowest to highest reading.
Fills in from his collar once it has a full night.
How Finnick is doing, head to tail
Six parts of his story, one very good boy. Tap a bubble to open it.
This season's three focus areas
Where Carter and Jenny are pointing their attention right now, chosen with, and guided by, Finnick's veterinary team.
His heart
His cardiology team is watching his heart closely, and the next check is coming up. Our job: steady routines, calm exercise, and his collar's nightly sleeping-breath count.
Blood pressure
His readings have drifted up since 2023, so Dr. Ponteres asked for relaxed at-home checks. Home numbers beat clinic nerves every time.
Comfort & movement
His lower back is getting twice-weekly care, and it's helping. We track the good days and keep movement gentle and fun.
WORTH CELEBRATING
The kidney comeback
In 2023, Finnick's kidneys were the scariest thing on this page. Today they're the success story: his protein levels came all the way back and have held steady for three years. His veterinary team caught it early, chose the plan, and Finnick did the rest. On 10/22 his creatinine read 1.3, the lowest since July 2024, and his urine protein ratio was under 0.1.
Patterns worth knowing
Nothing here needs action today. These are the quieter threads of Finnick's story that Carter tracks between visits, so small drifts get noticed early and nothing sneaks up on anyone.
Open the watch list
Thyroid, back to mid-range
His thyroid number eased down over 18 months on the same daily dose, from 3.3 to 1.4 in August. On 10/22 it was back to 2.7, mid-range. The full panel from Michigan State is still pending, and thyroid health also matters to hearts.
Thyroid testing decisions sit with Rise Pet Health.
Immune counts, intentionally low
The medicines protecting Finnick's kidneys quiet his immune system on purpose, and his lymphocyte counts have run below range for well over a year, dipping lowest in mid-2025. On 10/22 they read 407, in the same low band. His team checks these on every lab day; it's the main reason routine bloodwork never gets skipped.
Dosing and monitoring cadence are his veterinarians' calls.
Platelets, drifting with the medicine
Platelets have stepped down gradually since early 2024 and now sit near the bottom of their range. The 10/22 count of 134 came from a clumped sample, and the smear estimate read adequate. A known, watched effect of his kidney-protecting medicine. The trend matters more than any single number.
The weight curve
After holding steady for years, Finnick gained about 13 pounds between December and May, peaking three weeks before his spring heart check. Appetite? Less running? Fluid? Weekly home weights are how we find out, gently and early.
Vitamin B12, sliding slowly
A gut-absorbed vitamin that has drifted from the high end to the middle-low end over two years. Still in range, and an easy, inexpensive question for his internal-medicine team before it isn't.
Two open follow-ups
- A small spot noticed on a 2023 belly ultrasound hasn't appeared in any report since. Jenny asked on 10/22 whether another abdominal ultrasound is due.
- The detailed urine-protein test that defined his kidney story in 2023 hasn't been repeated since; the 10/22 UPC from a 3-day urine collection came back under 0.1, which makes it official.
Finnick's ideal day
A creature of habit, in the best way. Tap a stop when it happens and the day fills in; a full day keeps the streak going. This tracker lives on the phone or computer you tap it on.
- 5 amMorning pills on an empty stomach, as his vets direct
- 5 to 6 amRed-light time, then breakfast with his morning supplements
- MorningAn easy walk at his pace; gentle on the back this week
- 11 amLick mat: goat whip with steamed zucchini or green banana, plus the psyllium
- AfternoonTreat search: freeze-dried rabbit, 8 pieces, counted in his day
- 4 pmDinner with his evening supplements
- After dinnerThe frozen bone, filled from his day's Goodness Gracious; kitchen closes
- All dayWater topped up with TEF, 100 to 130 oz
- 8 pmShort evening stroll, then lights out
Routine is one of the kindest things we can give a senior heart: predictable days, predictable naps.
What he takes, and what it pushes on
Everything Finnick takes nudges a few of the same dials: his immune system, how easily his blood clots, his blood pressure, his heart, his kidneys, his gut, and his joints. This grid shows which dials each item touches, so the whole stack is in one place. Each specialist usually only sees their own column; this is the whole row. It is built from his records, the labels Jenny photographed, and the manufacturers' published ingredient lists.
Swipe sideways to see every column; the item name stays put.
| Item | Immune | Clotting | Blood pressure | Heart | Kidneys | Gut | Joints | Notes and how solid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prescriptions | ||||||||
| Prednisone 10 mg daily | quiets | raises | protects | calms his IBD | At his weight this is closer to a replacement dose than a suppressive one. Nudges blood pressure up and no blood pressure medicine has been opposing it since 2024, which is why the home readings matter. Dog data. | |||
| Chlorambucil 4 mg daily | quiets, the main one | lowers platelets | protects | calms | Doing most of the immune quieting. Lowers white cells and platelets 7 to 14 days after any dose change. Chosen over mycophenolate for gut tolerance. Dog data. | |||
| Pimobendan 12.5 mg twice daily | thins, mild | lowers | the anchor | Helps the heart squeeze and opens vessels. Makes platelets a little less sticky; post-approval reports include clotting changes. Dog data. | ||||
| Levothyroxine 0.6 mg twice daily | Sits outside every column. Thyroid matters to hearts; his T4 drift is on the watch list. | |||||||
| Adequan injections, interval stretching to 6 to 8 weeks | thins, mild | supports | Its own label calls it a synthetic heparinoid. Dog data for joints. | |||||
| Gabapentin as needed | comfort | Leaves through the kidneys unchanged; no overlaps. Adds to the calming effect of hops and valerian in Hearty Heart, which he now gets every day. | ||||||
| Every day, as of 10/22 | ||||||||
| Taurine 1000 mg daily | supports | Level came back normal, September 2026. | ||||||
| CBD Dog Health Ease in place of Heal since 10/19 | quiets, mild | Ease days | Ease for now while his back settles; Heal comes back when Carter confirms. Same direction as his prescriptions, not a counterweight. Lowers how much anesthetic a dog needs; the anesthetist should know. Dog cell data for immune. | |||||
| NHV Hearty Heart every day now; hawthorn, motherwort, mistletoe, wood betony, hops, valerian, lobelia, balsam poplar, pulsatilla | wakes, mild | thins, mild | lowers | supports | Hawthorn and motherwort support the heart and nudge clotting and pressure. Mistletoe is an immune stimulant. Hops and valerian are calming and add to gabapentin and to anesthesia. Human and mechanism data. | |||
| NHV Milk Thistle every day | Steady liver support with little conflict with his medications. His liver clears several of them. Mostly human data. | |||||||
| Lion's mane mornings | Minimal overlap with his medications. Mechanism and human data. | |||||||
| Reishi evenings | wakes, mild | thins, mild | He was already getting reishi inside the MycoDog blends; now it is on its own, once a day. Mechanism and human data. | |||||
| Tremella new in October | Added after Feed Real, wherever the day is lighter. Carter is still mapping it; no flags so far. | |||||||
| Ubiquinol 200 mg | lowers, mild | supports | Mostly human data. | |||||
| Wolf Creek omegas fish and algal, alternating | quiets, mild | thins, mild | supports | supports | supports | The best-studied supplement on the list for dogs: heart, kidney and joint data. | ||
| Antinol Plus green-lipped mussel lipids | thins, mild | supports | Dog data for joints. Clotting note from mechanism. | |||||
| Dr. Judy's PEA | quiets, mild | comfort | Dog data for comfort. | |||||
| Myos muscle formula Fortetropin, 2 scoops each meal | muscle | Dog data. | ||||||
| ION gut support humic extract, silicon | supports | No overlaps. Mechanism. | ||||||
| Elk velvet antler | wakes | supports | Mechanism. | |||||
| L-carnitine stays | supports | Stays, per the 10/6 call. Heart data in dogs. | ||||||
| Psyllium husk 1 teaspoon a day | supports | Binds the thyroid pill, so it never goes in at the same time as his levothyroxine. | ||||||
| TEF oral powder in his water | For his teeth, by way of his water bowl. No overlaps known. | |||||||
| Stopped or paused this fall (kept for reference) | ||||||||
| Proactive Paws Mobility Matrix creatine, glucosamine, MSM, eggshell membrane, UC-II collagen, hyaluronic acid | creatine note | supports | Paused 10/15 so the 10/22 creatinine reads him without the creatine; may come back at a conservative dose. No turmeric, so it stays out of the clotting column. Creatine can raise the creatinine number on a kidney panel without the kidneys changing; worth naming so his team reads that line in context. Dog data for the joint ingredients. | |||||
| MycoDog Clarity lion's mane, reishi, cordyceps | wakes | thins | lowers | Stopped 9/24. Cordyceps is the sharpest clotting flag on the page; bleeding is its best-documented side effect. No chaga. Mechanism and human data. | ||||
| MycoDog Vitality turkey tail, reishi, shiitake, maitake, chaga, artist conk, astragalus, ashwagandha | wakes, strongest | thins, mild | chaga question | Stopped 9/24. Astragalus plus six mushrooms is the most immune-waking item he takes. Chaga is very high in oxalate (human kidney case reports, no dog data). Ashwagandha can shift thyroid numbers in human studies. Mechanism. | ||||
| MycoDog Digest shiitake, chaga, lion's mane, turkey tail, red belted conk | wakes | chaga question | supports | Stopped 9/24. The blend with the least overlap with the clotting column. Mechanism. | ||||
| MycoDog Breathe cordyceps, reishi, artist conk, chaga, ashwagandha | wakes | thins | lowers | supports | chaga question | Stopped 9/24. Cordyceps again, so the same clotting note as Clarity. Mechanism. | ||
| NHV Kidney Support Kit Tripsy, milk thistle, turmeric, PetOmega 3 | wakes, mild | thins, mild | supports | Tripsy and PetOmega stopped 9/24; turmeric on hold until after the echo; the milk thistle stays (above). Turmeric is the clotting item here. Tripsy carries echinacea and Oregon grape, both immune-waking. Doubles up on fish oil with the Wolf Creek omegas on kidney weeks. | ||||
| NHV IBD kit TumFlora and Plantaeris; the Comfort kit adds Inulin-PK | thins, mild | raises, mild | supports | Stopped 9/24. Licorice in TumFlora can raise blood pressure and slow the breakdown of steroids like prednisone, which is worth naming to Rise. Boswellia and ginger are the mild clotting items. Confirm which of the two NHV IBD kits it is; the Comfort kit adds wormwood. Human and mechanism data. | ||||
| NHV Immune Support Kit BK-Detox and ES Clear | wakes | thins, mild | Stopped 9/24. Built to wake the immune system: echinacea, sheep sorrel, Oregon grape, neem. Red clover is the mild clotting item. BK-Detox contains chaparral, which has human liver-injury reports behind it; his ALT and GGT are the numbers that would show it. Human and mechanism data. | |||||
| NHV Lymphoma Gold ES Clear, Felimm, Tripsy; every few months | wakes, strongest | thins, mild | supports | Stopped 9/24. Felimm contains St. John's Wort, which speeds up the liver enzymes that clear many medicines and is the most interaction-prone herb on this page; with chlorambucil and prednisone on board it is a question for Rise before the next round. Also cat's claw, osha, usnea, goldenseal, turmeric. Human and mechanism data. | ||||
| PHNC liquids heart, IBD and kidney protocols, two weeks at a time | ? | ? | ? | supports | supports | supports | On hold until we have seen the labels. Custom protocols from Pet Health and Nutrition Center; a label photo of each fills in the rest of the row. | |
| Detox occasional | ? | ? | ? | On hold. Product needed. If it is NHV BK-Detox, see the Immune Support Kit row. | ||||
Question marks are where a label photo would finish the picture; the "Send Carter a record" button up top drops it straight into Finnick's folder. This is an educational map so the right questions reach the right vet. Every decision about a dose stays with his veterinary team.
What's in the bowl
Finnick's current menu and his supplement regimen, updated after the 10/15 call. Tap any portion or dose to adjust it as things get refined. Both lists are meant to stay current. Connecting to the shared hub store...
Food, portion by portion
Supplement regimen
Every supplement lives here, including the ones stopped or paused this fall, so nothing gets lost. Tap a group to open it; tap the AM / PM chip on a row to change when he gets it. A "doses missing" badge means a few amounts still need filling in. Prescription medicines are his vets' domain and aren't listed here.
Any change to what's in the bowl, food or supplement, gets decided with Finnick's veterinary team. This card just keeps us all looking at the same menu.
Finnick's journey so far
-
2016
A very good boy arrives
Finnick joins Jenny's world, smiley, spotted, and full of opinions.
-
2018-2019
The itchy years
Allergies and skin flare-ups get figured out, one clue at a time, with his vets.
-
2023
The kidney chapter
A hard year, and a turning point. His veterinary team found the problem, made a plan, and it worked.
-
2023-2026
The heart comes into focus
His cardiology team starts yearly heart pictures and fine-tunes his support as things change.
-
Now
His first Rootd season
Everything in one place, one team around one dog, and a clear plan for the months ahead.
The team around Finnick
Finnick has one of the deepest benches we've seen. Every decision on this page traces back to them.
His heart
This season's focusFinnick's heart muscle is a little stretchier than it should be, a condition his cardiologists have been tracking with yearly pictures since 2023. At this spring's check, Dr. Jung's team saw the changes had moved forward a step, so they adjusted his heart medication and asked us to watch more closely. Here's the important part: Finnick feels fine. No symptoms, full of joy. This was caught by good medicine, not by him feeling sick.
What we're doing together
- Sleeping-breath counts, tracked every night by his Maven collar, the earliest possible signal.
- Calm, happy movement: he sets the pace, we skip the wild sprints.
- Preparing smart questions for the late November echo. His taurine level came back normal in September, and NT-proBNP and CRP were drawn on 10/22 as a baseline.
Heart findings and medication decisions here are Dr. Jung's (EchoVet Cardiology), working with Rise Pet Health.
The full picture
The medical name is dilated cardiomyopathy, DCM. His cardiologist staged it B1 (early, no enlargement) in 2023 and moved it to B2 (mild enlargement, still no symptoms) in May 2026: the left side of his heart measured larger than the year before, and its squeeze is mildly reduced. His pimobendan dose was increased, and a recheck heart picture is planned for around late November. Two things make Finnick's situation interesting: his diet is grain-free, which cardiologists ask about because of a possible link to this condition, and yet he has taken a daily taurine supplement (the nutrient at the center of that theory) since December 2023 and the changes still progressed. That's why the taurine blood level was our first question, and it came back normal in September 2026, so the team can look past food as the main lever. Risks his cardiologist watches for are fluid in the lungs and rhythm changes, which is what the sleeping-breath count catches earliest. Nothing about his daily life needs to feel different right now, and that's the goal: keep it that way.
Blood pressure
This season's focusWhen his kidneys were checked in 2023, Finnick's blood pressure was a calm 124. This August it read 140-150 at the clinic. Dr. Ponteres wondered aloud if that was just excitement (he does love his vet visits), which is exactly why she asked for relaxed readings at home.
What we're doing together
- Home readings with his cuff, while he's lying calm, logged here so the pattern is obvious.
- Bringing the home numbers to Dr. Ponteres so she can decide if anything needs to change. Since September his home readings have run from 112/68 to 136/81, calmer than the clinic numbers.
Blood-pressure monitoring and any next steps are Dr. Ponteres's call (Rise Pet Health).
The full picture
Why it matters: blood pressure touches both of Finnick's big stories. Pressure that stays high makes kidneys work harder, and it adds load to a heart that's already being watched. There's also a wrinkle worth knowing: the medicine he once took that happened to help blood pressure (telmisartan) was stopped by his vets in 2024 after a rough kidney episode. It was on purpose, and his kidney numbers stayed good without it. So right now nothing in his medicine cabinet is holding pressure down, which makes real home numbers genuinely important. If they run high when he's relaxed, his team has good options; if they're calm, everyone exhales. Either way, the home log answers it.
His kidneys
Doing greatThis is the comeback story. In 2023 a kidney biopsy showed Finnick's immune system was irritating his kidney filters, letting protein leak away. His albumin had dropped to 1.7, well below where it should live. Three years later that leak is essentially closed: albumin 3.2 and steady, protein loss near zero.
What we're doing together
- Celebrating it, genuinely. This took his whole team and a lot of consistency.
- Quarterly lab days stay sacred; the trend is the treasure.
- Home blood-pressure checks, because pressure and kidneys are roommates.
The diagnosis came from a kidney biopsy read by veterinary kidney specialists; the ongoing plan is Rise Pet Health's.
The full picture
The full name is immune-complex glomerulonephritis: the filters were inflamed by his own immune system. The luckiest sentence in his whole record: the biopsy found almost no scarring, which meant his kidneys had room to heal, and they used it. His vets put him on medicines that quiet the immune system, and the numbers tell the rest: urine protein went from heavy leak to trace; albumin returned to normal range by 2024 and hasn't wobbled since. His kidney values (creatinine, BUN) still run a touch above the lab's range. They have for three years, steadily, and his team knows and expects that. The quiet immune system is also why his white-cell counts run low; that's watched on every lab day, and it's one of the reasons routine bloodwork stays non-negotiable even when he looks perfect.
His tummy
Doing greatFinnick's gut has opinions, always has. In early 2024 his vets confirmed inflammatory bowel changes and a condition that lets the gut lose protein, which is part of why his food is so carefully chosen. Lately? Quiet, comfortable, good appetite, good energy.
What we're doing together
- Keeping his food steady, trimming the calories an ounce at a time, and counting treats inside his day.
- Watching the simple stuff: appetite, stool, energy. Boring is beautiful.
His gut conditions were identified by biopsy through his internal-medicine team; food changes go through them.
The full picture
The details: inflammatory bowel disease plus lymphangiectasia, a condition where the gut's tiny lymph channels leak protein. Together with the kidney story, it means Finnick has had two ways to lose protein, which makes his diet a genuine balancing act rather than a simple choice. It's also why the "should his food have grains?" question from cardiology can't be answered casually: his current rabbit-based diet was built around his gut and his history of food sensitivities. One of his gut vitamins (B12) has drifted down over two years, still in range, worth a question at the next visit. A repeat fecal PCR was on the 10/22 list. Any food redesign happens with his vet team, weighing all three organs at once. That's the deliberate plan, not a delay.
His thyroid
We're watchingWay back in 2018 (five years before anything else on this page), Finnick's vets found his immune system nudging his thyroid. He's taken a small thyroid supplement twice a day ever since, and it's been smooth sailing.
What we're doing together
- Nothing new to do at home. His tablets carry this one.
- His thyroid number has drifted lower across the last 18 months, so a fasted thyroid panel was drawn on 10/22 and sent to Michigan State, now that his supplements are simpler.
Thyroid testing and dosing are Rise Pet Health's domain.
The full picture
The condition is autoimmune (lymphocytic) thyroiditis, and it was actually Finnick's first autoimmune diagnosis, the opening chapter of a pattern that later touched his kidneys and gut. That pattern matters: it tells his team his immune system runs enthusiastic, which is why his medicines lean the other way. The watch item is simple: his total T4 reading has slid from 3.3 to 1.4 over 18 months on an unchanged dose. Still technically in range, but thyroid also matters to hearts, so the fuller panel (free T4, TSH) is a well-aimed, inexpensive question for an upcoming visit.
His lower back
This season's focusThis spring, after some wobbly back legs and a reluctance to hop onto furniture, imaging found a disc in Finnick's lower back pressing where it shouldn't. The good news came in the same picture: his spinal cord itself looked healthy. He now gets twice-weekly care for it (laser, acupuncture, and friends), and his people say it's helping.
What we're doing together
- Tracking the good days: jumping, stairs, tail-wag walks, so "better" is measured, not guessed.
- Gentle-movement rules: traction over leaps, warm-ups over zoomies.
- Asking his teams how heart-friendly exercise and back-friendly exercise fit together, one plan, not two. He tweaked his back on 10/19, so walks stay easy for now, and once the heat breaks the goal is more walking to rebuild his back-leg muscle.
The imaging and injections are his veterinary specialists' work; rehab runs through Rancho Mobile and his integrative team.
The full picture
The imaging (an MRI in May 2026) showed a disc at the lumbosacral junction (L7-S1, where the spine meets the pelvis) pressing on the bundle of nerves that runs to his back legs, along with some age-related disc wear above it. His vets treated it with targeted epidural anti-inflammatory injections, daily nerve-comfort medication as needed, and a course of Adequan joint injections, on top of weekly rehab: acupuncture and laser, alternating between two integrative vets. The encouraging part: no damage inside the spinal cord itself, and a real response to treatment. This is also the quiet explanation for a lot of little things (the hesitation to jump, the slower stairs) and why his care plan treats comfort as a first-class goal, not an afterthought.
His skin & coat
Doing greatAsk anyone who knew young Finnick: the itchies were his original nemesis. Years of allergy detective work (foods, pollens, even specific bugs) taught his people exactly how to keep him comfortable. These days his coat is calm and glossy.
What we're doing together
- Staying ahead of flare-ups with the routines that already work.
- Noting any itch, redness, or ear trouble in the visit notes. Early beats itchy. When he does scratch, a bath or a yeast dip.
Allergy history and any flare-up care belong to his primary vet team.
The full picture
His allergy story runs the full decade: environmental allergies (atopy) plus a documented insect allergy, managed over the years with everything from medicated support to targeted injections. Here's the honest nuance his team keeps in mind: part of why his skin is so quiet right now is that the immune-calming medicines protecting his kidneys also calm allergies. If his vets ever ease those medicines down, the itch may ask for attention again, and there are good, modern options ready if it does. For now: quiet skin, happy dog, zero action needed.