I took Beau to his yearly checkup this morning.  His vet said he has a heart murmur.  I don't know if this is something he was born with or something that has developed from some underlying cause.  I've lived my entire life with a heart murmur with no problems thus far.  Many people and animals do. We were referred to a cardiologist to determine if the murmur is anything we need to worry about, but from what I've read about heart murmurs, it says that the examining vet should be able to determine the severity of the murmur before having to do further tests.  She didn't give me a level for the murmur and Beau is asymptomatic--no cough, weakness, panting or the like--so I'm wondering how serious (or not) this problem may be.  She said it's not urgent and could wait until after the holidays, which indicates it is not that serious.  But it has me worried, nevertheless.  I doubt if I'll wait that long.  I cried on the way home and could think of nothing else the rest of the day. Beau is the sweetest boy ever and has such a good and loving heart, it should be a perfect one.  I pray that my time with this wonderful dog I rescued will not be cut short.  I already missed five years of his life.