Heart Surgery for Rosita

Rosita

Just about a month ago, Paws rescued a sweet momma dog and her 10 puppies. That’s right…10 pups!! They were in a bad situation and we were lucky enough to have a foster willing to take this big family in! The vet that saw them in West Virginia said the one little girl had a heart murmur, but often pups outgrow those, so there were no concerns at that time. The pups all thrived in their foster home and the time came for Rosita to see a vet regarding her little heart having a murmur. She saw our rescue vet, Dr. Alley, for some testing which came back very concerning. Her cardiac status was not good, she either had a hole in her heart or Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). She was referred to PVSEC for a cardiology consult.

Rosita saw the cardiologist at PVSEC today and had an echocardiogram that showed evidence of a congenital heart defect, and was diagnosed with PDA, left to right with Congestive Heart Failure. This diagnosis is characterized by abnormal blood flow between the heart and lungs due to the non-closure of an artery, resulting in the left side of the heart being overloaded leading to arrhythmias and CHF. Because Rosita’s PDA is large, she is already in congestive heart failure. She was placed on Vetmedin and Lasix to help treat her for now. Without surgery, she will die within a month or two.

The surgery for PDA, heart surgery, comes with a very high financial toll. The estimate is $6,000 to $8,000, and we have already spent just over $1,000 on regular vet visits and cardiology consultations. Rosita’s cardiologist, Erin Anderson, reports that the prognosis is good, about 90% success rate. The sooner the treatment is obtained, the better the outcome. Once the surgery is completed and she recovers, Rosita would come off the medications and could live a normal, healthy, happy life.

So, the question is…...what is little Rosita’s life worth? Do we spend almost 10K to fix her heart and save her life? A life that she never asked for, brought into the world because of irresponsible pet owners. An overbred momma dog and this poor little pup who is now fighting for her life. Rescue is hard and tough decisions often need to be made.

So, we come to our supporters with the hope that you will help us help Rosita. We are asking you to open your heart to help mend hers. Every dollar will get us closer to reaching our goal of $8,000. Every dollar will help Rosita on her road to recovery. We can’t imagine not giving this sweet, young pup a chance at a healthy, happy life. She deserves the chance to live and thrive. Please share and consider donating. You can share through this Gofundme or our Paypal & Venmo options are on our webpage and Facebook Page. Thank you in advance for always supporting the rescue. We appreciate you more than you could ever know.