Mitral valve surgery for Moki

LONG STORY SHORT:

Moki is about 8  years old. She was diagnosed with Stage C degenerative mitral valve disease this past September and given a 1-1.5 year timeline. I've put a deposit down for mitral valve repair surgery in Japan that can extend her life 4+ years. The total cost is approx. $18K and we are scheduled for 7/4/22. I'm estimating at least another $2K for roundtrip flight and Airbnb for a month. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated! <3

LONG STORY:

On September 19, 2015, my life changed when my baby girl Moki came into my life through Adopt Me Rescue. She was initially just going to be another foster dog I would care for until finding her a forever home. Just three days later, that magical moment of unexplainable deep connection happened. She laid her head in my lap, looked at me with her sad and soulful eyes, and it was in that moment that I knew she was choosing me to be her forever home. #fosterfail

The following week, after I decided to adopt her, we took her to the vet to get her checked out and vaccinated only to find out she was pregnant! Well, she'd been rescued from an abusive backyard breeder and already had at least one litter of puppies from what we could tell. She was still relatively young- about 1 or 2. And the vet told us to expect three puppies!!!

(a VERY pregnant Moki)

On October 19, 2015, she ended up having FIVE puppies and I got to witness the miracle of life through the births of Korra, Bella, Cocoa, Cooper, and MoMo. And boy oh boy, did we have a season full of puppies! Eventually, four out of five were adopted by friends while Bella was adopted by “It’s a Wonderful Life” director Frank Capra’s granddaughter- and from what I’ve heard, she’s been living a wonderful life :)

(after a looooong day waiting for the babies to come out!)

When all the puppies left the nest, Moki was just so happy to be with me. The next few years, she would teach me so much about unconditional love, resilience, and being present. I watched her overcome so much fear and had so much joy watching her grow. She would travel easily with me and serve as the most perfect emotional support animal- and sometimes I was hers lol. I really believe we were brought together to help each other heal from our past trauma. She's been my most loyal friend through this rollercoaster of life and I really don't know what I would've done without her all these past few years.

In March of 2019, I found out Moki had a heart murmur. At that time, I was put at ease that she was healthy and could live a long healthy life with proper medical attention. Then, just a few months ago, everything changed. It happened so quickly starting with a strange cough. Upon examination at the vet, we discovered her heart had enlarged and was pushing into her trachea. Fluid in her lungs also indicated Congestive Heart Failure. She was immediately prescribed medications to manage the CHF.

 

Following up with a cardiologist, I was given more specifics of Moki’s condition and that she was Stage C in degenerative mitral valve disease along with mild pulmonary hypertension. At this time, I was also given a timeline of a year to a year and a half. I was crushed by this news.

 

Initially, I made the decision to just give Moki the best life possible for the next year as I previously thought the cost of surgery was much higher and something I really could not afford. I posted about this on Instagram/Facebook and had many friends reach out offering to donate if I were to ever start a GoFundMe. Honestly though, I felt strange to do so... partly because I'm not used to asking for help and partly because I was on the fence about putting Moki through surgery. I've also really had to wrestle with the question, "Am I being selfish?"

Now I've learned more about the surgery- it could repair Moki's leaky mitral valve and give her a normal lifespan. Dr. Masami Uechi at the JASMINE Japan Cardiovascular Medical Center specializes in it and has performed this surgery on roughly 1,000 dogs with a 92% success rate. I have one friend who had it done on her elderly dog 4 years ago and he's still doing great. This friend recommended that I take the initial steps to prepare Moki for surgery just to give us the option, so I took her to Dr. Emily Chapel at ACCESS Los Angeles to get all the necessary exams done. Turns out Moki is a very good surgical candidate!

 

I do have health insurance for Moki and it has covered 70% of all our recent vet/cardio visits + medications (Pimobendan, Furosemide, Enalapril), but this surgery is not covered as it is not the standard of care in the U.S. nor is it performed here. Medication is the standard of care, but medication cannot fix the problem, only this surgery can and Dr. Uechi is the one who developed it so I know Moki will be in the best hands.

 

The cost of surgery is ¥ 1,430,000 JPY not including hospitalization fees starting at ¥ 300,000 JPY and post and pre-op consultation fees that run from ¥ 30,000 ~ ¥ 90,000 JPY. It is estimated by MightyHeartsProject.org that the total cost is somewhere around $18K USD.

I've set my overall goal at $20K to factor in roundtrip flight + an Airbnb (given the possibility of a 10-day quarantine, I'd have to be in Japan for about a month factoring in the pre-op and post-op exams). I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the paperwork and planning I need to do around this, but if I can get some financial help here, it will certainly help immensely.

 

If you actually read all the way down to here, I truly, truly appreciate you. I know this is a lot and I still feel weird asking for help, but I just know that if I don't try this, I will regret it. Moki has been one of the few anchors in my life and I would be forever grateful for any help I can get to have her by my side a few more years. She is my ride or die. My one true dogmate. My home would feel incredibly empty without her and I know there's so much more life we can give each other these next few years.

Thank you so much <3

More info:
https://mightyheartsproject.org/mvdoverview
https://jasmine-vet.co.jp/english
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOrdeVo95ZI

More Moki:
https://www.instagram.com/moki.su/