In 2004, I got a Shetland Sheep Dog puppy.... cutest thing EVER! And Bill went with me to pick her up on one of our first dates. A year later we moved to GA, and she was so lonely in this big house and started to get into things. We looked on petfinder to find her a friend. We ended up at the Lumpkin Co. Shelter and picked the sweetest-faced hound- boxer mix. She had an ear infection, ring worm on her tail, fleas, and a slight heart murmur, dont worry that will pass as she ages. Took her to the vet. She has pulmonary hypertension and will die in a year, take her back to the shelter and get a new dog. Took her to UGA. She has a bad triscuspid valve. We can prolong her life about a year....or we can contact Colorado State University, theyre starting to do open heart surgery if the dog meets certain criteria. 4 months, taking a loan out on two young 401Ks, and a pet health loan later, we were in Colorado. She was the 7th dog to have open heart surgery (Lance Armstrongs dog was the third apparently). We opted for the porcine (pig) valve over the bovine (cow) valve b/c, frankly, bovine was $3,000 more expensive and we were just tapped at that point. The two dogs having surgery immediately before Peanut died quickly, and they were going to stop all further procedures and re-evaluate. I called the surgeon Dr. Orton and cried and begged him to try since it was our only option. He agreed ONLY because we were the first ones trying a porcine valve, and for research sake, they wanted to see if it would be more successful. Also our dog was the first mutt to undergo the procedure. They said in a human, a pig valve averaged 6-8 years. Its been 8.5 years and shes theyre greatest success story.. she was at UGA last week for her cardiology follow up and her heart is as strong as any 9 year old dogs.... dont have to go back for a year. No change in the echocardiogram in over 4.5 years. However, shes got mod to severe arthritis and has a heck of a time with steps, which makes me so anxious (has fallen a few times). Shes on meds now, and theyre parting shot? Well, did you think shed live long enough to have old age issues? No... I hoped and lived echo-to-echo... never thought about it that way. Happy 9th Birthday to my grumpy, flatulent, onrey, food-happy, sweet, supportive (when Seamus is upset she just loses it and tries to knock him over with kisses), nutty-buddy, pig-dog Peanut! We love her sooooooo much, and are so grateful to still have her irascible, arthritic booty around! Go mutts!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 12:14:41 +0000