On Valentine’s Day, a small, scared, underweight dog found his way to me. After holding him for the first time, I knew I could never let him go. I took him to the veterinarian for an examination and vaccinations and was told that he had a heart murmur, but that it may not be a problem. Two weeks later he developed a cough. After trying several medications with no improvement, the veterinarian took X-rays that showed an enlarged heart.
Sheldon was referred to a veterinary cardiology specialist in Alabama, where I was told he had severe valvular pulmonic stenosis. They said no medicine could treat the problem, he wasn’t a candidate for surgery and there was a good chance he would go into cardiac arrest in the next few months. Heartbroken, I immediately began searching for somewhere that could help Sheldon. That is when I came across the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The doctors there examined Sheldon and an echocardiogram confirmed pulmonic stenosis. While they agreed with the diagnosis, they disagreed with the prognosis and were confident that they could perform surgery to fix his heart. A few weeks later, a balloon valvuloplasty was performed to open the blockage and was successful. The next day, Sheldon was discharged with a great prognosis, thanks to the UGA Small Animal Hospital’s Cardiology Department. He is now healthy, happy and energetic. After being given no hope, UGA truly was an answer to our prayers.
