Punkin', day one.

by Tree C.
(Sebring, FL)

This is my 8 week old Jack Russell/Chihuahua, "Punkin'", the day I brought her home. That was six weeks ago.

This past thursday, I brought her home from the small animal hospital in Gainesville, FL, where she underwent open heart surgery to correct her P.D.A. (patent ductus arteriosus). She is expected to make a full recovery and should be back to a normal little puppy in about 3 months.

When I brought her up to the hospital she was already in heart failure and had fluid in her lungs. I was unaware of how ill she really was because she is so full of energy. I was told that she probably wouldn't have lasted another month in the condition she was in.

I hope this information may help someone else whose dog has P.D.A. It's a faily common procedure and there is a 98% FULL recovery rate, if caught before there is permanent heart damage.

Tree C.