September 30, 2004
URGENT MEDICAL EMERGENCY

Read Daisy's Story
12 week old "Daisy" has a grade 6 PDA heart murmur. Unless we take her for heart murmur repair surgery, she will die. Can you help us to save Daisy? If we can raise the needed $2000.00 to save her life, she will be our 22nd Heart Murmur Repair Bichon.

You may use your major credit card securely, at this site to make a tax deductible donation to help us to pay our vet bills.



Small Paws® Rescue: How to Donate Securely Using a Credit Card

You may also send a check or money order to:
Small Paws® Rescue Inc.
3316 S. 72nd. W. Ave.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74107

UPDATE OCT 5, 2004

Daisy, today, with 4th year Vet Student, Kendra Tucker, at Texas A & M University School of Veterinary Medicine

Click here to see the video of Dr. Miller examining our Daisy, today.

(If you need a player to see the video, you may down load one here for free!)

You guys, this is going to have to be a short update. I haven't slept much in the last 24 hours, so I am starting to sound sort of blonde.

As you know, I am down here at Texas A&M with little Daisy, our 22nd Heart Murmur repair baby.

Yes, we have done this a few times before!:)

You guys, I don't have great news about Daisy. I mean, I hope and pray that she is going to be ok, but Dr. Miller darn near scared me to pieces today.

This is more about Dr. Miller.

"Dr. Matthew W. Miller received his DVM degree from The Ohio State University in 1984 and his Master of Science degree from the same university in 1993. He completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship at the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group from 1984-1985 and a cardiology residency at the Ohio State University from 1985-1988. He became a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology) in 1988. He is currently an Associate Professor of Cardiology in The Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University. He is the staff cardiologist for the Texas Veterinary Medical Center and holds an adjunct position in Pediatric Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine. "

Do you all remember Marcie's story? I thought Marcie looked fine...but when I got her down here they told me she was 12 hours away from irreversible heart failure and damage that would have taken her life.

Well, you better sit down. Little Daisy is WORSE. Dadgummit, I thought she was doing well, bouncing here and there. She is in what is called "some big honkin' word that starts with an E" heart failure. Not impending, but some word that means the same thing.

She is not in congestive heart failure now...but if she were they could give her lasix for the fluid.

What she is ALMOST in, is worse. He said, "One beat further in THIS kind of heart failure, and she would just die. There would be nothing to treat." (Oh yeah, Dr. Miller SCARE ME SOME MORE WHY DONCHA??"

He said most PDA's are "unremarkable." Then he said that Daisy's PDA is very remarkable. (this is NOT a good thing.) Her heart is VERY enlarged, over 50% enlarged, from having to work so hard.

He said that she is just too bad to coil. :(

They will have to crack the chest open first thing tomorrow. He said he would not have wanted to see this dog one day later and one week later she probably wouldn't have been alive, if we hadn't brought her down today. (See why he was scarin' me?)

The vet in VA. wanted to try to grow her some more to get her to 4 pounds so that the vets at VA tech could do the coil technique on her.

I know one thing. I am NOT trained to tell if a dog is in heart failure. Only an ECG can tell vets if this is the case.

I AM trained, however, to grab that sherpa bag, make a phone call, and get both of our butts on down here to Texas A&M, and if I do say so myself, I do that part pretty darn well! (Have Sherpa, Will Travel.)

This is one time, my call was right. There isn't much demand for Bichons that aren't breathin', if you get my drift.

Dr. Miller said when they do the coil technique, the need a vein to sort of taper down at the end, so the coil has something to grab onto.

In Daisy's heart, her heart has had to work so hard, and is so enlarged, that "the vein" doesn't taper. It is sort of blown out of shape, without a taper, without a place for the coil to grab onto.:(

So, first thing in the morning they are going to have to crack her open and repair that hole in her heart.

At least here, at the campus of Texas A&M, we not only have wonderful soft tissue surgeons, but we also have a staff of cardiologists that bar none, are the best there are.

Together, we have the "Dream Team" of veterinary cardiologists and heart surgeons.

Daisy has the VERY BEST looking after her care. Of this I have no doubt.

Well, I am about to sink into bed. I will run the camera up there in the morning to them to take pictures during surgery. I know you will all join me in praying for this precious, precious baby girl. She has my heart. Love, Robin

Daisy, today.

UPDATE OCT 6, 2004

DAISY MADE IT! She is going to be fine! She made it through the open chest surgery without a hitch and now she will be a normal little baby Bichon girl with a normal life span! And...she has an adoptive Mama waiting to take her into her arms for ever and ever, amen! She may get to come home as early as tomorrow! Pics from today's surgery coming soon!

UPDATE October 6, 9:30 P.M.

These are pictures taken today of Daisy's surgery. GRAPHIC PICTURE WARNING! If you are weak of tummy..don't LOOK!:) And don't ask me what they are doin' in these pictures 'cause I have no idea!:)

I think they are sewing her up in this one! She will come home on Friday, rarin' to GOOOOOO!:)

UPDATE!

October 17, 2004

Daisy flew to her forever home last week and she is just doing so well! She is 100% healthy now!

Here she is with her three kids who love her dearly! They will have Daisy through their "growing up" years!

What a precious life we saved. I can't thank you all enough for supporting her surgery!

Return to Small Paws Rescue's Home Page
Help Support This Effort