See the TV 13 ABC coverage on Donna's amazing story here.

On Wednesday, April 1st. we received a call from a woman who stated that there were some animals abadoned in her neighborhood. They found a mother cat, three kittens and two puppies. She called us and we instructed her to bring them in. One of the puppies, Donna, a 7 week old Shepherd Mix, had a level 6 heart murmur, diagnosed as PDA (patent ductus arteriosus), a congenital heart defect.

After birth, blood normally flows from the right heart, through the pulmonary artery, to the lungs. The blood returns to the left side of the heart from where it flows to the rest of the body through the aorta. Before birth, the lungs are not yet needed for breathing, so blood simply flows from the pulmonary artery through the ductus arteriosus to the aorta. At birth, due to pressure changes within the bloodstream, the ductus normally closes permanently, forcing blood to now enter the lungs where oxygen can be exchanged.

Without treatment, almost all dogs with PDA will live a shorter than normal life. Depending on severity, some will live only a few weeks, others can survive longer.
Donna had a level 6 heart murmur – highest.

There were only 3 options:
1. She basically had no chance of surviving – she would have died of congestive heart failure on her own. By Friday, she was having difficulty breathing.
2. Euthanasia.
3. Open Heart Surgery – Dr. Brent Couts offered a referral to a veterinary cardiologist who could have corrected Donna’s defect. But costs of these types of referrals are expensive. We couldn’t be sure of her prognosis, and we knew there were a lot of other animals that may still need care. Left untreated, more than 70 percent of puppies with PDA die of congestive heart failure by one year of age. Dr. Brent Couts offered, to try to correct the PDA. He felt with his surgical training and experience that he was comfortable attempting this procedure. He spoke with the technician and staff who would be helping, and together we believed this was the only other shot for her.

Dr. Brent did open heart surgery at the shelter on Saturday, April 11th at 7:30 am. AMAZING!

Donna is doing well this morning, still not sure yet the long term prognosis. Probably won’t know for at least a few weeks.

Before - Saturday 7:30 AM Before - Saturday 7:30 AM

During Surgery

Saturday at 5:00 PM with her brother Dutch

Dr. Brent and Donna

Saturday at 10:00 PM

Tuesday April 14th with her bandages off - doing well!

Donna and Dutch