Canine Interest Stories

MouseMouse's Story

Mouse is a very young puppy who was surrendered to Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue by a breeder who wanted him to have a chance to live, but didn't have the money to fix him and didn't want to put him to sleep.

Mouse has PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus). This means that an artery that connects the left and right parts of the heart never closed like it should have and the blood isn't getting pumped properly through his little body.

As a result, his heart has to work extra hard to get the job done. To fix it, he needs surgery at a specialist who will close the artery manually, by putting a tiny clamp on it. If this is not done, Mouse's heart will have to work harder and harder as he gets older and he will be in heart failure by the time he's 6 months old.

This surgery can cost anywhere between $1200-$2000 depending on what they find when they get to see the heart. Dogs with PDA that do not have the surgery, typically do not make it to their first birthday. The bad part is that this surgery is very expensive, yet it should be done as soon as possible in order to be corrected before any long term damage is done.

The good news is, Mouse has a 92% chance of surviving the surgery itself, and if caught early, as in Mouse's case, puppies with PDA live out happy normal lives. Mouse is not available for adoption at this time. Watch our website for updates on Mouse's prognosis.

If you would like to help with Mouse's surgery, please send a donation to Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue, N4535 Hwy 55, Chilton, WI 53014 and put Mouse in the memo line. Any donations left over after the surgery bill has been paid will be put into the WSR Senior fund to help offset the medical costs of senior shelties. More information on WSR's senior program.

Thank you in advance for your support, Mouse thanks you, too!

2/1/05 Mouse Update:

Mouse has a consult with the surgeon on 2/7/05. After that consult, surgery will be scheduled. This same surgeon did the same surgery on another WSR puppy two years ago. That puppy is now a happy 2 year old!

2/12/05 Mouse Update:

Mouse's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, 2/15/05. He's in good hands - his surgeon does an average of 10 PDA surgeries per year.

Mouse in the ICU2/15/05 Mouse Update:

Mouse's surgery went well, although the shunt was much bigger than Dr. Bruce thought it would be. It took several stitches to close it off, but as soon as he did, his heart rate dropped and it started pumping normally, which is what they wanted. He looked SO little. They had him in intensive care until he gets more awake and a tiny little baby's onesie on him all wrapped up in a heating blanket. He did seem to know that I was there.


2/16/05 Mouse Update:

The doctor said that he's eating, drinking, playing with the toy that I sent along and generally causing trouble being a puppy :)))) They didn't get to take his chest tube out until midnight, but that was because they had too many other emergencies come in. Since he's acting 'normal', they took away his continual pain medication (pain patch) and he will just get some pain medication a couple times a day. It was pretty quiet around here last night and Daisy Mae kept going over to his playpen and barking to let me know that he wasn't in it. Mouse will be coming home shortly. Stay Tuned!

Spring 2005 Mouse Update:

Mouse went to his new home sporting a cute jacket his new mom bought him to keep his partly shaved body warm. The only thing left for his post-surgical care is for the stitches to come out and their vet is going to do that. This way, Mouse can get started on Housebreaking 101 as soon as possible!


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