Help Dumpling Mend his Broken Heart ❤️
Donation protected
Hi human friends! My name is Dumpling. I want to thank you for checking in on my sweet life! Things have been a little ruff lately, but first... let me tell you a little bit about myself!
I was born in LA and abandoned at a local shelter there, before miraculously being flown to NYC as part of a “Chihuahua Drop” exchange with North Shore Animal League (a no-kill animal shelter). I was only nine months old when I met my mommy and when she adopted me and that’s when my life really began! I was head over paws when I met mom. An instant bond was formed between us when she showered me with love, treats, and cuddles that I never had before in my life. Mom’s a real go-getter so we moved and lived in a few cities, where I was her most trusted companion for all of life's ups and downs. I celebrated with her when she had success at work, wagged my tail and played with four and two-legged friends, and gave mom lots of comforting kisses when she lost her mother last year to cancer (I miss my grandma so much).
In 2018 she moved us to Los Angeles! She kept saying that it was my birthplace but I have no memory. It’s pretty sunny here and I get to nap under the sun from the living room windows. Now, I enjoy long walks on the beach and all the green trails here (but no, this is not a personal ad).
Shortly after arriving in California I developed a cough that didn’t go away - so mommy took me for a full body check-up with x-rays and everything. My new vet told mommy that I had a heart murmur and referred us to a canine cardiologist! I was scared but was a good boy and stayed still for my very first echocardiogram.
We found out the ruff news after: I had Mitral Valve Heart Disease* and at stage B2, which was only one step before C, congenital heart failure. My left side of my heart was visibly enlarged. Immediately I had to start taking two different kinds of medicine - one to keep my heart pumping more effectively, and another to help me with my coughing spasms.
Mommy was devastated with the prognosis, and discussed with my doctor options to prolong my life. She discovered a very amazing alternative that is relatively rare to the veterinary field but highly effective. A cardiac surgery group in Japan led by Dr. Masami Uechi have shown successful outcomes (>90% success rates) in dogs undergoing mitral valve repair for degenerative mitral valve disease. The surgery is a complete valve repair! The surgery’s aim is to reduce the leakage across the mitral valve and over time, this will enable the heart to remodel so that the left ventricle and left atrium reduce to a more normal size.
Immediately mommy began the preparations for me to get on the surgery waitlist, since this is a highly specialized surgery and only three teams in the world perform it, all taught by Dr. Uechi at JASMINE. I was deemed too healthy the first time we tried in September 2019, and was told to try again after another six month echocardiogram. In the meantime we started my 180 day quarantine to get into Japan! Man, I was excited to start quarantine but I did not like all the shots I had to get at the vet.
End of April 2020 we did another echocardiogram and submitted the results to Dr. Uechi in Japan. This time, he says my heart has degenerated to a point where I am eligible for surgery. On July 3rd I had a scary check-in to the emergency room, and my heart condition has slipped into stage C! Time is of the essence.
I’m taking things one bite at a time, because this is bittersweet news. No one wants to hear that their heart condition is getting worse! But, now I know why I have slowed down these past six months, feeling a bit tired as my heart was not pumping blood efficiently to all my body. The good news? Mommy and I now have a clear purpose to go through this life-saving surgery together. We are scheduling it for December 2020, the first appointment we can get! This means that I will have to fly with mommy to Japan, very far away from my comfy bed at home, and have open-heart surgery.
I am not ready to sail off into the sunset quite yet. I am a fierce chihuahua, and we are known to live up to 18 years old. This surgery and recovery are going to be major. So, yes. It’s expensive, and yes it’s scary, but my mom and the special team at JASMINE think I can handle it. And to that I say, let’s play ball! I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve, and I am not ready to give up yet. There is so much more life to live! Thank you for not giving up on me and helping me mend my heart. I love you!
*Mitral valve disease (MVD) is a condition whereby the mitral valve in the heart thickens and degrades overtime. A leak in the valve develops as the valve can no longer close properly. MVD is considered an older age, acquired disease and is very common in small breeds of dogs. The first sign that a dog has MVD is a heart murmur. It is a slowly progressive disease and dogs are often asymptomatic for many years. As the disease progresses, dogs will go on to develop other symptoms including coughing, lethargy, exercise intolerance, and, in some cases, fainting. Eventually MVD leads to congestive heart failure. Once an episode of heart failure occurs (Stage C), the average survival time is less than 1 year, depending on a variety of factors.
Dumpling's Left Ventricle + Atrium Enlarged vs. Right:
For more information about JASMINE and Dr. Uechi's lifesaving surgery:
https://jasmine-vet.co.jp/English.html
To see & read about other fur babies with MVD and their journey:
https://www.instagram.com/mightyheartsproject/
Thanks again for your love and support. Stay healthy! XOXO, Dumpling & Eva
I was born in LA and abandoned at a local shelter there, before miraculously being flown to NYC as part of a “Chihuahua Drop” exchange with North Shore Animal League (a no-kill animal shelter). I was only nine months old when I met my mommy and when she adopted me and that’s when my life really began! I was head over paws when I met mom. An instant bond was formed between us when she showered me with love, treats, and cuddles that I never had before in my life. Mom’s a real go-getter so we moved and lived in a few cities, where I was her most trusted companion for all of life's ups and downs. I celebrated with her when she had success at work, wagged my tail and played with four and two-legged friends, and gave mom lots of comforting kisses when she lost her mother last year to cancer (I miss my grandma so much).
In 2018 she moved us to Los Angeles! She kept saying that it was my birthplace but I have no memory. It’s pretty sunny here and I get to nap under the sun from the living room windows. Now, I enjoy long walks on the beach and all the green trails here (but no, this is not a personal ad).
Shortly after arriving in California I developed a cough that didn’t go away - so mommy took me for a full body check-up with x-rays and everything. My new vet told mommy that I had a heart murmur and referred us to a canine cardiologist! I was scared but was a good boy and stayed still for my very first echocardiogram.
We found out the ruff news after: I had Mitral Valve Heart Disease* and at stage B2, which was only one step before C, congenital heart failure. My left side of my heart was visibly enlarged. Immediately I had to start taking two different kinds of medicine - one to keep my heart pumping more effectively, and another to help me with my coughing spasms.
Mommy was devastated with the prognosis, and discussed with my doctor options to prolong my life. She discovered a very amazing alternative that is relatively rare to the veterinary field but highly effective. A cardiac surgery group in Japan led by Dr. Masami Uechi have shown successful outcomes (>90% success rates) in dogs undergoing mitral valve repair for degenerative mitral valve disease. The surgery is a complete valve repair! The surgery’s aim is to reduce the leakage across the mitral valve and over time, this will enable the heart to remodel so that the left ventricle and left atrium reduce to a more normal size.
Immediately mommy began the preparations for me to get on the surgery waitlist, since this is a highly specialized surgery and only three teams in the world perform it, all taught by Dr. Uechi at JASMINE. I was deemed too healthy the first time we tried in September 2019, and was told to try again after another six month echocardiogram. In the meantime we started my 180 day quarantine to get into Japan! Man, I was excited to start quarantine but I did not like all the shots I had to get at the vet.
End of April 2020 we did another echocardiogram and submitted the results to Dr. Uechi in Japan. This time, he says my heart has degenerated to a point where I am eligible for surgery. On July 3rd I had a scary check-in to the emergency room, and my heart condition has slipped into stage C! Time is of the essence.
I’m taking things one bite at a time, because this is bittersweet news. No one wants to hear that their heart condition is getting worse! But, now I know why I have slowed down these past six months, feeling a bit tired as my heart was not pumping blood efficiently to all my body. The good news? Mommy and I now have a clear purpose to go through this life-saving surgery together. We are scheduling it for December 2020, the first appointment we can get! This means that I will have to fly with mommy to Japan, very far away from my comfy bed at home, and have open-heart surgery.
I am not ready to sail off into the sunset quite yet. I am a fierce chihuahua, and we are known to live up to 18 years old. This surgery and recovery are going to be major. So, yes. It’s expensive, and yes it’s scary, but my mom and the special team at JASMINE think I can handle it. And to that I say, let’s play ball! I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve, and I am not ready to give up yet. There is so much more life to live! Thank you for not giving up on me and helping me mend my heart. I love you!
*Mitral valve disease (MVD) is a condition whereby the mitral valve in the heart thickens and degrades overtime. A leak in the valve develops as the valve can no longer close properly. MVD is considered an older age, acquired disease and is very common in small breeds of dogs. The first sign that a dog has MVD is a heart murmur. It is a slowly progressive disease and dogs are often asymptomatic for many years. As the disease progresses, dogs will go on to develop other symptoms including coughing, lethargy, exercise intolerance, and, in some cases, fainting. Eventually MVD leads to congestive heart failure. Once an episode of heart failure occurs (Stage C), the average survival time is less than 1 year, depending on a variety of factors.
Dumpling's Left Ventricle + Atrium Enlarged vs. Right:
For more information about JASMINE and Dr. Uechi's lifesaving surgery:
https://jasmine-vet.co.jp/English.html
To see & read about other fur babies with MVD and their journey:
https://www.instagram.com/mightyheartsproject/
Thanks again for your love and support. Stay healthy! XOXO, Dumpling & Eva
Organizer
Eva Yean
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA