Carr's Heart Surgery
Donation protected
** 7:54pm Update: Today I lost my best friend and the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. While Carr was getting ready for surgery he took a turn for the worst and developed pneumonia. The pneumonia left vets unable to stabilize him enough to operate. With pneumonia and heart failure his chances of survival began to rapidly decrease. It’s hard to explain how much I loved him or how much his loss hurts. Thank you to everyone who donated and shared his story. Your support and donations kept him comfortable and pain free up until the end. Carr recieved great critical care thanks to you all. He still has outstanding hospital bills and your donations have helped me begin to cover them. Thank you to everyone for your love and prayers ❤️
I'm hoping my friends, loved ones, and anyone who sees this Go Fund Me page can help save Carr (affectionately known as Pupper Carr).
Carr is a loyal, loving and incredible Golden Retriever puppy... I love him more than words do justice explaining! At 3.5 months old he's already learned to sit, shake and lay down (he's a very smart little guy)! Carr is my best friend and we go everywhere together - work, the beach, to the grocery store, anywhere really... we're always together.
Last night around 3am Carr was having breathing problems and I rushed him to Tampa Bay Veterinary ER Clinic. Originally I was worried he could have been bitten by a poisonous bug... but his diagnosis isn't so simple. Carr has an open valve in his heart called the PDA valve. The valve has been leaking fluid from his heart, which has built up around his lungs and is causing him breathing and heartbeat problems.
I've learned quite a bit about his condition today. All puppies are born with a PDA valve in their heart because in the womb their mothers transfer oxygenated blood to their heart through this valve. When a puppy is born, the valve closes off during it's first days of life. Carr's valve hasn't closed all the way so as he's grown fluid has leaked into his chest cavity and built up around his organs. This happened very suddenly... only a few hours before I admitted him he was running around and playing with his new toys.
Despite this... the prognosis is good! There is a surgery that can save him and would allow him to live a long, healthy and normal life. It's a relatively simple procedure; a catheter would be inserted into a vein in his back leg and worked up to his heart where a small object would be inserted into the hole. This would allow a blood clot to form, covering the hole and a scar would close the valve off in a matter of days.
Carr is still in intensive care and is oxygenating at 91% saturation (it's increased since 74%!!). Tonight I am picking up an oxygen transport machine from a veterinary cardiologist so he can be transported to BluePearl Veterinary Hospital for an endocardiograph test at 7am. This test will confirm he doesn't have any other heart damage and allow me to schedule his surgery. Currently he has congestive heart failure.
Without the PDA surgery veterinarians recommend that puppies with this condition are made comfortable for as long as possible (on average they live 9 months). Because he's growing so fast and dependent on oxygen this isn't an option. I really can't bear the idea of putting him down when he can live a long life. Carr's last two days in intensive care have been very expensive and I can't afford to pay for the surgery and post-op medication. I'm praying and hoping that we can raise enough money for his procedure. It's last minute... but if we can raise just half of the total cost tonight I can use it as a deposit to get his surgery scheduled tomorrow.
Please share this page so we can save Carr. <3 From the bottom of my heart I can't say thank you enough.
I'm hoping my friends, loved ones, and anyone who sees this Go Fund Me page can help save Carr (affectionately known as Pupper Carr).
Carr is a loyal, loving and incredible Golden Retriever puppy... I love him more than words do justice explaining! At 3.5 months old he's already learned to sit, shake and lay down (he's a very smart little guy)! Carr is my best friend and we go everywhere together - work, the beach, to the grocery store, anywhere really... we're always together.
Last night around 3am Carr was having breathing problems and I rushed him to Tampa Bay Veterinary ER Clinic. Originally I was worried he could have been bitten by a poisonous bug... but his diagnosis isn't so simple. Carr has an open valve in his heart called the PDA valve. The valve has been leaking fluid from his heart, which has built up around his lungs and is causing him breathing and heartbeat problems.
I've learned quite a bit about his condition today. All puppies are born with a PDA valve in their heart because in the womb their mothers transfer oxygenated blood to their heart through this valve. When a puppy is born, the valve closes off during it's first days of life. Carr's valve hasn't closed all the way so as he's grown fluid has leaked into his chest cavity and built up around his organs. This happened very suddenly... only a few hours before I admitted him he was running around and playing with his new toys.
Despite this... the prognosis is good! There is a surgery that can save him and would allow him to live a long, healthy and normal life. It's a relatively simple procedure; a catheter would be inserted into a vein in his back leg and worked up to his heart where a small object would be inserted into the hole. This would allow a blood clot to form, covering the hole and a scar would close the valve off in a matter of days.
Carr is still in intensive care and is oxygenating at 91% saturation (it's increased since 74%!!). Tonight I am picking up an oxygen transport machine from a veterinary cardiologist so he can be transported to BluePearl Veterinary Hospital for an endocardiograph test at 7am. This test will confirm he doesn't have any other heart damage and allow me to schedule his surgery. Currently he has congestive heart failure.
Without the PDA surgery veterinarians recommend that puppies with this condition are made comfortable for as long as possible (on average they live 9 months). Because he's growing so fast and dependent on oxygen this isn't an option. I really can't bear the idea of putting him down when he can live a long life. Carr's last two days in intensive care have been very expensive and I can't afford to pay for the surgery and post-op medication. I'm praying and hoping that we can raise enough money for his procedure. It's last minute... but if we can raise just half of the total cost tonight I can use it as a deposit to get his surgery scheduled tomorrow.
Please share this page so we can save Carr. <3 From the bottom of my heart I can't say thank you enough.
Organizer
Jessica Axelsen
Organizer
Tampa, FL
