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Gifts for Gibbs

Friends, I invite you to be part of this amazing journey! Help us mend 5 month old baby Gibbs’ broken heart! Everything is falling into place for this five month old precious boy. We are filled with hope.  Become one with our family and help us help Gibbs. We can’t save the world but it means the world to the one we save. We are preparing Gibbs for open heart surgery. This precious pup was born with a rare juvenile heart defect. Gibbs was named after the boss man on the CBS series, NCIS. This boy is going to make it, he is filled with determination! He is pure nose licking love, mixed with a little spunk and a dash of sass. Our door is open to anyone that would like to meet the boy with the broken heart. WARNING: To meet him is to love him! His eyes are soulful and they beg for help. We can’t turn our back on this pup, please SHARE Gibbs story. GIFTS FOR GIBBS, is a matter of life and death! Our family has been involved in rescue for more than 30 years. When Gibbs breeder reached out to us, we were honored to receive this bundle of joy. We have made a promise to Gibbs that we will do our very best for him. The sad reality is it will take financial gifts to save this boy. His medical bills are mounting. He needs special food, prescription compounded medication, over the counter stabilizers, and continued local veterinarian follow-ups to monitor weight & blood pressure, as well as manage symptoms. If it takes a village to raise a child, it may take the nation to save baby Gibbs. Our dear rescue friend Cindy Clark, has connected us with the top cardiologists in veterinary medicine at North Carolina State University, provided us with a place to stay during Gibbs lifesaving surgery, and made it possible for Gibbs to receive his surgery at a cost that’s attainable. I will give you updates on our fund raising progress, as well as daily Gibbs antics and health updates. We can do this, won’t you help?
 ALL ABOUT HIS CONDITION:
Gibbs has, Double chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is an uncommon congenital disease of dogs characterized by juvenile-onset right-sided congestive heart failure and sudden death. This congenital defect occurs primarily in large-breed dogs and has not been frequently categorized until recently and was previously described as a subvalvular pulmonic stenosis. Double-chambered right ventricle is a form of septated right ventricle caused by the presence of abnormally located or hypertrophied muscular bands which divide the right ventricle cavity into a proximal and a distal chamber. These bands can be located at the cardiac apex or attached to the right ventricle. The defect obstructs flow through the ventricle and causes hypertrophy of the inflow but not outflow portion of the right ventricle. The malformation is often accompanied by tricuspid regurgitation. Gibbs regurgitates throughout the day, it’s like watching reflux. Liquid and his food come up. Concurrent congenital disease also occur with this condition, including ventricular septal defect, tricuspid valve dysplasia, pulmonary valve stenosis and subaortic stenosis. The defect causes clinical and pathophysiologic signs similar to those of congenital pulmonic stenosis in dogs but has distinct diagnostic features.  Affected dogs are asymptomatic, but clinical signs are commonly reported in young dogs (from 12 weeks of age) with generalized weakness, exercise intolerance, syncope, pale mucus membranes and progressive ascites. A cough may be present intermittently. Gibbs has white gums and his tongue is often blue in color. He does not know he has a defect. He is playful but drops off to sleep quickly. He takes frequent naps throughout the day. A tentative diagnosis can be established by auscultation of a holosystolic ejection murmur at the left base close to the sternum and radiographic evidence of cardiomegaly and pulmonary edema, but definitive diagnosis requires use of M-mode and Doppler echocardiography or angiocardiography. Echocardiographs usually shows right ventricular hypertrophy with an abrupt transition to normal-appearing ventricular outflow tract. Doppler echocardiography usually reveals turbulent flow in the right ventricular outflow tract and a pressure gradient across the defect. Treatment is usually conservative in cases with mild clinical signs, with management of the secondary congestive heart failure. Surgical correction can be performed at specialty referral centers via cardiopulmonary bypass to resect the fibromuscular bands via right ventriculotomy.
Special thanks to Cindy Clark and Dr. Terri DeFrancesco, Cardiology at NCSU.
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Donations 

  • Eric Nilsson
    • $25 
    • 7 yrs
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Organizer

Maria Pastuszak
Organizer
New Britain, CT

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