Help Leland Undergo Open Heart Surgery This Fall!

What seemed like a ordinary trip to the vet for annual vaccinations, turned into a heartbreaking roller coaster for our 16 month old Labrador, Leland. While at the vet in July, our doctor became skeptical about a severe heart murmur and directed us to go to a cardiologist.

On July 29, 2020, Leland was taken to the emergency room at University of Penn's Ryan Veterinary Hospital located in Philadelphia. Leland's doctor, Dr. Keith, gave us devastating news that his echocardiogram displayed Leland having a stage 4 out of 6 Tricuspid Valve Dysplasia (TVD) and heart failure usually sets in around 1-2 years of life.


While our hearts broke and tears were shed for our puppy, Dr. Keith explained that there is a ground breaking valve replacement surgery, successfully accomplished by a team at Colorado State University. Immediately, we looked into the surgery and contacted the doctors at CSU through email on Friday, July 31, 2020. On Wednesday, August 3, 2020, we received an email from Dr. Scansen and Dr. Orton requesting all of Leland's medical tests performed by PennVet.

After what seemed to be an eternity, On August 13, 2020, we received word from Dr. Scansen and Dr. Orton that Leland was a candidate for open heart surgery and was scheduled to undergo surgery in late fall of 2020! My parents will be traveling 26 hours from New Jersey to Colorado to have Leland's life saving surgery!  



This surgery will pave the way for training of vetrinary cardiologists across the country to learn and be able to offer this in every state, at a more reasonable cost.

Because the cost of this surgery, travel, and follow up care for Leland is so expensive, I have set up a GoFundMe account to help my parents with the expenses and get Leland the life saving care he needs.

Without this surgery, Leland will have already lived half of his life span, with an ill prognosis for the remainder. Please help us get Leland the new valve he needs and give him a full life! Leland is not just a dog, but part of our family. We will do anything it takes to help save his life. Thank you in advance!

ANY FUNDS NOT USED FOR LELAND'S CARE WILL BE DONATED TO HELP ANOTHER DOG WITH TRICUSPID VALVE DYSPLASIA (TVD) AND THE AMAZING DOCTORS WHO HELPED SAVE OUR PUPPY.