Kobe's Open Heart Valve Replacement Surgery

Hello my name is Charlie Graninger and I am raising money for my dog Kobe's heart surgery and vet bills.

A little over a year ago in December 2022, I decided to get a puppy. I had just lost my beloved 9-year-old dog Max three months earlier. It was a very difficult time for me, but I felt ready to get another dog. That is when I picked out a six-week-old puppy who I named Kobe.

I knew from the first day I brought Kobe home that he was going to be a special dog. I was told that he had been checked out by a veterinarian and had no health issues. It was at Kobe's eight-week checkup that my veterinarian was listening to his heart, and I knew by the look on his face that something was wrong. My vet said that he heard a problem with Kobe's heart, and I needed to take him to a vet cardiologist at Virginia Tech to get some heart scans done as soon as possible. A few weeks later at the appointment, the cardiologist said that Kobe had an extremely rare and severe congenital heart defect in which the tricuspid (right) valve of his heart had not formed normally, and he had a large amount of blood leaking from the valve. It was so hard to comprehend as Kobe appeared to be a healthy, normal, and energetic puppy. I was also told that he probably would not live long and the only place in the country that could possibly help him was Colorado State Veterinary Hospital. His scans and records were sent from VT to Colorado State, and they responded that since he was not full grown and asymptomatic, they wanted to wait and revisit his case at a later date. The cardiologist told me the signs of heart failure and things to look for moving forward. Since then, I have been very attentive to any warning signs and tried to balance letting Kobe be a normal pup but not letting him overexert himself. He and my other dog Leo are best buddies and have really enjoyed one another. Kobe has brought so much joy to me and my family and is one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet.

I saw no signs of his heart condition until two months ago. Kobe had just turned one year old and collapsed while running and had very labored breathing. I rushed him to my local vet, and he said Kobe was in heart failure and to go straight to Virginia Tech.

His cardiologist performed updated scans to confirm the congestive heart failure and started him on four prescription heart medications. He also recommended resending Kobe's scans and records to Colorado State as it was the only place in the country that could possibly help him. In the last two months, Kobe has been stable with the heart medications, but we were told it was only buying him a little time. The cardiologist at Virginia Tech said that it was a long shot for Colorado State to accept Kobe and that the surgery would be extremely expensive so I had resigned to the fact that nothing further could be done for him.

Last week, I was told by the VT cardiologist that Colorado State wanted to speak with me about Kobe and they arranged a Skype call. The head surgeon and assisting surgeon informed me on the call that they had chosen Kobe as a candidate for open heart tricuspid valve replacement. This surgery would give Kobe a good chance of living a normal life and years he would never have had.

The surgeons also told me that if I chose not to have the surgery, to be prepared for Kobe to not live more than a few months or a year at best since had already gone into heart failure two months ago.

Kobe's condition is very rare, and they only do these surgeries at Colorado State once a month. The surgeons said it was a now or never decision to be made and it was too risky to wait due to the continuous weakening of his heart. Their recommendation was to perform the surgery on their first available date which is March 18th. This was something I did not expect and was a lot to take in. All the circumstances surrounding this are overwhelming. They asked me to talk to my family and let them know as soon as possible. Initially, neither option felt right, which was doing nothing and not trying to save Kobe versus driving him across the country in just 3 weeks and spending this enormous amount of money. I am however very grateful that Kobe was selected, and I have made the decision to take him and have the surgery done. This has been a stressful and difficult decision for me on many levels but after praying about this, I do feel that I am doing the right thing for Kobe and that he deserves a chance for a full life.

I am asking foremost for your prayers for Kobe and myself as I drive him to Colorado and prepare for his surgery. I will need to be there for two to three weeks and work remotely as he needs to stay and be monitored after the surgery. Please especially pray for the success of the surgery without complications.

This has been a difficult journey, but I know there is a reason that I chose Kobe, and he was selected for this surgery. He has been such a blessing to me and my family and brought us so much joy.

If any of you could share Kobe's story, I would be extremely grateful. I am going to use the available funds I have saved to help pay for his surgery and hospitalization following along with raising some additional funds. The cost of his surgery without any complications is around $30,000 and I was told they have no payment plans, and the entire cost must be paid in full when we arrive on March 14th. I have also reached out to a couple of organizations to share this and see if they provide any grants to provide any financial assistance.

One of the surgeons emailed me yesterday and suggested that I should start a GoFundMe. I never wanted to be in this position of having to do this but with such a short time frame I felt it was necessary. I do not want anyone to feel any obligation to donate but getting the word out and sharing this would be extremely helpful. I will be sending updates on Kobe in the weeks to come.

Thank you so much for your time and your prayers,

-Charlie Graninger