Hi,

My name is Veronica Galarza and I need to share this story with you because my dog really needs your help.

•Punky is my beloved Chihuahua since he was born and is now suffering from Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease (DMV) 
• He needs an urgent Open Heart Surgery now in order to save his life
• Punky is now in the borderline for Heart Failure phase (the last phase of this terrible condition) and  the life expectancy will be just 9-12 months while he deteriorates more and more in the process.
• The total cost to make the surgery possible is $28,500 and detailed costs are at the bottom of this post. We are honestly raising the money only for the portion that we cannot contribute by any other means. Please see that section below so you understand.
• We humbly ask for your help to save Punkys' life.  We are doing everything in our hands to make this possible. Everything! But without you... it will not be possible.

We are asking for any kind of contribution such as: a Donation, a Share of the campaign and even a Like of our Facebook page . Any of these will help us to reach our goal and cover the surgery cost.

We have created a Facebook page to let people know about this case and all updates in the journey and also you can contact us at any time. Please follow us on Facebook @ Punky Needs A New Heart 

We really appreciate any way you may help with this situation and invite you to follow this journey with us. 

You can see below for the Full Story




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Full Story


Punky is a loving member of our family. He is a Chihuahua who has developed a heart disease in which the tissue of the mitral valve degenerates, causing a lack of closure that leads to abnormal blood flow inside the heart. This makes the heart getting bigger and bigger to accommodate that extra flow until the dog reaches Heart Failure. The disease has various stages and now Punky is at stage C, where entering in Heart Failure is imminent.

At the moment, Punky is taking 4 different types of medications a day (Vetmedin, Furosemide, Benzapril, and Hydrocodone) to extend his life the most possible with this condition and control the symptoms shown . I have also started making homemade food for him, along with supplements to have him healthy and stable as much as possible while we can make the surgery. Our cardiologist estimates that, without surgery, after entering on Heart Failure the life expectancy is around 9 months to 1 year, along with a very painful process because this disease is very progressive, getting worse rapidly and is so painful for the dog, as well as devastating for us.  Dogs in heart failure will be in and out from emergency room, with unstoppable coughing and strokes... it is really devastating to just think that we will get there soon if this surgery is not done. We cannot accept to get to that stage if there is a solution to the problem... The Open Heart Surgery. 


Getting in contact with support groups, we discovered the existence of Dr. Masami Uechi and his clinic is named Jasmine. Dr. Masami Uechi is known for making Open Heart surgeries in dogs with great success stories. This is not a dream, I have already contacted the persons in the support group and in almost daily basis I witness success stories. Please note that the surgery is not available in the United States yet, so it adds up to this overwhelming experience.  



With a lot of hope, we have started the process to have Punky intervened for open heart surgery and we need your help to reach this LIFE saving action for Punky. We are updating the info about Punky's Heart and how the admission process is going in the most transparent manner at our Facebook page . We are entering in a new journey to save Punky’s life and we’ll be blessed and grateful if you become part of this process and help us.

Please see below the detail of expenses and  note that we are excluding from this detail of expenses, the regular monitoring checks that Punky needs to have as part of his condition, along with his daily meds and the emergency fund we are creating in case of any complication in response to the surgery. The surgery costs and related expenses, excluding the costs just mentioned, are as follows: 
Expenses Detail:

                        $17K- Surgery
                              3K- Hospitalization
                              2K- Flight tickets 
                              4K- Lodging (25-30  days)
                          2.5K- Pre-op tests

TOTAL:  $28.5K

By doing everything in our hands in this short term period such as: selling our valuables and taking 100% of our savings, we will be able to contribute  around $13,500 of these costs, and that is how we arrive at the decision to have to raise the remaining $15,000 by any means possible. [Updated on 4/28/2019 considering the donations received to date and additional savings]

We really appreciate your support!  Please help us! Please! We really need you! Punky needs you!