Keep Kylo’s heart alive

Hello my name is William.

My wife and I brought home a beautiful 8 week old Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy on the 31st of Jan. We named her Kylo and began falling instantly in love with her from the moment she chose us to be her parents.
Upon the first visit to our vet, we were told something wasn’t right. The vet heard something concerning while listening to Kylo’s heart. She advised us to seek further professional advise from a board certified Cardiologist. I took Kylo into see the specialist on Monday and what we found out was devastating. The cardiologist explained it as the worse case scenario - her heart is having to work harder in the right ventricle which is caused by an underdeveloped artery to the lungs. He explained that as she gets bigger, it will become harder and harder until her heart gives out from over production and enlargement of the right side ventricle. We became immediately faced with 2 of the most difficult decisions we could imagine when bringing new life into the world. Do we say “goodbye” now and risk seeing Kylo put down or do we take a chance on a $5,000 emergency surgery with no guarantee of its success or long term outcome while each day, falling deeper and deeper in love with our puppy. Our vet even suggested a 3rd possibility in which we could find a rescue specifically equipped for large and long term expenses.
While all of the options felt grim, beyond our financial scope not to mention the emotional rollercoaster that lies ahead, we simply cannot fall out of love with our baby girl. We want her to feel what true love feels like as part of a family that will love and care for her regardless of the poor cards she was dealt. We want to watch her grow and play and we are willing to do all that it takes to give her a beautiful life, even if that means we may not get to see her thrive until her golden years.
So here we are, knowing she is ours and we are hers and trying to take 1 step at a time. Step one is getting her into surgery as soon as possible and according to the vet, the sooner we do this, the better chance she has before her already struggling ventricle hardens even more. This initial surgery is $5,000 and each cardiology appointment is $650. We are reaching out to friends, family and animal lovers to help us build an Angel Fund for Kylo. It means swallowing our pride & admitting that while our love for her is abundant, money is not. At this time we must turn to our community for support. Beyond this first step, we need to prepare for the possibility of more surgeries down the line, a budget for a heart-focused diet, routine cardiology visits for careful monitoring of Kylo’s progress through major milestones and of course… the elephant in the room… the need to fight the ill-practices of the breeder who sold us a puppy claiming she had been checked by a trusted vet and was given a “clean bill of health”. We can only hope that those who also bought siblings of Kylo have taken their pups in for a full check up so they too can be prepared and educated.
Thank you for giving us the time to read about our beautiful baby and for any bit of financial or emotional support you can offer as we prepare for the long journey ahead. No gesture large or small will go unnoticed and we are grateful to be in your thoughts and prayers.
We have hope that the surgery will buy some more time for her to do the things she was brought to the planet to do. Run, swim, and love. She will never be perfect but she will be our perfect. Looking forward to sharing the journey on Facebook.
Thank you all ❤️
William,Karissa and Kylo