Help Pookie get TEER Mitral Valve Surgery — Bayside, NY

Pookie is a Scnauzer-poodle dog (A Schnoodle:). Pookie turned 10 this month. Pookie is a hilarious dog. If we go outside and return, we are either greeted by Pookie’s nose trying to pry open the door, or she is standing on top of the dining room table still looking to see where we went in the first place. She then doesn’t move until we pick her up and hold her for an inordinate period of time lol.

Pookie looks like she’s smiling a lot of time when I see her. She looks at me with her cheerful face like she’s saying she is so happy with her life.

Our cat Pickles is Pookies best friend. She is a long haired cat and the two of them chase each other, wrestle, and play ball. Pookie gets up with me immediately when I sit up in morning. I bring her over to Pickles so she can give Pickles a morning kiss. Pookie and Pickles touch noses and Pookie smells him and Pickles starts purring. Pookie loves cuddling with us, getting kisses, nice pets, and hugs, and her snacks. Pookie is a foodie.

But Pookie loves nothing more than climbing on top of a pile of blankets and pillows and lying down at the very top. Pookie loves my parents and loves to get in the car to see “grandma and grandpa” which Pookie jumps around just hearing their name and wags her tail when she hears them on speaker.

Pookie is just always there with us and I can’t bare losing her right now if there is a way to save her and live out her normal years.

Pookie has a mitral valve tear in her cardiovascular system. As a result, the valve is kicking back blood into the heart and her heart is severely enlarged. I told the surgeon yesterday that she really does have a huge heart.❤️ Her veterinarian said that she will go into heart failure sometime this year.

I did research on mitral Valve surgery and they are actually doing what is called a TEER surgery which clamps the torn area of the leaky valve back together. As a result, the leaking lessens or stops and her heart will go back to normal size, and it will no longer be leaning on her trachea as it is now and making her gag and cough and making breathing difficult.

Upstate Veterinary Specialists cardiology department is run by the Chief of Cardiology Dr. Wey. I met with him yesterday. He was a very kind man who was also very smart, and he said that Pookie is right now appropriate for the surgery but she can’t wait much longer.

My husband and I do not have children and our animals mean everything to us. We are both extremely sensitive to animals needs and the positive impact they have on the world. Although I was a psychologist for children for many years, I had to stop working due to a brain injury. I can’t be out of the house as much as I was before and so I am with Pookie and Pickles all day, and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I spend a lot of my day caring for Pookie and Pickles and we play for long periods together. Pookies unconditional love of me and her love of my company keeps me going even when I’m not feeling well. Being home with her all day has been the greatest gift. It’s just too soon for her to leave if there is something available to totally reverse her heart trouble. Her heart and her overall health are good. It’s the mitral valve surgery that could give her the rest of her life back.

Pookie’s mitral valve surgery TEER is 18000.00. It’s a specialty that only about three other hospitals do in the country. We live in New York and the surgery is don’t in one hospital upstate.

We have insurance for Pookie a while now but when we signed her ip, Pookie had a mild murmur that I didn’t think would matter, but everything heart related is not covered.

Everything lately has been heart related, including many vet visits, medication, echocardiograms and X-rays which we have been paying for. We want to go through with the surgery if Pookie will be able to have her big heart put back together in her little body:)