Milo's Story
Milo was abandoned together with his sister at a closed gas station in Arkansas. He was taken in by a rescue and ended up in foster care just outside of Boston. Luckily for Milo, that foster family was Terry and Lauren, Tim's brother and his wife. Lauren shared the news about this sweet new dog with Tim and Sophia and they knew right away that this was the dog for them.
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Milo is a sweet and calm 2-year-old Dachshund/Yorkshire terrier mix. He loves going for walks - every morning he accompanies us on our walk to drop our daughter off at her daycare. Our two children love and adore him. He makes our son feel safe, and when it’s bedtime they snuggle up together and fall asleep together.
Milo also loves to snuggle with us on the couch and his favorite snuggle position is to be held like a little baby.
In a short time he has become an essential part of our family. We don't want to let him go so soon.
What's wrong?
Milo has been diagnosed with a PDA.
Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is one of the most common congenital heart defects in dogs.
It involves 2 major vessels in the heart: the Pulmonary artery and the Aorta. In a normal heart, blood from the body enters the right side of the heart and is pumped into the lungs via the Pulmonary artery. After receiving oxygen in the lungs, this blood returns to the left side of the heart and is then pumped into the whole body via the Aorta.
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Before birth, since the lungs are not yet working, the Ductus Arteriosus diverts most of the blood from the Pulmonary artery into the Aorta. Shortly after birth, the Ductus Arteriosus should close completely to direct all the blood coming from the right side of the heart through the lungs before returning to the heart.
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In some dogs, closure of the Ductus Arteriosus doesn't happen, so they have a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) – “Patent” meaning “open." This requires veterinary cardiology.
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Basically, a PDA causes a serious heart condition. It adds extra blood to the blood coming from the right ventricle, resulting in an excessive amount of blood passing through the lungs and returning to the left side of the heart. The PDA must be closed as soon as possible to prevent the left ventricle from going into failure due to the excessive amount of blood.
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If detected in time, the PDA must be closed as soon as possible. ​If treatment is delayed or not performed at all, the dog might develop congestive heart failure (fluid in the lungs). This can also happen when the PDA surgery is performed too late.
Unfortunately most untreated dogs develop heart failure and die before one year of age.
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What about insurance?
Milo is insured through Pets Best. Unfortunately, they deem his condition pre-existing and it will not be covered by insurance.​
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Cost for treating Milo's condition:
Evaluation with Cardiologist - $260
Echo cardiogram - $714
Radiograph - $460
Heart medication - $207
Surgery - $9,000-$11,000