Bianca is a 5 year old “Aussie doodle” who came to us from a commercial breeding facility in Lancaster county. Bianca was given up for not having profitable or viable litters anymore. Upon picking Bianca up for the first time we could feel something wrong just by having our hand on her chest, and our vet confirmed this was the worst heart murmur she had ever heard (grade 6/6). Our vet team recommended a follow up with a cardiologist as soon as possible.

We were able to get her a cardiology appointment this week and they confirmed she was born with a congenital heart defect, severe pulmonic stenosis.

Due to irresponsible breeding practices in puppy mills Bianca was born with a narrowing of her abnormal pulmonic valve in her heart. This makes it extremely difficult for blood to leave the right side of the heart and causes increased pressure in the heart leading to her secondary issues of ventricular hypertrophy, tricuspid regurgitation, and atrial enlargement. This all puts her at an extremely high risk of right-sided heart failure. Her heart has to work very hard just to keep her alive, and therefore any added stress on her heart can be a very dangerous situation for her. There are medications that can help alleviate some of the symptoms and prevent heart failure, but there is sadly nothing we can do to correct this issue.

Bianca needs to be kept very calm and most importantly feel comfortable in her new environment. Our primary focus is helping her decompress from the horrors of the puppy mill she just came from so she is not feeling so scared and thus putting extra stress on her heart. Luckily, she is staying in a wonderful foster home along with her hospice buddy Billy. She is enjoying all the love and comfort she deserves for whatever time she has with us.