Rocky was a sweet, 8-month-old pitbull mix brindle puppy. He is loving and full of puppy energy despite his condition. He has a grade 4/6 heart murmur that could be due to a structural defect. He needs to see a cardiologist to determine his health status. He was at the shelter for a month and went to a foster home to reduce his stress and learn the basics of being a puppy. We held a online fundraiser to raise the funds to cover his cardiac assessment - our goal was $800 and we received $825 thanks to our loving Calvert County community!
Rocky was able to receive a thorough cardiac evaluation to identify the cause of his heart murmur and set the best course of action to ensure that this sweet puppy is able to live a full, healthy, and happy life.
In early February 2019, Rocky was diagnosed with severe valvular pulmonic stenosis (PS). This congenital heart defect puts Rocky at high risk for cardiac-related complications: the development of an arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), development of right-sided congestive heart failure (fluid in the abdomen). If gone untreated, this condition could lead to Rocky suffering congestive heart failure, which would likely lead to death.
The good news was that Rocky was a great candidate for a balloon valvuloplasty, a procedure which would allow this pup to live a long, healthy, and happy life.
Our community had invested its time, resources, thoughts and prayers, and generous donations to support this puppy. Without our help, the chances of Rocky’s survival were slim. Rocky had the opportunity to undergo this procedure at Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists in Towson, Maryland on April 16th. We held another online fundraiser and am absolutely grateful for our community once again! Our goal was $4,170 and we received $4,295!
His procedure went perfectly and he was placed in a foster home to help him heal before being adopted into his furrever home! We are so proud to say that Rocky was adopted in July of 2019!
