Bruiser Donato

November 11th, 2011 - April 11th, 2021
Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 9
Owner: Carin Donato
Hometown: US, PA

I got Bruiser as a puppy from a Lancaster backyard puppy breeder in 2011. I wasn’t finding a pup that I was connecting with and at the moment I wanted to walk away he came running up to me. As I he was sitting in my lap I knew that was it. Two weeks later I brought him home. He was my best friend, a confidant and loyal companion. He developed a heart murmur at the age of five and at the age of six he went into heart failure.

We managed his MVD fairly well on medication, until May of 2020. It started with him falling outside, after a walk, he then had multiple syncope episodes, where he would faint. His medication was increased and on December 11th in the morning he went into heart failure for the second time. After rushing him to his cardiologist, we sadly decided to end his suffering as he wasn’t responding to any treatments. He was my first Cavalier and will always carry a piece of my heart.