Toki Feng

June 30th, 2012 - May 14th, 2022
Breed: Yorkiepoo
Age: 9
Owner: Aemi Feng
Hometown: Chicago, USA

I had Toki since she was born and she had always been an adventurous and energetic pup. She was the first out of her litter to crawl into my room and separate from her mother at just 4 weeks old. I always knew of her as a brave girl but the toll this disease put her through truly proved it.

Being the only girl in her litter, she was always referred to as 'princess' due to her sassy but cute attitude. She was always happy and loved to play all the time. We went on plenty of hikes, road trips and adventures together which made us extremely bonded. I still remember the way she mastered her puppy eyed look and how she gives me kisses every morning when I wake up. She loved to eat and try new foods. One of the last new foods she tried and liked was seaweed. Toki had a bubbly and optimistic personality that's hard to describe in words. She was always up for everything.

One day I heard her coughing very badly in the middle of the night. We soon found out she had MVD which took us by surprise because she was always so healthy without any telltale signs during her routine checkups. Her disease came on suddenly and she deteriorated rapidly. Despite taking her medications and me cooking her a healthy diet, nothing was working. When I came across this page I was thankful to look into the resources of potentially getting mitral valve surgery in Japan. However, Toki's condition turned grave just 2 months after her MVD diagnosis and crossed the rainbow bridge.

As painful as it was, I'm glad to have spent almost 10 years with my sweet girl. It's been extremely hard to lose her so suddenly but I'm glad she's no longer suffering. From my college days to my adult life, she's been by my side all these years. I know she's enjoying doggy heaven with all of her favorite treats and meeting new friends.

We love you Toki. Until we meet again.

Chukoy van Oldenbarneveld

June 17th, 2012 - December 7th, 2022
Breed: Bicheon, Shih Tzu
Age: 10
Owner: Zipporah van Oldenbarneveld
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Our beloved Chukoy passed due to MVD on December 7, 2022. He was taking medication since 2021 for this disease and he will be deeply missed. ❤️ Our house is so much quieter without him and his energetic and playful personality brought smiles to anyone who knew him. I hope that awareness of this disease grows in hopes that the procedure becomes more readily available across the world.

Sulley Perry-Berndt

February 22nd, 2010 - May 15th, 2022
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Age: 12
Owner: Shanna Ptacek
Hometown: Prairie Grove, AR, United States

Sulley came into our family as a surrender in 2014. He was originally an adoptee but was surrendered due to his past trauma. Sulley was believed to have either been used as a bait dog or just severely abused. We gave him a wonderful life filled with love and happy memories.

His favorite things to do were bark, chase squirrels and relax with his dog and cat siblings. Sulley lived a relatively healthy life until 5/14/2022. Sulley was appearing to choke when we woke up and was rushed to his vet. It was there that we found out Sulley had CHF caused by MVD. His heart was taking up 70% of his chest cavity and his lungs were filled with fluid. An ultrasound also showed that he had fluid around his heart and there was extensive damage to his valves.

Among those issues he had also become non-ambulatory and relied on the help of oxygen overnight. Despite all our efforts, Sulley crossed the rainbow bridge 3 days later surrounded by loved ones. He will forever remain in our hearts and our lives will never be the same without him.

We love you Sulley Bear, run free.

Stewie Blobby Benjamin

April 19th, 2013 - May 27th, 2022
Breed: Cavalier king Charles
Age: 9
Owner: Mim Benjamin
Hometown: Switzerland

Stewie went to doggy heaven this morning. He filled our heart and world with so much love. We are so grateful that we got to be his family. Stewie left without any pain, without fear, surrounded by love. His big chubby heart just stopped.

The love he gave us will live on and we will never forget his silly little paws, his lizard chasing, his 2am walks, his trips to the airport to pick up his siblings, his flights to the US to attend celebrations, graduations, his waddles in the vineyards and paddles in the lake, his walks with his best friend Sami, his love of treat pops, his nightly routine with dada, his paw on paw drives, his chair, his excitement for kiddush, his big loving eyes, his trust, his care for everyone, the way he welcomed everyone who came to visit, the way he settled on his beanbag to watch TV, he helped dada solve suduko, he was and will always be our best friend, our little boy.

People smiled when they saw him walking so proudly. The way he pooed in the middle of the road, the big cat he was scared of the crows and butterflies he tried to catch (you can fly now my angel, now you have your wings), the hikes in mont pelerin, rolling in the snow, dada picking you up on long walks when you were tired. Stewie gave us a thousand times what we gave him.

The dent in the sofa, will stay just like that. Your space in our heart will be forever yours. Our baby, our special boy, thank you for teaching us to smell every flower, to stop when we are tired, to chase things that are maybe impossible to catch, to do roly poly’s in the sun and in the snow, to enjoy treaty pops. Thank you for listening to us, for licking us when we were sad, thank you for laying down next to us when we needed your little warm body to make us feel better.

Thank you for your love. Your chubby body may not be next to us but your soul, your heart, your love will always be. Our Stewie, our Blobby King Charles, we love you forever and ever and ever. 💜 Fly high my angel, fly to Amanda and Motley Motlo and to your family across the rainbow. We will always be with you, through love, our hearts forever together.

Haru Burton

June 24th, 2010 - February 24th, 2021
Breed: Toy poodle
Age: 10
Owner: Jenna Burton
Hometown: Ontario, Canada

I’m Still Here

Friend, please don’t mourn for me
I’m still here, though you don’t see.
I’m right by your side each night and day
and within your heart I long to stay.

My body is gone but I’m always near.
I’m everything you feel, see or hear.
My spirit is free, but I’ll never depart
as long as you keep me alive in your heart.

I’ll never wander out of your sight-
I’m the brightest star on a summer’s night.
I’ll never be beyond your reach-
I’m the warm moist sand when you’re at the beach.

I’m the colorful leaves when fall comes around
and the pure white snow that blankets the ground.
I’m the beautiful flowers of which you’re so fond,
The clear cool water in a quiet pond.

I’m the first bright blossom you’ll see in the spring,
The first warm raindrop that April will bring.
I’m the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine,
and you’ll see that the face in the moon shine is mine.

When you start thinking there’s no one to love you,
you can talk to through the Lord up above you.
I’ll whisper my answer through the leaves on the trees,
and you’ll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.

I’m the hot salty tears that flow when you weep
and the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep.
I’m the smile you see on a baby’s face.
Just look for me friend, I’m every place!

Lolita Miano

February 3rd, 2012 - September 8th, 2021
Breed: Chihuahua
Age: 9
Owner: Rosalia Miano
Hometown: Segrate, Milano, Italy

How can I forget your arrival in my life, you were so small a ball of white fluffy fur with your big eyes and that wonderful little tail. But the years went by too fast when in July of 2020 we got this news like a cold shower that you had MVD.

In January 2021 your little heart was showing signs of worsening and they had given me a few months of life to be close to you, so I lost them but without knowing what to do then I started desperately trying to do everything to save you. It was close to our trip to Tokyo, but you didn't want to face this trip.

You went to heaven on September 8, 2021, leaving an immense void.
I will miss all of you my angel.
I will miss your happiness.
I will miss your wonderful, soft, white fur.
I will miss your beautiful eyes.
I will miss your way of speaking.
I will miss your "stinky" ears.
I will miss your tail so much that it never stood still.
I will miss your ways so much, how you wiped your face, how you slept, how you played.

You were a happy angel full of life and thanks to you I discovered the joy and happiness that only you were able to give me. I will always be grateful to have known you. You are my life partner for these 9 years.

Your mom sends you a big kiss wherever you are.

Lady Darling

December 24th, 2009 - October 11th, 2021
Breed: King Charles Cavalier Spaniel
Age: 11
Owner: Jennifer Parker
Hometown: Willard, Missouri, USA

I was a college student in Florida going to the store for a pet goldfish….. and there she was. She looked at me, I looked at her and that evening, I realized I should never go to a pet store alone.

I named her Lady, yes, like the Disney movie. She changed my entire life. I’ve had pets before, but this one, she was different. She was smart. She was a lover-dog. Always near me- or on me (ha!). She watched me graduated college, get married (and divorced), watched me become a mom, years of school to become an ICU nurse. She travelled with me too. On my worst days, she was there. On my best days, she was there. She was playful, loving, and loved virtually everyone. Friends and family who “didn’t like dogs”, would end up visiting and brings treats, toys and gifts and caught themselves petting and cuddling my “Lady Girl”.

When she turned 7, she was slowing down a bit. Took her to a new vet where I was informed she had a grade 3 MVD. She went to her regular checkups prior to and had no idea and no diagnosis prior. They started her on Enalapril and Lasix. She seemed to be doing better.

When she turned 10, she would get excited with us coming home or playing and started having instances of “pre-syncope”. Where she would collapse but not faint. She also started having a serious-wet CHF cough sporadically and spontaneously. The vet told us she had progressed to a grade 5. Told us to watch for a decline and to think about making arrangements for “that day”.

Well, in the last few weeks she had been moving slower, but still jovial, still going outside, eating, drinking and even jumping up on the coach with no issues.

Then Monday came. I just worked 4 night shifts in a row. That day, she seemed her normal self. Until she came running into my bedroom and plopped into my lap. Breathing hard, hard beating like hummingbirds wings. In my lap, she crossed over the rainbow bridge. I can’t even put into words the devastation and grief I was and am still feeling.

After a bit, I loaded her up onto my ranger for that “one last car ride” (another of her favorite activities). Found a nice spot next to a pond on my land, and before I could even bury her, wrapped her in her favorite blanket and held her while the sun was setting. If you know anything about the Midwest, we have the most gorgeous colors in the sky at sunset. I laid her to rest in a spot where she has the beautiful sunrises and the gorgeous sunsets.

And as much as I am grateful she is no longer in pain or suffering or fatigued; her sunsets may be gorgeous but my skies are little gray. She was there for the most pivotal and provincial times of my life. She left a profound mark on my life and my heart and to know the unconditional love of this little soul is to understand how full her heart truly was.

Lady Darling
12/24/2009-10/11/2021

Jessie Outhouse

March 10th, 2007 - September 8th, 2021
Breed: Chihuahua mix
Age: 12
Owner: Amy Outhouse
Hometown: Bergen, NY, United States

I found Jessie on Petfinder. I rescued her at the age of 2. I had her 14 years. She was diagnosed with mitral valve disease on August 3rd 2021. The beginning of December 2020 she was diagnosed with COPD. She was my child! She was there for me when my health conditions got worse. Sadly she went downhill fast. I cherished every day I had with her. My heart is so broken . I miss her so much!

Simba Jallad

December 10th, 2008 - December 8th, 2020
Breed: King Charles Cavalier
Age: 12
Owner: Saad Jallad
Hometown: Washington, DC, United States

There is not a single day that you are not in my thoughts Simba. Thank you for making me want to wake up every morning. I couldn’t have done it without you. You saved me. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save you. I’m always with you my darling boy

Love,
Dad

Oliver Cora

March 18th, 2010 - August 19th, 2021
Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 11
Owner: Lisa and Mike Cora
Hometown: USA, New Lenox, IL

Oliver was our first dog a tri-colored Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He was born on 3/18/2010 and our 'gotcha day' was 5/22/2010. He loved to play with his fetch, go for walks and keep us on our toes every day. He was full of personality and very sassy. If he didn't get his way (which wasn't very often) he would sneeze at us. We love and cherish those moments and memories. He was terrified of fireworks so for a few July 4th holidays we took him to places without fireworks (Galena, IL, Vermont, and even Canada).

Oliver had many nicknames (sugar plum love bug, fluff butt, tater tot, skooskis). He was diagnosed with CM and SM at an early age, which was successfully managed, he fought and beat meningitis. He was so tough. He was diagnosed with a murmur and MVD about 3 years ago, started on Vetmedin in 10/2020 and went into CHF on 8/9/2010. Sadly, he did not respond to Furosemide, and he passed away yesterday. We are devastated and heartbroken. He was our world. I am happy that The Mighty Hearts Project exists and is able to try and help dogs battle this terrible and cruel disease.

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.

Fiona Victoria Barker

February 9th, 2014 - March 8th, 2021
Breed: Dachshund mix
Age: 7
Owner: Kim Barker
Hometown: US, Nevada

We adopted Fiona after losing 3 dogs in 6 months to cancer. We at the time lived in Reno, NV. I had fallen in a very deep depression to where I honestly couldn’t function. On a whim, my daughter and I visited the local shelter. We had always had large dogs; I wasn’t ready, and we had looked before. That day, a tiny, 5 lbs., black dachshund mix puppy stole our hearts. We immediately knew she was what we needed. Instantly we all fell in love. We immediately started her service dog training for me. It was a long process but during that time we developed a bond like no other. Fiona flew all over with us on trips and came with us everywhere.

She also developed a personality like no other dog I had before ever had. People would comment all the time she was like a person and not a dog. With her voiced barks and growls when she would get frustrated or her always grabbing my shoes when I got home and hiding them to what I miss the most, is her always running and grabbing a toy to give me when we came home. She was simply amazing.

June 2020, she started panting, hard. We live in Vegas and figured the 110-degree heat was getting to her, then we thought maybe allergies. First vet misdiagnosed her with allergies and sent us home with steroids and antibiotics. When she didn’t improve, we took her to get a second opinion to which a rapid and shocking discovery was made- MVD and she was having a CHF episode. Up to this point she had never been diagnosed with even a murmur. Things moved quickly and she was transferred to the ER for more advanced care. The cardiologist saw her the next day and told us the devastating news: mitral valve disease and the outlook wasn’t great.

We picked her up and I found Mighty Hearts. Instantly I knew I had support and knew Japan was happening. We started the process of getting to Japan. We never thought Covid would halt the process. Working in medical myself, I knew time was not in our side. She had echocardiograms every 3 mos. Fiona was doing amazing. One would never guess she was sick, at all. I knew not to let my guard down; I also was excited because I thought Japan could save her. Our original surgery date was in March 2021, we pushed to May 2021 due to Covid and restrictions.

In March 2021, I had a “gut feel” something wasn’t right. Fiona was breathing quite quickly. We rushed her to the ER where we were told she had GI upset- whew. or so we thought. She was eating and acting fine. Acting like silly Fiona. Almost 3 weeks to the day she passed away.

She was going to get a treat from my husband, looked at him then tried to run to me. She collapsed in front of us and couldn’t get up. I screamed and started crying hysterically, I knew in my heart what was happening, exactly what we were fighting against.

We carried her limp body out to the car and raced to the ER. She was by all counts alive, but I could tell her soul was gone. I didn’t need the ER doctor to tell me what I already knew. Her mitral valve blew, and they couldn’t even hear a murmur anymore, it was that bad. We helped her pass away. I held her and told her how loved she was. I thanked her for saving me and I was so sorry I couldn’t save her. I told her it was ok to leave us, and we would be sad but ok. And she was the best dog and my best friend.

5 days later (after missing work), I was casually checking email and there was a post on Next-door mentioning 2 sisters. I never check Next-door and was curious what they were talking about. There was Chloe. A black chiweenie in rescue who was thrown in a dumpster with her siblings. Instantly I knew Fiona sent Chloe to us... we looked into meeting her and adopted her the next day. Some might argue too soon, we, as a family couldn’t cry anymore. Chloe brought life back to our sad home.

If I had to do over, I would do everything the same except trust my gut more and not be afraid to push back on opinions. Run free my sweet girl
We will see you again soon.

Don Perro

January 11th, 2012 - January 26th, 2021
Breed: Bichon Havanese
Age: 9
Owner: Justin Radulescu
Hometown: Romania

I chose the name for my dog, Don Perro on the spot. We had an allocation reserved for another dog at the breeder, but I felt like Perro was meant to be my little brother.

Ever since then he has been with me absolutely everywhere, daily. He loved being in the car and traveling. I took him skiing, I took him to the seaside, he flew around Europe. We were inseparable. He slept on the pillow by my side every night. He was the most intelligent, loving being. He loved kisses and cuddles and lived a happy life. Everybody loved him and he loved everybody. He was very affectionate and well behaved, saluting people at the office and waiting for his water at restaurants. He enjoyed everything around him.

On the 15th of September 2020 he was diagnosed with MVD at a routine control. We heard him coughing that day. I started searching ways of treating this disease and the only permanent fix that I found was the mitral valve repair surgery. Japan was too long of a wait time for me considering the fast progression of the disease Don Perro was experiencing, so I decided to go with the Hopia Clinique in France.

His operation date was the on 26th of January 2021. I stayed there for most of the surgery. At around 4PM Dr. Sabine Bozon came to me saying that the operation was successful. Although it was quite difficult, the reparation was perfect, and everything needed was done. The heart had restarted, the respiration was good.

At around 5PM, half an hour later (during wake-up), I started hearing some agitation. At 7:30PM Dr. Sabine and Jean-Luc Bozon came downstairs with some bad news: a blood clot in the pulmonary artery ended my little brother’s life after 2h of resuscitation.

I wish every dog with this disease all the good and best health.

Perro will forever be in my heart

Casey Ostanski

January 24th, 2013 - November 3oth, 2020
Breed: Maltese
Age: 7
Owner: Carol Ostanski
Hometown: North Arlington, NJ, United States

Our souls connected the moment I first held her in my arms when she was a puppy. I was reluctant to get a puppy, but she gave me more joy and happiness than I ever could have imagined during her short life of 7 years. Now there will be no more stroller rides, walks in the park, bike rides in a basket, adventures and vacations, doggie restaurants and pubs, country rides with the windows wide open n ears flapping in the wind, running through the grass, the sand on the beach, the snow.

My little girl went everywhere I could bring her. She lived a rich jam-packed life in her short journey on earth. It’s so unfair that we couldn’t have shared more time together. Her heart issues were too severe to carry her any further. God had other plans and needed her to be with the angels. If love could have saved her, she would have lived forever.