Bailey entered our hearts and lives on July 13, 2010 at the age of nine weeks. She was an adorable, but difficult puppy. She had little respect for our house, but we quickly fell in love with this adorable little girl. She is the most special of all of the dogs we have ever had, and that is saying a lot. We cannot imagine our lives without Bailey.

Bailey is a quiet girl, and likes to spend time with us and sometimes plays with her toys. One time she is not at all quiet is when she wants something, and if she feels that she is being ignored, she begins to howl. In fact she just began howling at this very moment. Her howl sounds like a woman screaming, and we actually had someone come to the door one day thinking that something terrible had happened. The gentleman was very surprised when I told him that it was our dog making that terrible racket.

Bailey loves to go for rides in her dad's car. She rides in the back seat, in her special car seat that allows her to look out the window. She does show great concern when he backs up, and keeps her eyes on the rear tire to make certain that he is doing it correctly. She loves traveling under 35 miles per hour, but usually naps during higher speeds.

Bailey has had reasonably good health, but had calcium oxalate bladder stones at the age of two years that required surgery. She has them again, but because of her heart disease, surgery has been put on hold. She shows no signs of them causing any concern at this time.

We decided over two years ago that we would no longer board Bailey, so now we plan vacations that include her. We have always believed that she would not handle flying well, so we drive to our destinations, and we often discuss places that we want to take her. The United Kingdom has never come up during those discussions.

We have had times when Bailey refuses to eat. We always fed her food that her veterinarian recommended, and often prescription diets. She refused to eat in March while we were on vacation, and Ed found information on a raw diet. We switched her to that diet, and she has been excited about every meal since we made the change. Her overall health has also improved.

Bailey was first diagnosed with a heart murmur on July 25, 2018, when she was taken to the veterinarian for a suspected urinary tract infection. She did not have an infection, but Dr. Joel Conn at Pismo Beach Veterinary Clinic noted that she had a grade II/VI systolic heart murmur. The technician had listened to her heart prior to the doctor entering the exam room, and found no sign of the murmur. The doctor spent extra time listening to Bailey's heart. Her murmur could have very easily been missed without Dr. Conn taking extra time on this part of the examination.

Bailey was seen by Dr. Thomas Morrison at Coast to Coast Cardiology on August 2, 2018, who confirmed Dr. Joel Conn's finding. Bailey was diagnosed with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease, stage B2 at that time. She was prescribed Pimobendan. We were devastated by this report, and believed that our time with our precious girl was going to be much shorter than we had hoped. She was prescribed Furosemide during a subsequent visit.

Ed did a great amount of research, and found that mitral valve surgery was a possibility. Mighty Hearts Project provided a wealth of information, and we were impressed that Nate Estes, the president of Mighty Hearts Project, was available for telephone consultations. We began the process to learn if Bailey was a candidate for surgery, and sent all required information to Royal Veterinary College (RVC).

Bailey was evaluated by Dr. Reid Nakamura at Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center in Thousand Oaks, on March 23, 2019, where a recheck echocardiography examination was performed to send to the surgical team at Royal Veterinary College. Dr. Nakamura gave Bailey 12 to 18 months to live, and was very negative that surgery was a viable option. We both firmly believed that he was wrong.

We received an email from the RVC stating that Bailey was a candidate for surgery on April 11, 2019, and that a telephone conference was scheduled for 8:30 AM on April 16. We eagerly awaited the call, and spoke with Dr. Poppy Bristow. Following that call we waited to be assigned a surgery date for Bailey. We received an email on April 23 scheduling Bailey's surgery date for September 9, 2019. On July 5, we received a letter giving Bailey a surgery date of September 2, which we accepted. Waiting for the surgery date was difficult because Bailey's heart disease was advancing rapidly.

Bailey was seen by Dr. Emily Chapel at Coast to Coast Cardiology on April 12, 2019, and was now in stage C. Benazepril and Spironolactone were added to her medication regimen. Bailey was seen by Dr. Jordan Vitt at Coast to Coast Cardiology on August 1, who determined that she was now in Stage D, and changed her diuretic from Furosemide to Torsemide . We were very grateful that we were close to her surgery date.

We are very fortunate that Bailey happened to see Dr. Kayla Walti at Pismo Beach Veterinary Clinic during this process, and Dr. Walti became her primary care doctor. Dr. Walti did an excellent job of making certain that Bailey had everything in place in order for her to travel to the United Kingdom for her September surgery date. This doctor even came in four hours early on the morning that we were leaving on a trip so that she could see Bailey before the three of us left town. She also came in on her day off to see Bailey prior to our trip to the United Kingdom. Needless to say, we feel truly blessed to have such a dedicated doctor on our side.

Ed did an amazing job making all of the preparations for our journey to the United Kingdom for Bailey's surgery. I was preoccupied with family members who needed my help, and did not have much extra time to spend assisting Ed with this sometimes frustrating process. Mighty Hearts Project and the Mighty Hearts Facebook Group were very helpful during this often confusing process.

We were very nervous about the flight with Bailey because she had never flown before, and also the fact that she was on a diuretic (Torsemide) made us very concerned. Bailey handled the flight like a seasoned traveler, and had no accidents during our flight. She even used a potty pad for the very first time. Previously, she just tore them to shreds.

We finally arrived into London and settled into our accommodations. We were very concerned about Bailey when we got up the first morning in Harpenden. She was unresponsive, and at first appeared that she might require immediate medical intervention. She was on the floor at the foot of our bed, and did not respond to us when we spoke her name. We stroked her, and still there was still no response. Even gently shaking her brought no response.

Bailey had an appointment at RVC that afternoon for her surgery pre-op, but we considered taking her there immediately if she did not begin to respond. After what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, she began to respond. She improved gradually, but was fine after a couple of hours. We could only attribute this issue to the stress of the very long travel day that she had experienced. Bailey had completely recovered by the time of her pre-op appointment, much to our relief.

The morning that we dropped Bailey off at the hospital for surgery was a very difficult one. We knew that she was in good hands, but we also knew that the surgery had its risks. We were very relieved when we received the call from Dr. Dan Brockman that surgery went well, and that he would call again later that afternoon. Bailey's recovery was for the most part uneventful, but she did develop a hematoma during surgery, and also developed arrhythmia following surgery for which Sotalol was prescribed. The level of care that Bailey received after her surgery was outstanding. Dr. Brockman, Alison and Sarah provided expert, loving care for our little girl.

We had our last appointment at the RVC before we prepared to depart home, we were all cleared for travel. It was a wonderful flight home with our precious girl. During the flight home we thought so much about the fact that we had no assurances on the flight to the United Kingdom that Bailey would be with us on the return flight, we felt so blessed. It has now been three months since Bailey's surgery, and she is doing well. It was noted during her echocardiogram at Coast to Coast Cardiology in October that she does have regurgitation of the tricuspid valve, and slight enlargement on the right side of her heart. We were assured that it was not of concern to the doctors, and is somewhat common after this surgery. We just had another recheck recently and we are thrilled to report Bailey is off all medications.

Bailey is more alert than she has been in more than a year, and definitely has more energy. We are very grateful to the surgical team that extended her life, and for the encouragement that we received from the members of the Mighty Hearts Facebook Group. Most of all, we are forever indebted to Mighty Hearts Project for the education that we received about mitral valve disease. We thank the president of Mighty Hearts Project, Nate Estes, for his guidance and direction while we were on this journey. It was the road less traveled, but it was definitely a journey worth taking that we will hold dearly in our hearts.

Love,

The Grimshaw Family

Breed: Pomeranian Age: 9 Diagnosis: Stage D Surgery Date: September 02, 2019 Hometown: Arroyo Grande, CA Owner: Ed & Jacklyn Grimshaw Primary Vet: Dr. Kayla Walti, Pismo Beach Veterinary Clinic Cardiologist: Coast to Coast Cardiology Surgical Team: RVC, Drs. Dan Brockman & Poppy Bristow