Rocco Hosker

Rocco had always had a good bill of health, every vets visit they confirmed all was well. But then they confirmed he had developed a heart murmur, was on the scale of 2 - 3 out of 6 so was told nothing too serious to worry about and they said no need to follow up. (I'd recommend anyone now to follow up with a cardiologist as the earlier caught the better) Fast forward 3 months and it all started when Rocco who is super energetic, was in the garden. I was feeding the birds and he liked to run off with bits of bread as a game.

He suddenly started to stumble and look like he was choking. I picked him up and tried to look into his mouth but couldn't see anything, he stopped breathing. I had to think quickly as there was no time to get to the vet. I decided to resuscitate him myself. I put my mouth over his nose and mouth as hes only small, and blew in. I felt his chest expand. I then used his body weight over my hand on his chest to let the air come back out. On 3rd attempt he coughed and came round. He had wet himself so he looked more embarrassed and confused than anything else. I thought he had merely choked on a piece of the bread.

6 hours later he was back to his normal self so went to take him for a walk, we got about one house length away and he started to stumble again. I managed to pick him up and calm him. He was struggling to breath again so I blew in his mouth for him again which was enough to help. This frightened me as was obviously more than choking on food. I took him straight to my vets which have an emergency after hours clinic and astonishingly they turned us away as 'he looked fine now' I wasn’t happy with that so next morning after not sleeping all through the night I took him to a new vet. They immediately got an x-ray done confirming he had heart disease. Was told like many vets would at the time that it would eventually claim his life and that he'd be on medication till then as there was nothing else anyone could do.

I was devastated. Rocco had been my soulmate and got me through some of the darkest times, he was the light in my cave. I knew I needed to help him back. I went home and searched the internet endlessly trying to find any way I could to help prolong his life. Natural remedies, treatments, exercises.....anything! I then stumbled across someone's post on Facebook about the disease and a lady had commented about Dr Uechi and that he'd been performing successful surgeries. I starting researching him and found an article about this man who saved his dog with the surgery. After speaking to the newspaper journalist I managed to track the guy down and get his story myself. He also gave me Dr Uechi’s details.

He was doing the surgery in Japan and France. I couldn't afford the cost so I started a campaign to try and raise the money. I was laughed at, mocked and made to feel stupid by some, I ignored them as nothing was going to stop me. It showed who the beautiful people in my life were too, who stood by me and helped me. I was only half way in raising funds and Rocco started to deteriorate. He had less and less time. His heart disease progressed extremely quickly. I had to resuscitate him twice more and ended up taking him to the vet where they'd increased his medication to stabilize him. Best thing was to keep him as calm as possible, to keep his heart at a slower pace. In the meantime I realized I was never going to save enough money for the surgery. But I then found out Dr Uechi had trained one UK Vet, Dr. Dan Brockman.

I contacted Dan and he agreed to see us right away. He was very honest and humble saying he'd not been doing the procedure very long so statistically the odds were lower. I knew it was a higher risk but I was running out of time and options. I tried saving a bit longer and was even working two full time jobs, I was exhausted. Rocco took a turn for the worst, myself and my vet Dr. Mark Oakley managed to stabilize him one last time as the meds were now at full throttle. I put one last pledge out to everyone I knew. I had no time left so I put all my faith into Dr. Dan Brockman and the team to do the surgery. Luckily a beautiful friend of mine said she would lend me what I was short by so we got Rocco booked into surgery asap as a last minute slot opened up.

The night before the surgery, I had many negative mean comments online from people left, right and center. One even told me off for not having Dr Uechi do it etc. I was starting to doubt and question everything now. 'Do I just keep Rocco going another month? maybe two so I get to have his final moments with him?' Or 'do I risk the operation which could possibly save his life?' It makes sense to take the leap of faith considering he was dying anyway. Yet the thought of going through it all and losing him anyway and not having those last few days, weeks or maybe months was devastating. Then I realized that I would always regret not trying to save his life. If it didn’t work then at least I knew I tried the best of my ability to save him.

Luckily I'd met some wonderful people online who'd gone through the same thing, one being Nate Estes. He was there for me on the phone whilst I was in tears the night before the surgery after dealing with all those negative cruel people. Nate comforted and reassured me what was important and helped to calm me and keep me focused for the surgery to come. We were all in a group and it was starting to have quite a lot of people join so they decided to make the Mighty Hearts Project Facebook group and page so no one would ever be alone or uninformed again. A lot of people were rapidly joining who were in the same boat as I, so they started following mine and Rocco’s story. It was a new venture with the RVC also, so all were rooting for them and us. So all were sending positive comments and messages which really helped me through it all.....don’t know what I would have done without them!

The day of the surgery I was numb, was the longest wait ever. But to my delight, Rocco made it through. He even made it through the first night. They were starting to get him eating and gave him a lovely variety of food. Although Rocco had a funny habit.....he loved baked beans! He even stole my baked beans which I'd left on the side the morning before surgery at the hotel. If there were beans he’d sniff them out. I gave a can to the RVC team. We wash the sauce off (as can contain too much sugar) and he would eat the beans. The team found it hilarious how much he actually liked them so he'd have them alongside his chicken and other food.

Even on his road to recovery he was still his usual character. But was not over yet, Rocco suffered a blood clot go to the brain so had suffered seizures. They'd increased his meds and helped stabilize him. Unfortunately he had two more seizures. He went blind and had suffered what appeared to be brain damage as was not himself. They warned me he may never get his sight back or go back to normal. I was devastated, but at least he was still going. They had slowly been adjusting his medication and had managed to get Rocco stabilized for the seizures to stop and he started to get better. Luckily his eyesight slowly came back. He was still not himself though, was acting more like a puppy seeing me and everything for the first time. I was allowed to take him home. I watched him get stronger and better.

Then one morning, as I woke up, I saw him notice and then come jump up at me like he used to with his paws on my chest. Could see in his eyes and mannerisms that he was back. His little personality so happy to see me. Was like his memory had come back. Was such a happy day. He even went searching for my baked beans, so knew he was definitely himself again! Since then he went from strength to strength. Dan Brockman and his team was absolutely amazing with him and I had no reason to worry.

He is now one of the leading specialists for the procedure and has saved many dogs lives. Rocco is now off all meds and has had good news at all health checks. I'm now glad I didn’t listen to the negative comments as Rocco was a pivot point in history and gave hope to so many. He is the RVC’s poster boy and I hope always a beacon of light to anyone considering surgery. The op was over 2 years ago and hes still going strong!

The mighty hearts group is now bigger than ever and are there for anyone else unfortunate enough to have to deal with this horrible disease. The knowledge, support and kindness they provide is invaluable. I now have a 1 year old son who Rocco gets to play with and they adore each other. Was so worth it. Whatever was to happen, I am so glad I tried. Thank goodness for Dr Uechi and his procedure and the likes of Dr. Dan Brockman, Poppy Bristow and the RVC team. They all have the willingness to do whatever it takes. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Samantha & Rocco Hosker

Breed: Long haired Chihuahua cross Jack Russell
Age: 8, now 10
Diagnosis: Stage D Surgery Date: July 24th , 2017
Hometown: London, UK Owner: Samantha Hosker Cardiologist : Dr. Mark Oakley at Kynoch Vets Surgical Team: RVC, Dr. Dan Brockman & Dr. Poppy Bristow

Sophie

Sophie is a 9 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from Washington Crossing, PA.  Sophie was diagnosed with MVD in June 2012. It was only a grade 2 murmur and did not require any medication at that time. She was rechecked in March 2013 and the MVD had progressed. There was some regurgitation with minimal heart enlargement so she was put on 25 mg Enalapril 2 x per day. Slowly over the following years her heart continued to enlarge and the murmur became more pronounced. In 2016 she was put on Vetmedin and at the time of her pre-op testing her heart had actually reduced in size but the regurgitation had gotten much worse over the five year period and she was getting close to Stage C right before her surgery.

Sophie had surgery at the Bozon Clinic on November 27, 2017.  Her surgery went well but had a very challenging post-op recovery. One day after surgery she started to bleed internally from the anticoagulation medication.  Dr. Sabine Bozon quickly managed the bleeding by adjusting the dosage. Two days after surgery she developed a dangerous urinary tract infection and was immediately put on IV antibiotics. Five days after surgery three blood clots formed in her heart, one dangerously close to her Aorta. Dr. Bozon and my little fighter never gave up and on day fifteen post-op she was discharged from the Bozon Clinic. Today Sophie is a healthy, happy and energetic bundle of love. Her regurgitation has been reduced by 80% and her heart size is almost back to normal. She is not on any heart medications post surgery.

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 9 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2
Hometown: Washington Crossing, PA
Owner: Jeanne Navratil
Instagram: @jnavratil2
Cardiologist: VSEC, Maribeth J. Bossbaly
Primary Care Vet: WCAH, Dr. Jennifer Chabot
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Maddox

Maddox is an 8 year old Shih-Poo from Chicago, IL.   Maddox was asymptomatic with severe Mitral regurgitation and moderate Tricuspid regurgitation. Six months prior to MVD diagnosis, Maddox had no heart murmur before suddenly having grade 5/6. She was prescribed Pimobendan and remained stable until surgery at JASMINE Veterinary Cardiovascular Medical Center. Her heart showed progressive enlargement during each follow-up echocardiogram leading up to surgery which later confirmed Mitral valve prolapse and ruptured chordae tendineae.  Maddox had mitral repair surgery on October 17, 2017 at the JASMINE clinic in Japan.

4 months post-surgery, Maddox has significant improvement including reduced heart size, extremely mild Mitral regurgitation, and no Tricuspid regurgitation. “Diagnostic Impressions: The evaluation demonstrates degenerative mitral valve disease with an excellent result from valve repair surgery. The disease is extremely well compensated at this time and medical therapy is not warranted.”

Breed: Shih-Poo
Age: 8 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Owner: Joseph K.
Cardiologist: Dr. Michael Luethy
Primary Veterinarian: MedVet Chicago
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi & Team at, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center

Zoey Jordan

Zoey is a 10 year old Maltese from Orlando, FL.  Zoey's vet diagnosed her with a heart murmur when she was approximately four years old.  Her owner was told that it wasn’t a big deal because they would monitor it and she didn’t think anything of it because Zoey's sister had a heart murmur and lived to be 17 years old without any problems or medication.

In July 2016, Zoey was gasping for air and coughing was taken to the vet.  On suspicion that it was her heart, Zoey was referred to an internist since Orlando does not have Vet Cardiologist.  The internist Zoey was referred to did several tests and misdiagnosed her with pneumonia. She was prescribed antibiotics and a nebulizer.  Zoey’s sickness continued to progress. She was then taken her back to the internist where they did more tests and once again Zoey was misdiagnosed, this time with a mass in her lung and the doctor wanted to perform surgery to remove the mass. Her owner knew she wouldn't survive the surgery, and it was decided that Zoey be taken to an ER Vet where she had previously been a patient.  It turned out to be the best decision.

The vet from the ER knew it was her heart and put her on Lasix and in an oxygen chamber immediately.  They referred Zoey to a cardiologist at University of Florida in Gainesville and loaned the oxygen cage to transport her.  UF saved Zoey's life.  Unfortunately,  during the month of being misdiagnosed, Zoey went into heart failure and ruptured a cord. The Cardiologist at University of Florida told me Zoey had two months to two years to live.

That answer was not acceptable, so an appointment with Dr. Simon Swift, the Medical Director and Clinical Cardiologist at UF was scheduled and he reviewed all of Zoey’s records.  He suggested that Zoey was a good candidate for mitral valve repair surgery and she was referred to Dr. Sabine in France.

Zoey is currently stable and on four medications in the morning and three at night. She gets acupuncture treatments twice a month and is on multiple supplements.. Zoey is still under the supervision of Dr. Swift and she is scheduled for surgery in France on September 22, 2017.

Breed: Maltese
Age: 10 years old
Diagnosis: Stage C
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Owner: Janette Jordan
Cardiologist : Dr. Simon Swift, UFL
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Easy Kamoun

Easy is an 8 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from Sevres, France.  In March 2016, Easy was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Disease. She had an enlarged heart which stabilized with drug therapies. In August 2017, she suffered from pulmonary edema and progressed to stage D. After finding out about the surgery, Easy's parents met with Sabine Bozon urgently. She said that Easy had only a few days left to live and agreed to make the surgery urgently after having treated the edema. The day before the operation, she discovered 2 blood clots and hospitalized her. Then the surgery on September 20th went well but Easy had 2 more clots one week after leaving the clinic that she evacuated with drugs.   Currently, Easy is recovering at home and doing very well!

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 8 years old
Diagnosis: Stage D
Hometown: Sevres, France Owner: Sophie Kamoun
Cardiologist : Dr. Sabine Bozon, Clinique Veterinaire Bozon
MVR Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Sachie

Sachie is a 7 year old Chihuahua from Albany, NY.  She was diagnosed with a heart murmur in April 2017.  Then, in June 2017 she was confirmed to be in MVD Stage B2 with a murmur of 4/5.  Between June and her surgery on September 20, 2017, Sachie progressed to Stage C but remained stable.  Her surgery at the Bozon clinic in France was a success and Sachie seems to be doing very well. Her energy level has increased and she looks great.

Breed: Chihuahua
Age: 7 years old
Diagnosis: Stage C
Hometown: Albany, NY Owner: Marisa & Everett Teller
Cardiologist : Dr. A Kent, Upstate Veterinary Specialty
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Snoopy Osterloh

Snoopy is a 10 year old Chorkie (chihuahua yorkie mix) from London, UK.  He went to the vet to be diagnosed with MVD only two months prior to surgery. He was in heart failure with a 6 out of 6 heart murmur.  Prior to surgery he was in late stage C, almost D.  After a successful mitral valve repair on September 19th at the Bozon clinic in France, Snoopy is now at Stage B1 and doing very well.  Dr. Bozon said that his heart is almost perfect. His regurgitation has significantly reduced but he still suffers from a cough.

Breed: Chihuahua/Yorkie Mix
Age: 10 years old
Diagnosis: Stage C
Hometown: London, UK
Owner: Dolly-Ann Osterloh
Instagram: @snoopysbigheart
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Mong Lee

Mong is an 11 year old Maltese from Pyeongtaek, South Korea.  In November 2016, Mong was hospitalized with pulmonary edema and diagnosed with a chordae tendineae rupture and Mitral valve disease.  Last summer, Mong's brother passed away so his parents want to save him more than anything.  In Korea, there was no information on the valve operation but research on overseas sites revealed that the operation was available in Japan. Mong's owners immediately began the Japan quarantine process and during the waiting period, his heart condition has gotten worse causing arrhythmia and syncope.  Mong is scheduled for surgery at JASMINE in Japan on August 7, 2017.  He currently is in stage B2/C and we wish Mong a stable condition until his surgery.

Breed: Maltese
Age: 11 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2/C
Hometown: Pyeongtaek, South Korea
Owner: Yuri Choi Instagram: @yurikhyuri
Cardiologist : Seung-gon Lee, Seoul animal heart hospital
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi & Team at, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center

Bailey Martinez

Bailey is a 10 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from Long Island, NY.  He was diagnosed in October 2013 with Mitral Valve Disease Stage B2.  Bailey was taken to the cardiologist after his owner detected his murmur (Madeline is a PA with ER and cardiology experience).  He was completely asymptomatic but his echo showed "severe, chronic MVD" in October 2013.  He was started on Enalapril 3.25mg qd.

On Valentine's Day 2015, Bailey went into mild CHF after vomiting the day before from something he ate.  On February 16, 2015, Bailey was started on Vetmedin 1.25mg bid by Dr. Kramer.  No furosemide was given.  In 2016, Bailey had several readings of pulmonary hypertension, the highest being 68 mm/hg.  Surgery is scheduled in Japan with Dr. Uechi for July 25, 2017.  Bailey will be 11 years old at the time of his procedure.

He is currently on herbal diuretics and tiny dose of furosemide 1/2 of 6.25 mg/day.  According to Dr. Uechi, he is Stage C (Dr. Kramer says B2/C).  Bailey's health is otherwise excellent except for occasional environmental allergies, which can put him into respiratory distress (Last CXR 3 wks. ago showed no pulmonary edema).  He is not currently symptomatic unless he runs and plays with his sibling and has gotten winded more easily in the past month.  Bailey gets regular acupuncture laser treatments and is on multiple supplements, including herbal therapy.

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 10 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2/C
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Owners: Madeline Martinez
Cardiologist: Dr. Kramer, Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists, Bohemia, NY
Primary Vet: Dr. R. Fredericks, North Shore Animal Hospital, Northport NY
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi

Paco Young

Paco is a 10 year old Chihuahua/Pekingese/Pomeranian mix from the San Francisco, CA.  Paco was diagnosed at Stage B2 in October 2016.  He is currently on pimobendan and enalapril, but no diuretics.  Non-active at baseline, visits the dog park 1-2x/day, and takes short walks around the neighborhood or at the beach.  Currently, he has no outward symptoms, other than a loud murmur.  Paco is scheduled for surgery at the JASMINE clinic in Japan on July 24, 2017.  We hope that Paco continues to be symptom free while he waits patiently for his big adventure.

Breed: Chihuahua/Pekingese/Pomeranian
Age: 10 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Owner: Carol Young
Cardiologist: Dr. Catherine Belanger, UC Davis
Primary Vet: Dr. Blythe Jurewicz, UC Davis
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi & Team at, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center

Max Boselli

Max is an 8 year old chihuahua/yorkie (chorkie) mix from Palm Beach Gardens, FL.  Max was first adopted in October 2009 from a shelter and was so tiny his new owners had to fatten him up.  It's a good thing he loves chicken!  He loves playing with his Samoyed brother Kodi and loves his morning walks.  He was first diagnosed with MVD Stage B1 in October 2015 and then Stage B2/C in January 2017.  We look forward to Max's surgery at the Bozon Clinic in France on July 5th and stable prognosis until then.

Breed: Chihuahua/Yorkie
Age: 8 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2/C
Hometown: Palm Beach Garden, FL
Owner: Michele Boselli
Cardiologist: Dr. Maggie Machen, Veterinary Cardiopulmunary Care Center
Primary Vet: Dr. Michael Gillen, PGA Animal Clinic
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Daisy Hawkins

Daisy is an 8 year old CKC from New York AND Florida!  Daisy was diagnosed with a heart murmur level 3 out of 6 in January 2016.  She was not placed on meds until July of that year and was started on Vetmedin (Pimo).  By June 2017 her mitral valve disease had progressed and was on Vetmedin, Enalapril, Hydrocodone, Spironolactone Digoxin & Furosemide and needing diapers.  Daisy was hospitalized in June 2017 due to vomiting & dehydration, taken off Digoxin.  Her BNP was elevated to 4500 and lost 4 lbs prior to surgery.  Daisy was fit in as an emergency patient at Clinic Veterinaire Bozon on July 5, 2017.  She is a fighter and wonderful success story.  Currently, her murmur is reduced to a 3 out of 6, is stable back in Stage B, and remains only on sildenaphil to help with the pressure that remains on her heart.  No more diapers for Daisy!

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 8 years old
Diagnosis: Stage D
Hometown: New York/Florida
Owner: Sharon & Roger Hawkins
Cardiologist : Dr. George Kramer, Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Harper Thornton

Above: Harper is alerting at a nose work trial

Harper Thornton (aka Rambler Love And Scandal) is a 9-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She lives in Lake Forest, California (Orange County), with Kim and Jerry Thornton, whom she owns body and soul, another Cavalier named Keeper and a Chihuameranian named Gemma--the one who really rules the roost. She likes to do nose work--she competes at the NW3 level--but her main focus is trying to knock on the neighbors' doors to see if they have any treats for her. She was diagnosed with a murmur when she was 5 years old but did not become symptomatic until January of this year. She's scheduled for surgery on May 26, after a few days in Paris first with mom and dad.

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 9 years old
Diagnosis: Stage C2
Hometown: Lake Forest, CA
Owners: Kim & Jerry Thornton
Cardiologist: Dr. Sarah Miller, Southern CA Veterinary Specialty Hospital
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Chuck Modafferi

Chuck is a 10 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from Woburn, MA, right outside of Boston. Chuck was diagnosed when he was 6 years old with a heart murmur but did not require medication to control symptoms until the fall of 2016 when he began coughing frequently.  His X-Ray shows a very enlarged heart and is currently holding steady on medication at Stage C until his surgery date of May 23, 2017.  We wish Chuck good health until his surgery date and a fast recovery!  Updates on Chuck will be posted here.

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 10 years old
Diagnosis: Stage C
Hometown: Woburn, MA
Owners: Holly and Mike Modafferi
Instagram: @Cav_King_Chuck
Cardiologist: Dr. Ivan Sosa, InTown Veterinary Group
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Zeus Camardello

Zeus is an 8 year old Japanese Chin from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Zeus was diagnosed at Stage B2 and has been noticeably slowing down and coughing more as the disease progresses.  He had a very successful mitral valve repair surgery on March 24, 2017 at Clinique Veterinaire Bozon.  After surgery, Zeus had some additional coughing from being intubated, but is currently recovering comfortably at home.

Breed: Japanese Chin
Age: 8 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Owner: Mike Camardello
Cardiologist: Dr. Tacy Rupp
Primary Vet: Dr. Jose Barboza
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Bentley McAlpine

Bentley is a 7 1/2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from Maple Valley, WA. In 2015, Bentley’s vet mentioned that he had a slight heart murmur.  In November 2016, his heart murmur had elevated to a Grade 4.  He was taken to a cardiologist and diagnosed with Mitral Valve Disease, Stage B2+.  He had an enlarged heart with severe regurgitation.  Bentley was stabilized with drug therapies. 

One week prior to traveling to France for Mitral Valve Repair surgery, Bentley went into early stage Congested Heart Failure, Stage C.  With an additional drug added, he was stabilized once again.  Bentley received his surgery in Versailles, France on March 23, 2017.  Bentley’s cardiologist, Dr. Mikaela Mueller, also flew to France to observe this miraculous surgery.  

Bentley had his 1-month post-op checkup on April 5, and is doing great!  His heart is back to normal size, he is off of all drug therapies, and his regurgitation was reduced to a normal range.  Bentley recently attended his first conference in Seattle, WA in front of 75-100 vets, as a guest star representing the MVR surgery.  Bentley is more active, full of energy, and spunky.  We are looking forward to his 3-month post-op checkup.

Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Age: 7-1/2 years old
Diagnosis: Stage B2+
Hometown: Maple Valley, WA
Owner: Marla McAlpine
Instagram: @marvelousbymarla
Cardiologist: Dr. Mikaela Mueller, Seattle Veterinary Specialists
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon

Bellissima Kučera

We have had Bellissima (Belisa) from the very first day she was born because we also were parents to her mummy.  She has three siblings which were all given to our friends so that they would be in good hands.  We also had new parents for Belisa, but we felt that we belonged to each other so we kept her.

She is typical terrier, excited about everything, angry at everybody, and so much energy - crazy like a puppy.  We had to have her spayed because she was suffering from false pregnancy (or pseudopregnancy).  She was mothering her toys and having problems with her mammary glands.  Our doctor told us that after being spayed, Belisa would be calmer and not so interested in sex with her toys… but that was not true at all.  She wanted to have sex with everything and was even crazier than before.

After that she started to limp on her left back leg and was diagnosed with a luxating patella.  We found a specialist from Croatia, Dr. Dokič, who gave her a titan implant in her leg.  Unfortunately she had to have an additional operation because the titan implants are made of two pieces and they split up.  She also had a groin hernia which was the first time we saw her crying in pain.  She had never cried in pain before that.

In 2014, she had her first epileptic seizure.  We were shocked because at that time we didn’t know about epilepsy in dogs.  We read a lot of information about epilepsy and learned that there is no true cure.  We finally decided not to visit doctors who would only give her drugs and scare her more.  Every time a seizure was coming she came to us and let us know that something was happening to her, so that we could hold her, talk to her, and try to distract her from what was happening, which worked quite well.

Also in 2014, our doctor told us that she had a heart murmur but it was nothing to worry about. We didn’t know any better and believed our doctor.  In October 2015, Belisa was put on Vetmedin (Pimobendan) and Furosemide.  Again, our doctor told us there was nothing to worry about.  In August 2016, we were visiting our doctor and he told us everything was still fine.

In December 2016, our doctor told us that Belisa was getting worse.  Of course, we thought, because she had started to cough during the night and we didn’t understand why.  We asked him how much time she has left and his answer killed us.  6 – 12 months.  He told us that there was one person in the world that might be able to help us, Dr. Uechi, but it's too expensive.  Nothing is too expensive if our love has just a few months of life left.  We didn’t know the price, but we knew that we could sell our flat, our cars, our company, even my kidney, anything, just to save her life.

We googled Belisa's condition and Dr. Uechi, and thanks to Kaori and her story of Ralph, we found this amazing group of selfless people.  Of course we didn’t believe or understand why there is only one person in the world who could help us.  It seemed so strange to us.  So in January, we flew to France to meet Dr. Sabin Bozon to discuss the surgery and assess whether we were doing the right thing.  We have never ever met a doctor this kind.  She is an angel.  She explained everything to us and spent a lot of time emailing us answers to all of our questions. This was the most helpful thing during this time, when you are losing all hope.

We did all the tests in our country, including magnetic resonance because of Belisa's epilepsy, to ensure that her brain was fine, and then we had to decide whether to do her surgery in March or May.  We knew the risk of the surgery (every surgery is a risk, of course, however, this is not like her leg, it's her heart!), and preferred May.  However, we decided to take Belisa to visit Dr. Sabine so that she could see Belisa and give us better advice about when to do the surgery.  We selfishly wanted May, but this was not about what we wanted, it was about what Belisa needed.

Dr. Sabine gave us advice to go in March because she was not sure if Belisa would stay stable until May.  She told us during that visit that there was another problem called Myocardial thinning, which is another risk with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease.  She gave us another type of medication for Belisa.  From that visit until the surgery we were giving her multiple medications at specific times of the day.  We were very tired because some of them were very late in the evening, some of them very early in the morning, and most of the time during the night we were not sleeping because we were checking on her to see if she was fine and still breathing.

On March 17, Belisa had her last recheck with Dr. Sabine and she told us that all the numbers of the tests were much better.  On March 21, the day of surgery, I told Belisa in the morning that we belong to each other; we will stay together forever no matter what.  We will be waiting for you in the front of clinic, be strong girl, we know you will come back to us.  I am certain she understood us.

If Marla, Michael, and Dominique were not also at the clinic in the days after Belisa's surgery, we would have just sat quietly for the whole time of post-care (which is seven days normally, and we paid for one extra day to be sure) in the car in front of the clinic.  Car?  Yes, the journey to France by plane takes about 1.5 hours, but we went by car so that Belisa could go to the bathroom anytime she needed to and she wouldn't be as scared of all the people.

After waking from anesthesia post-surgery, Belisa had some problems with breathing because she also has a collapsing trachea.  Even today her breathing is not 100% better, but I am sure it will get better.  Dr. Sabine explained to us that an enlarged right ventricle is not as life threatening as the left side.  The left side is already smaller after the surgery.  The right side will get slightly bigger and it will take some time, but it will get smaller again.

Our journey back home was also not easy.  We left France at 1:30 am because we knew Belisa would be calmer at night.  When we were about 400km from France, and 600km from our home, Belisa started to cry and kept her right back leg (the healthy one) up.  We turned the car around and drove back to Dr. Sabine.  She gave Belisa some drugs for pain and we started our journey again.

When we arrived home, she was not able to walk normally.  Even the front leg was bad.  Today, we don’t know exactly what happened to her (all the doctors we spoke to about it have different ideas – orthopedic, spinal, neurologist etc.), but she is now walking almost like normal and we are sure it will just take some time to be 100% good.

This is our big story of one small cute girl and the big love between us forever.

Breed: Yorkshire Terrier
Age: 11 years old
Diagnosis: Stage C
Hometown: Prague, Czech Republic
Owner: Tomáš Kučera
Primary Veterinarian: Dr. Vojtěch Novák Read Belisa's surgery story here
Surgical Team: France, Drs. Masami Uechi, Sabine & Jean Hugues Bozon