Oliver Richmeir

I have been blessed to have a dog or multiple dogs in my life since I was 2 years old. And yet I knew absolutely nothing about heart disease in dogs. So, I was completely taken aback when I was told that Oliver (10.5 y/o) was in heart failure and that, hopefully, with medication he could live another 12-15 months. The ER cardiologist (Dr Andrew Waxman, now practicing in upstate NY) who treated him mentioned a surgical option in Japan but indicated that it was cost prohibitive and left me with the feeling that it wasn't really an option for me. This is not to slight Dr. Waxman in any way. He's an excellent cardiologist.

In February of 2021 at his annual exam, his vet said that she was hearing a murmur that she hadn't heard before but “not to worry as it could be nothing”. They had a tech come in every other month to perform various diagnostics. She'd already been there that month, so I made an appointment for an echo to be done in April. In March upon returning from a trip to Oregon, Oliver started coughing that night. I knew that he had eaten some grass after getting home & I thought he'd gotten it stuck & was trying to dislodge it. He coughed the entire night & continued to cough the next day. I finally realized that he was no longer just coughing, he was starting to struggle to breathe. I took him to the ER. These were the COVID days when you had to stay in the parking lot, as they wouldn't let you enter the building. When I called the ER ahead of time, they were telling me that they had a 3-5 hour wait time.

Luckily, they were assessing patients, in the car, as they arrived. Upon assessment, they immediately took him from me into the hospital. They told us to go home as he'd have to stay in oxygen over night. I had no idea what was going on. Dr. Waxman arrived the next morning & diagnosed him as being in CHF. He was put on Pimo & lasix. I only got to see Dr. Waxman twice more, as he was planning to move from CA to upstate NY. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I believe that a deep powdery snow the day before we left Oregon caused one of his chords to rupture and thus for him to go into CHF. The next big challenge was getting in with another cardiologist, as there were only 2 others practicing in the area and they were overwhelmed with patients. I got in, thankfully, with Dr Kate Woodruff (now in SFO). As his condition worsened, Oliver was also put on enalapril & amlodipine.

Besides not knowing anything about canine heart disease, I didn't participate in social media. I had no idea that helpful groups such as Mighty Hearts Project existed on Facebook. Surgery wasn't really on my radar. Then, one night, while watching the local news, they did a story on a military vet & his service dog that needed MV repair surgery & he was trying to get to Japan to do it. They (shockingly) included his email in the story & I emailed him to see if he'd gotten the surgery & how did it go? He'd said due to COVID, he'd been unable to get to Japan as of yet. He told me about Mighty Hearts Project & that I should get in touch with Nate Estes. *Had it not been for me seeing that story on TV and for Jason telling me about Mighty Hearts, I would have never known that they (MH) existed & I would not have known about or had a pathway to surgery.* After connecting with MH & reading about steps to surgery, I then immediately got Oliver a 2nd rabies vaccine & got the titer test on “the off chance” that I'd be able to make getting him to surgery work. It was now August 2021. Around this time, I was trying to initiate contact with Jasmine.

Although, I was now connected to MH & receiving copious amounts of invaluable information, I felt like I was trying to “jump through every hoop”, but still not really knowing if I could go through with it. Doing this during the pandemic made it especially difficult. Having to secure a special circumstance visa in order to enter Japan was beyond daunting in and of itself. Had it not been for others in the group, who'd shared their knowledge, we would have shown up unprepared & likely been declined our precious visas.

Up until the time that we went to Japan, Jasmine had been following the government rules with regards to quarantine, but they suffered some illness & increased their clinic quarantine from 1 week to 2 weeks. So-not only did we need to be there 2 weeks post op, but we also now needed to be there 2 weeks pre op. We were in JP from February 15th through March 17th, I almost mistakenly arrived 1 day prior to Oliver’s eligibility to enter the country as it was, we entered exactly 6 months to the day after his 2nd rabies & titer test (not planned-just fortuitous). His surgery was scheduled for March 1st, 2022, one year after his CHF diagnosis. Pre surgery testing showed that Oliver had/still has kidney stones, bladder stones, collapsing trachea & most disconcerting splenic masses. However, Jasmine was still willing to do his surgery.

His surgery was scheduled for 8:30 am. They called me an hour and a half later to tell me that he'd done well & hadn’t needed a blood transfusion. I'd made the difficult decision to “visit” Oliver every day, post op, but not to let him see me. I couldn't believe that in less than 2 hours of coming out of surgery, he was standing, alert, and wagging his tail-it was amazing! He did really well for four days post op & then he suffered some setbacks and ended up staying in hospital for a full 7 days. He did really well post op, up until the day we were to fly out. I took him out to potty & he just laid down on his side on the asphalt. We rushed him, via train, to Jasmine & they said he had pancreatitis. They gave him steroids & antibiotics & thankfully were still able to fly out that night.

Weirdly, after a year post op, Oliver started having syncope episodes, this was not a pre surgery issue. I did my own research and as a result asked if he could come off of the Pimo. My current cardiologist, Dr Sara Johns, conferred with Dr Sayaka Takeuchi and a little more than a year post op, it was agreed that he could be weaned off of Pimo. This was May of 2023. I don’t know whether or not it is coincidental, but we have not had any more syncope episodes as of yet since stopping the Pimo.

We see the cardiologist every 6 months for follow up echos. Upon returning from Japan, my other dog (Oliver's mother, Penny) was also diagnosed with a heart murmur during her annual physical, she too goes to the cardiologist every six months as well. She's B2 and holding steady 2 years later. Five months post op, Oliver suddenly developed glaucoma in his left eye and his collapsing trachea has worsened, but to look at him you would never that know he's almost 14 now (11.5 y/o at time of surgery) and has so many issues. He's a happy & curious little guy. I try to savor each & every day that I have with them and I try to always take them both wherever we go.

I have to thank Nate Estes for the research that he did to find this surgery for his precious Zoey and for realizing that this was something really important that he could share with the world to help countless others try to save their dogs from this horrible disease that takes way too many lives way too soon. By creating the Mighty Hearts Project, he created a forum filled with invaluable information that has allowed so many of us to save our dogs, when otherwise we would have had no idea that this surgery even existed, nor all of the many, many complicated, overwhelming & necessary steps it takes to get our loved ones to surgery. Thank you Nate! 

Secondly, I have to thank Michelle Lawson Fairfield for all of the energy and effort that she put in to guide those of us needing “special circumstance visas” to enter Japan. As I mentioned this was a very daunting process and if you got denied you had to wait, I believe, 6 more months to reapply, during which time, your dog could likely not survive the additional time. She was also very helpful with directing me to all of the Mighty Hearts resources so that I can safely make it to Japan during the difficulties of covid travel, Thank you Michelle! 

And lastly, but not least, I need to thank Isa Randle. As I have said before, Isa ended up being my personal guiding “Angel” in this endeavor. I had reached out to her after seeing her posts on MH about her dog, Lucky, going to surgery in Japan (and this was before she became a group moderator). She made it her business to become extremely knowledgeable about the surgical process while she & Lucky were going through it themselves. She seemed to always be available to answer my questions & more than anything she always provided me with an encouraging and positive perspective. Thank you Isa!

I never got to meet or communicate with Dr Uechi in any way due to the strict covid protocols, but I am so thankful that he recognized the need for this surgical procedure and then pioneered it and over the years of doing it, has perfected it to the point of a 98% success rate! Dr Sayaka Takeuchi is so great at making sure that you are aware of all of the risks pre surgery & post-surgery allows you to know what is worrisome and what not to worry about as there is a lot. Her calm demeanor imparts a confidence that is so very appreciated under the stressful circumstances. I also had the opportunity & pleasure to work with their Oncologist, Dr Omski with regards to Oliver’s splenic masses. The level of expertise and care is exceptional to the point that I have never experienced anything even close to it here in the United States, unfortunately. Jasmine Clinic and their doctors have my highest regard.

Getting Ollie to surgery, during the height of Omicron, to one of the most locked down countries in the world was a huge endeavor & a yearlong labor of love. One that I will never regret & will, forever, have both fond and stress fraught memories of and would have never been able to do without Mighty Hearts & so many of its wonderful Facebook group members. I & Oliver thank you Mighty Hearts & so many of your wonderfully kind & generous members (you know who you are) who answered all of my questions and concerns along the way which ultimately enabled me to successfully get Oliver to Japan for his life saving surgery. I am & will always be eternally grateful. 

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Breed: Pomeranian
Age at surgery: 11
Diagnosis: Stage C
Surgery Date: March 1st, 2022
Hometown: San Ramon, CA, USA
Owner: Kim Richmeier
Primary Vet: Dr. Elisa Dowd
Cardiologist: Dr. Sara Johns
Repair Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi & Team at, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center

Lucas Bustillos

I adopted Lucas when I was 22, right out of college. He quickly became the love of my life. Over the last 12 years, Lucas and I have been through everything together. Lucas helped me get through a divorce, a layoff, grief over the loss of a loved one, heartbreak and many, many, panic attacks. He has been my protector since day 1, barking at anything that came near me in that funny, ferocious way only chihuahuas know how to :)

Lucas was a relatively healthy dog up until December 2021 (he started getting yearly seizures around the time he turned 6, but luckily, they were mild and very sporadic). On December 29th, 2021, we had the worst night of our lives as a family. The situation that was unfolding required me to quickly reverse roles with Lucas: He was the one who needed saving that night.

Earlier that day, we had arrived in Telluride, Colorado. We were a few hours into our vacation when we noticed our little guy wasn't breathing properly. He was panting and walking around aimlessly, he was dazed and confused. Lucas wasn't himself. I called his ER vet and sent them a video and they told me he needed to get to a hospital ASAP. They told me he seemed to be in respiratory distress.

After a 2 hour panicked drive to the nearest ER in Grand Junction, CO we were given the news: Lucas was in congestive heart failure. It was a huge shock. Lucas seemed to be doing so well for his age before that night. We had even proactively taken him to the cardiologist a few months before and they had only seen a level 2 murmur. They didn’t start meds then, because they told us he didn't need them - he didn’t have heart disease. How could everything have changed so quickly?

My husband and I didn't sleep for the next 3 days. Lucas had to be put in an oxygen chamber and was started on furosemide. We were told he had skipped from Stage B1 of MVD all the way to CHF... Likely an acute tear of his chordae tendineae at high altitude... But they couldn’t know for sure. He was discharged on NYE. I spent all of January 2022 taking him to different cardiologists in the greater Denver metropolitan area. We went to 3 specialists in fact - and it was very confusing because one cardiologist told us she didn't think he had ever really been in CHF and that it may have been something else (and proceeded to lower his furosemide dosage)... two days later another cardiologist told us he was indeed in CHF and it was getting worse, re-upping his meds. Eventually the consensus was CHF with a few months to a year on average left... I was devastated, confused, frustrated and exhausted. 

Nevertheless, something inside of me pushed me to get one last opinion. Don't ask me why... I had a feeling everything wasn't set. So, at the recommendation of a friend, I drove almost 2 hours to Fort Collins, CO to the CSU Vet Cardiology department. There, one of the residents on their staff finally mentioned the Mighty Hearts Community... my reaction was one of both relief and shock: "WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THERE WAS A REPAIR OPTION BEFORE THIS APPOINTMENT"? The anger turned into hope. There was no time to waste being upset or looking for blame. I went home and started the process to get Lucas to Japan right then and there.

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The following 6+ months would have been impossible without the Mighty Hearts Community. Their website and their Facebook MVD Community group held answers to nearly all of my questions surrounding the actual repair procedure and the process to get to Japan and secure a surgery date. They helped me every step of the way - from the moment I introduced myself in the group all the way up to the week prior to travel where I was panicking to make sure I had all of Lucas’ documentation in order to get into Japan. Not only would they answer my questions via FB, many many times the amazing volunteers in this community made themselves available over the phone as well - reassuring me even when things looked really tough and convoluted.

Lucas had successful surgery on Nov 22nd, 2022. As you can imagine, we had a ton of ups and downs along the way. The process was arduous. It tested my husband and I and pushed us to be the most organized we had ever been... about anything in life. But we made it and Lucas made it. He recovered so well from surgery - we were in awe. Day 2 he was already wagging his tail and trying to bark at the nurse when he caught a glimpse of me on the other side of the room. The team at Jasmine was incredible - everyday we went to visit Lucas post-surgery, we had the opportunity to see up close the state of the art facilities and care they apply to each dog that is recovering from this life-saving procedure.

Unfortunately, a few months after Mitral Valve Repair surgery, Lucas was given a few unnecessary vaccines at his primary vet in DC (at District Vet, for those wondering) without our consent (the vaccines included ProHeart12 and a rabies booster he wasn’t due for). Those errors set off a series of events that ended up with him having to get Ventral Slot surgery at VRA Gaithersburg with Dr. Kaiman - we still don’t know exactly what happened, but we know he wasn’t the same after those shots… he could barely walk and was yelping in pain for almost a month before we were told he needed spinal surgery. For a second time, we were faced with the need to trust our furbaby to the medical experts, only this time we had a bit of PTSD given what had happened with his vet in DC to get us here.

The surgery thankfully went well and Lucas was back to his normal self the next day. However, it made us realize how important it is to continue to advocate and be on top of his care even after successful mitral valve repair surgery. We realized we couldn't lose our focus now that we were back home. At the end of the day, we each know our furbabies best - advocate for them as much as you can and trust your gut. That would be my main recommendation to anyone reading our story. It is possible for you and your beloved pets to live longer, happier lives... but it does require patience, research, time, energy, focus, care and above all unconditional love.

Lucas is doing great btw! we are almost a year out from his MVR surgery and 4 months out from his spinal surgery and he is acting like he is a puppy - getting zoomies, eating treats and playing with his sister Mila everyday. Thank you to this amazing Mighty Hearts community, to the entire team at Jasmine and to Dr. Kaiman at VRA Gaithersburg - words cannot express how grateful I am to still be enjoying quality time with the love of my life.

Breed: Pomeranian - Chihuahua Mix
Age at surgery: 11
Diagnosis: Stage: C
Surgery Date: November 22nd, 2022
Hometown: Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Owner: Dilianna Bustillos
Cardiologist: Kendra LaFauci DVM
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi & Team at,
Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center

Emma Ibrahim

Emma is a fiery, sock-loving, and (now) well-travelled little dog. She was from Texas and came to Canada when she was five. She always had a cough when she drank water or got excited, but this was chalked up to tracheal collapse and her checkups were always fine.

Feb-March 2022 we noticed the cough was more frequent and lasting longer. Her vet heard a new heart murmur. She was started on Furosemide while waiting for the echo, then Pimobendan when the diagnosis was confirmed. We knew surgery existed, but our (and our vets) impression was that it was rarely done and quite risky. Emma was doing well and was active as ever. In hindsight we should have looked into it sooner.

Everything fell apart July 2022. One night, Emma got too excited and collapsed. When she came to, her breathing rate shot up to the 80s. She was rushed to hospital and admitted for heart failure. A few hours later, her heart stopped. Thank God for her amazing team - they jumped into action and brought her back. The vet said that life expectancy was 6 months to a year, if she makes it through this exacerbation.

After that worst night, things started to improve. Emma responded to treatment. More than that, she started acting like herself again. She ripped out her IV, refused to eat anything except chicken and cat food, and relentlessly bullied her cardiologist. She was medically stable after a week in ICU and was allowed to come home. She was now on heavy doses of Pimo, furosemide, plus Benazepril.

Knowing the progressive nature of the disease, we planned for surgery. We were referred to RVC in early August, spoke with Dr. Brockman in September, and got our surgery date for November 7th. We were lucky to get off the cancellation list so quickly, and I am forever grateful to the family that had postponed their own surgery.

We started the quarantine process for Japan, but in my gut I knew we were going to RVC. Japan’s success rate was slightly higher, however it did not outweigh the risk of waiting six months. We knew from the literature that surgery done in Stage C had markedly lower complication rates and mortality than Stage D. There was also concern that if we wait too long, it would be too late. Emma did not meet the minimum weight for DWR.

We decided to fly Emma to France as a “pet-in-cabin”, then rent a car and drive to UK via the Eurotunnel. We needed an Animal health Certificate for Great Britain and a In-Transit paperwork for France. The forms had to be completed less than 48 hours before our flight (not the usual 5 days). Emma was tiny enough to fit under the seat of the plane.

Our last night in Canada was Halloween, and we set off the next day. She had a dose of trazodone before the flight. Emma used a diaper on the plane. We also had some spironolactone that we could start in case her symptoms worsen before surgery, and extra emergency doses of furosemide. We had all our paperwork (originals and photocopies) on our person. Fortunately we didn’t have any issues getting across the boarders.

We stayed with the famous Tony at Harpenden House. He greeted us with a Mighty Hearts blanket and a custom dog bowl with Emma’s name on it. The next day, we met Dr. Brockman at Emma’s pre-op appointment. We spent the next few days checking out the town and learning to drive on the left side of the road. The UK was much more dog friendly than Canada - we got to take Emma into the pub!

Emma’s surgery went well. Her heart shrank and her cough improved significantly. Emma’s furosemide and benazepril were stopped. She is now classified as stage B2. There was some residual regurgitation, so we are continuing the Pimobendan at 1/3 her precious dose. In total, we went from seven pills a day to just two. Functionally, Emma is more energetic and full of life than ever. She recovered quickly and grew very attached to Dr. Brockman.

We got daily updates from him and got to visit every other day. She was discharged from hospital after a week and cleared to fly two weeks after. The night before our flight home, Emma started coughing a more. Dr. Brockman squeezed her in the next morning for an appointment and thankfully everything was fine. We can’t say enough about the kind and attentive care Emma received from RVC.

We didn’t realize we also needed an “Export Health Certificate” in order to leave the UK, so the last few days were a scramble. We used PetAirUK’s “Official Veterinarians” for the paperwork (they were more knowledgeable than the airlines). It was expensive, but I didn’t have time to shop around.

The 3 month minimal activity was a challenge. Instead of using the pillows we painstakingly stacked for her to get up, she would walk around them and hop onto the couch. She hated being crated and would shake, cry, and bark, and we couldn’t have that. We ended up blocking off her access to the living room (so she couldn’t jump on her beloved couch). We also took off our bed frame and slept on the floor for the next three months. We became the top 1% listeners for Dog Music Dreams and Relaxmydog on Spotify.

It’s crazy to think that we flew our chihuahua to the UK for open heart surgery, but we’re so glad we did it. The surgery is a gift of time - not only did Emma pass her “six months to a year” prognosis, she is thriving. This dog has now been in the US, Canada, France, and the UK. She is now making friends with cats - something she’s never done before. She was described as “very feisty for eleven”, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

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Breed: Chihuahua
Age at surgery: 11
Diagnosis: Stage C
Surgery Date: November 7th, 2022
Hometown: Ontario, Cananda
Owner: Nancy Zhang
Cardiologist: Dr. Lichtenberger, Dr. Pires
Repair Surgical Team: Dr. Dan Brockman, RVC