Koda Murray

Koda’s symptoms came on suddenly and rapidly. He had his yearly check up with his primary care veterinarian in April 2017 with no noticeable murmur whatsoever. Yet in late October 2017 he began coughing consistently, so I took him to be seen by his primary care veterinarian and was referred to a cardiologist immediately. His cardiologist diagnosed him with CHF, MVD, at a grade 5/6 murmur. No one could explain why he went from no murmur to a grade 6 in a matter of months.

With medications his symptoms were well controlled for a couple months, but dosages needed to be constantly increased and new medications added. In April 2018 he had his first hospitalization from CHF and was on a rapid decline. He was hospitalized on two more occasions in May before his surgery date at the Jasmine clinic in July. After surgery, we were told that nearly all his cords had been torn, which would explain his rapid and sudden decline. 

Koda had surgery on July 25th 2018, with no complications. He did have to be released after only 3 days because he was too stressed without me, but this didn’t effect his healing. His heart has dramatically decreased in size and he is now only taking a low dose of Vetmedin. He does still have a grade 4 murmur but there is no significant regurgitation.  He has his crazy Aussie energy back, and acts like a puppy again. We are forever grateful to Dr. Uechi and his amazing team, and everyone who helped us make this trip possible.

Breed: Miniature Australian Shepherd
Age: 11 years old
Diagnosis: Stage D Surgery Date: July 25th, 2018
Hometown: Portland, OR Owner: Stefani Murray Instagram: @kodawoof
Cardiologist: Dr. Gary Wood at Cardiology Northwest
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center