East Sussex pensioner starts fundraiser to save life of eight-month old poodle puppy

Wendy Johannes, 67, said her poodle Chaos might have only six months left to live after he was diagnosed with Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA).

She started a GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/save-lord-chaos-life and hopes to raise £6,000 for an operation for Chaos next week.

Wendy said: “I live alone and he’s my companion and I can't imagine my life without him. It was all such a shock and I just want him home and better – living his best life.”

According to www.vetspecialists.co.uk, PDA is one of the most common congenital heart defects in dogs. The website said the Ductus Arteriosus is a communication between the Pulmonary artery and the Aorta, two major vessels leaving the heart. Before birth, when the lungs are not working, the Ductus Arteriosus diverts most of the blood from the Pulmonary artery into the Aorta.Then, after birth, the Ductus Arteriosus is supposed to close to direct blood coming from the right side of the heart through the lungs before it goes back to the heart. But in some dogs the Ductus Arteriosus does not close completely or at all.

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Wendy said Chaos’s condition was not noticed until he caught a virus. She was told his heart sounded like he had a stage 5 heart murmur and was found to be swollen. At the moment Chaos is not allowed to run in fields or play with other dogs in case he strains his heart. He also cannot breathe comfortably.

Wendy said Chaos has had two expensive scans so far with the first being for his diagnosis, which included blood tests and the start of medication.

She said: "The second scan was an echocardiogram to measure the size of the hole in his blood vessel in his heart. His heart is very enlarged and he is in heart failure. He needs to have a procedure to close the hole in the blood vessel.”

She added: “If that fails he will have to have open heart surgery immediately. He will continue to take his medicine until the surgery. He may need medication afterwards.”

Wendy said the PDA surgery is booked in for Tuesday, July 16, and vets have given Chaos an 80 per cent chance of surviving.

She said: “I’m extremely worried, but relieved that he is getting the treatment he needs as it was touch and go whether he would be a candidate for the surgery.”

She said: “As the the name suggests he is a bundle of Chaos – a beautiful, loving, happy, friendly, social butterfly who brings so much joy to me and my family and turned my life upside down. He is incredibly gentle and playful with all my 12 great-grandchildren. He's very clever and always learning new tricks. He knows he's gorgeous and loves to strut his stuff but he's not afraid to get mucky in a muddy puddle.”

Wendy thanked everyone who has donated, saying: “I am so happy with the generosity shown by everyone. I’m incredibly grateful for the support of people who are so kind to donate to Chaos’s surgery as I am an OAP and live on my pension so this financial burden was making me very anxious.”