FRIENDS OF VETERINARY CARDIOLOGIST, DR. KATHY WRIGHT AND HER TEAM
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Dr. Wright and her team, have performed over 100 procedures as of March 2018.  They have honed the science and art of cardiac ablation, and cured our beloved dogs of specific types of rapid heart rates.   We hope she can help your dog too. 
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​- Owners of Dogs Treated by Dr. Wright

Help for Arlo

9/16/2020

 
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Arlo rose was living a completely normal life until one day she looked like she swallowed a balloon. I was terrified to find out what was wrong. She's only 10 months old and she is my world. I rushed her to PVSEC in Pittsburgh. It was labor day and they were the only emergency clinic near me taking patients, which was a blessing in disguise. When we got there it was packed but they quickly got Arlo in. After waiting about a half an hour they called us and told us that her stomach was full of fluid. The possible causes were not good. They said it was either cancer, an enlarged heart, a blood disease, or gi disease. They said she would need to stay over night to figure out what was going on and I quickly agreed. 
        I waited all day to hear what was going on with my best friend. The ER veterinarian finally called me close to 9 pm that night. She told me that Arlo was in heart failure and my stomach sank. She said that the right side of her heart was enlarged and had given up working and she was preparing me for the worst. She said she was stable right now and that a cardiologist would look at her in the morning.          That had to be one of the worst nights of my life. I cried for hours. I gave myself the worst migraine I've ever had and I also got sick. I was so sad that my best friend could possibly die. It all came out of nowhere. She is my first dog and I was convinced I had done something wrong. I finally fell asleep due to pure exhaustion. 
       The next morning the cardiologist called me and she seemed to be in good spirits. She talked to me about how Arlo was doing and she said they had her on medication to help her with her heart. She then began to talk to me about some things that could be causing this. She began with a talk about enlarged hearts in Great Danes. I had done my research before buying my dog so I knew about the common health risks, but they usually do not show up this young. She agreed with me on that but also said we could not rule it out. Then she told me about an article she read about accessory pathways causing similar problems in dogs. She said that that might be what was going on. Another cardiologist was going to look at Arlo the next morning and she said that she would talk to her about this option. 
       The next morning I get a call from the new cardiologist and she goes over how Arlo is doing and what medication she is on. Then she starts going over about causes and she mentioned heart disease and then she paused. She got very excited when she started to tell me about the accessory pathway that the previous doctor had mentioned. This new cardiologist had had a previous pet that had actually had it and she said Arlo had very similar symptoms. With my approval she wanted to send Arlo's EKG and other testing to Dr. Wright to get her opinion. I quickly agreed. 
       Within hours Dr. Wright answered back. She said that she was pretty positive this was what was going on. She mentioned that there was a test with lidocaine that could help her get a better grasp on if it was a pathway. I quickly agreed to the test and within hours I got the amazing news that they were 95% sure Arlo had this pathway. Even more amazing, Dr. Wright had an opening in her schedule about a week and a half later. I agreed to the surgery, but then I had the realization of how much it was going to cost. 
       I had already spent thousands of dollars figuring out what was wrong, and the surgery was going to be a couple thousand more. I knew I needed help, so I reached out to friends and family and I made a go fund me. They have all helped out immensely but I am still far from my goal. I will do whatever it takes for my best friend to get this surgery, but any additional help I can get is welcomed. 

This is my GoFundMe site: https://www.gofundme.com/f/arlo039s-heart-surgery?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1.

​I also have a PayPal (cmariott@kent.edu) and a cash app (if you email me, I can share my number with you).


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    Owners of Dr. Wright's patients

    We are all owners of pets with tachycardia's/heart rates that were much too fast. Dr. Wright and her team saved our dogs with their minimally invasive ablation surgery.

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