Kelly Ryan, HeraldSun
March 27, 2012 12:00am
HARRY the cute pup with the time-bomb ticker has been saved thanks to a medical crisis fund for pets and a veterinary heart surgeon.
But the extraordinary effort to keep Harry alive was not without a last-minute drama.
A tight schedule to save Harry almost came unstuck yesterday when a vital device needed to plug the hole in the little hound’s heart was held up by Customs in NSW after being flown from the US.
A suburban vet check revealed a heart murmur when Harry was taken for vaccinations by Mentone couple Kristy Picone and partner Matt.
Cardiologist Richard Woolley, at the Pet Emergency & Specialist Centre in East Malvern, said Harry would be dead within months, adding: “He is a cavoodle, a King Charles spaniel-poodle cross and poodles are a breed predisposed to the condition.”
Unable to afford the costs involved, Harry’s owners agonised over the pup’s fate.
But Dr Woolley contacted Jennifer Hunt who runs the Pet Medical Crisis Fund.
“Dr Woolley is discounting his surgery by $1000 and the Pet Medical Crisis Fund is donating $1000 and we are delighted to be able to help this little guy over the line,” Ms Hunt said.
Surgery went ahead yesterday and Harry is believed to have pulled through beautifully.
Donations can be made to: www.petmedicalcrisis.com.au
Originally published as Heart-throb Harry gets a helping hand
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