Molly, a 10 week old Border Collie, was born with a heart defect called a Patent Ductus Arteriosis. This means that she has a connection between her aorta and her lung circulation. This made her heart sound much like a washing machine! Usually this connection closes at birth, but in Molly's case it didn't. Although Molly appeared a happy, healthy puppy, without major surgery she was unlikely to live past twelve months of age. Surgery involved opening her chest, maintaining her breathing via the anaesthetic machine, and dissecting out and tying off the offending vessel - all in all a big job! After surgery, Molly spent the night at Pete's house next to the fire, and her pain relief carefully monitored. But as is usually the case with these pups, Molly was up and about the next day, trying to chew everyone's shoes and eating ravenously! Here are some photos of Molly before the surgery with her blood donor dog Yabby (owned by Cathy), and the day following surgery.
