Copper
Copper suffered from a stage five out of six heart murmur. He was on life-long treatment, living out his days with one of our wonderful fosterers, until a life-changing opportunity became available. Read his story below.
At nine months old, Copper was handed into Poodle Network UK with a stage five of six heart murmur, caused by a hole in his heart. As a puppy, this hole is supposed to close itself naturally, but in some cases, this does not happen.
With timely treatment and surgery, the hole can be closed and they go on to live a normal life with little to no further complications. Sadly, in this instance, Copper did not receive the surgery in time and it was too late to close the hole when he came into our care.
When he first came to us, he was only expected to live for three months due to the severity of his condition. As a result, he could never be rehomed to his forever home and one of our extremely brave fosterers made the difficult decision to take him in on long-term foster.
He knows no different, so he doesn't understand why he isn't allowed to go for long walks, or his playing and exertion have to be monitored closely and sometimes limited. He sleeps for extended periods of time, and you can feel his heart 'swoosh' rather than beat.
Whilst he is currently doing well, he is teetering on a knife-edge, and it is incredibly difficult to predict how long Copper has. Copper is a very happy and cheeky pup but requires life-long, daily medication to try and control his condition. He also has regular checkups to monitor his heart. But these all come at a cost and without your donations, we would not be able to give Copper the best life possible- no matter how short it could be.
Watch his story
Copper is not the first Poodle we have had handed into us, with this heart condition. Watch his story here.
2024 Update
Copper took a turn for the worst, he developed a cough, which we were always told would be the start of the end for him, so he was rushed to the vets to see what was going on. They brought in a specialist to scan his heart and see if his heart murmur had worsened, and it sadly had. He was now diagnosed as having a stage 6/6 heart murmur and was in complete heart faliure.
BUT, and it's a big but, they thought there was a chance for surgery to save him. So, off to Liverpool Small Animal Hospital he went, where they did further tests and confirmed he was elligible for a different, minimally invasive surgery.
Within a couple of weeks he underwent his life changing surgery, where they went through the artery in his leg, up to his heart and inserted what looks like a little metal umbrella to close the hole. After a very stressful 36 hours away from his foster carers, he was given the all clear to come home, with a scan booked to confirm the device had taken and was working as it should.
Once he returned home, he experienced extensive bruising, and had to take temporary pain medication, with a very strict routine to help him heal and recover. His foster carers had to monitor his breathing during sleep, which indicates how his heart is functioning. Prior to surgery, he averaged 27 breaths a minute, with anything over 30 indicating serious issues. Following his surgery, his new average is 15.
6 months post surgery, he returned for a scan to see how everything was, and we had further good news. With heart failiure, their hearts swell, and we were warned that his would shrink following surgery, but as it was so enlarged, they didn't expect it to return to what they class as within the normal range. However, Copper being the fighter he is, shows his heart whilst still not as small as it should be, had returned to within the normal range and has shrunk more than they expected.
Due to this, he was given the all clear to come off his life-long medication, and is continuing to do very well. He is still a very lazy pup, but has no issues with a cough, and so far is thriving. He continues to play with the other dogs in the house, happily welcoming other fosters, and playing with them. He is due to return in late 2025 for another scan to see if everything is in place as it should be, but so far he is showing no signs of any issues, so we are hopeful for the outcome.
A note from his foster carers:
I've spent almost four years cherishing every day I woke up with him still here, and when my partner Chris came into our lives, he quickly became the favourite human. We were initially skeptical over the surgery and the risks involved, and if the risk was worth it, considering the time we had had with him. It was a very serious decision to make, and we went with a long list of questions. The team were fantastic at answering all our questions, and made accomodations to support us and Copper as best they could.
In the end, it was a question of the risks of surgery, or knowing he would likely not survive the year without it. Whilst it was the most stressful 36 hours without him, we are so grateful to have gone through it, so we have him here with us today. He only took about a week to heal fully from the surgery, and he was back to his usual, playful self.
Without the donations Poodle Network UK receive, he wouldn't have been able to have this surgery, and we are so incredibly grateful to everyone who made this possible, and has supported his journey since he arrived.