Poor little Hondo arrived in our care as a stray. At the time we couldn't understand how a little tiny puppy could have strayed. Sadly, it looks as though he was abandoned due to having a serious heart condition. Our vet check revealed that he was no older than 6 weeks and had a heart murmur that required further investigation. He was referred to specialist vets who diagnosed a rare congenital heart defect called a reverse Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). This is a life-threatening condition, and his only chance of survival was expensive specialist surgery. Whilst the operation was successful, the vets were unable to reverse the high pressure in Hondo’s lungs so he is on a large amount of medication and careful monitoring for this.

Thanks to the love and dedication of his Palliative Paws foster family, little Hondo is still defying the odds of his condition today.

We’ve never been happier to have that few days turn into a year. How Hondo continues to defy the odds is a miracle that we just can’t explain. His cardiologist said “There are a few of my old patients that I really wanted to know how they are doing and our Hondo is definitely on the top of the list. I am so glad to hear he keeps doing well and teaching us a lesson every day about how numbers may not mean anything. One day the signs will be clearer and he won’t be quite as energetic...until then we’re taking every day as a win!

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