29/05/2026
They beat the odds. Now we need your help to beat this bill. 💔🐾
3 tiny lives. 3 open-heart surgeries. 3 miracles.
Meet the pups who weren’t supposed to make it past 8 weeks.
What happened:
We rescued a momma dog from Mitchells Plain with 6 gorgeous pups. At their first check-up with Dr Dani, our hearts sank - 3 of the babies had heart murmurs. It quickly became evident that the tiniest girl was running out of time.
Dr Dani knew exactly who would help her fight this fight (see miracle #2). Knowing the right people with the best hearts made everything come together in a miracle.
Dr Dani put feelers out and enter Dr Gina, who connects us with Dr Heidi at Alphen Veterinary Hospital, who did not hesitate and performed echos on all 3 pups, only charging us for stock - this would have never been possible at normal rates for echocardiograms. This miracle number 1 gave us our diagnosis and opened the next door. The results? All 3 needed immediate surgery for Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) - a congenital heart defect.
Why it was so serious:
PDA is a bypass vessel that should close at birth. When it doesn’t, blood gets shunted back to the lungs instead of the body. It’s like trying to run a marathon while breathing through a straw.
Untreated, most puppies don’t make it to 1 year. One of our girls was already in heart failure and wouldn’t have made it to 8 weeks without surgery.
The surgery:
Operating on a heart the size of a litchi. While it’s still beating. Opening the chest and causing the lungs to collapse. It’s the work of superheroes.
This is where miracle number 2 begins.
Dr Christiaan Trieghaardt of Cape Specialist Surgical Vet, makes it happen. His incredible industry connections get us through the door to meet Dr Riaan Pont at Panorama Veterinary Clinic and Specialist Centre, who made magic happen, with Panorama’s medicine and surgical teams behind him.
Dr Pont’s surgical skill was not the end of his part in this. His constant compassion, care and concern for these 3 miracle babies has seen them through their entire recovery with constant follow-ups and check-ins. We couldn’t be more grateful. We know there are 2 huge teams of incredible veterinarians, nurses and support staff at Panorama’s Specialist Centre who supported Dr Pont, and we thank each and every one of them.
Heart surgeries for 3 welfare puppies get paid for how, you ask? Well they couldn’t be. But Dr Pont pulled serious strings to perform these surgeries as part of his residency, charging us only for materials used.
They pulled through. Against the odds, they’re now running, playing, and living like normal puppies should. Our littlest girl who was already in heart failure is taking her recovery a bit more slowly than her sisters, but she’s a little fighter and with Dr Pont’s continued guidance she’s getting stronger every day.
We could honestly not be any more grateful for every single person who has been part of this miraculous journey.
But there’s a “but”…
Dr Dani is our hero. Her team at West Beach Animal Hospital share her passion and compassion. They never give up on us, they never say no if there’s a chance. She always tries to find a way before giving up on an animal. She never turns us away, no matter what our bill looks like, no matter how busy she and her team is with her own precious private patients, no matter how many nights she gets home after her 2 little boys are already asleep. Now it’s our turn to fight for her and her team.
Over the past few 5 months, caring for all our animals - the countless other heartbreaking rescues and emergencies we haven’t even posted about yet, vaccinating our rescued puppies and kittens to keep them safe, keeping our golden oldies, who struggle to get adopted, happy and comfortable on chronic meds for their remaining years - on top of the costs involved in saving these 3 precious souls (although the costs were unbelievably, generously discounted for us) has amassed a frightening vet bill which currently stands at R120,000.00
Take a moment to consider the enormous and inconceivable amount of veterinary care we have received and will continue to need, if this amount includes NO service or professional fees at all from Dr Dani, and is ONLY stock - drugs, chronic meds, banadage material, drips, vaccines, tick and flea treatment, prescription foods for special-needs cases, needles and syringes.
Please help us clear this bill so we can keep saying yes to the next “impossible” case, the next broken body and broken spirit who deserves a chance. We live and breathe to fight the fights that we have a chance of winning. Sometimes we lose them but more often than not we give them a chance and a life. But we can’t do it without your help. We can’t make miracles like this happen without your support. We don’t want to ever have to turn a fallen angel away because we can’t get ahead of what it costs us to save them.
Please help us make more miracles happen.
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Donate here:
FA Pet Rescue
FNB | Branch: 203809
Acc: 626 339 77113
Swift: FIRNZAJJ###
Ref: Your name
PayPal: [email protected]
Direct to our vet:
Nedbank Acc: 1213474736 | Branch: 198765
Ref: FA
Email POP to [email protected]
Tax certificates available on request.
NPO 175-638
Every rand brings us closer to zero. Every share gives these pups a voice.
Thank you for helping us turn heartbreak into heartbeats. ❤️🐶
