Valentine’s Day love for puppy given new lease of life through heart surgery

A five-month-old pup is able to feel the love this Valentine’s Day after surviving a complex and life-saving heart surgery, thanks to vet charity PDSA.

Winnie-Wynter, a cocker spaniel, was taken to Croydon PDSA Pet Hospital by her family after they noticed she had a worryingly fast heart rate that wouldn’t slow down.

When vets examined her, they found that as well as her heart beating faster than it should be, Winnie had a loud heart murmur which was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect after she underwent x-rays at Thamesmead PDSA Pet Hospital.

The scans showed her heart was already larger than it should be due to the extra workload put on it by the defect. An ultrasound examination of her heart confirmed the defect.

Owners Kersharn McPherson and Natasha Ashton were distraught, and incredibly concerned about how they would afford the unexpected and life-saving care Winnie desperately needed.

Luckily, Thamesmead and New Cross PDSA Pet Hospitals saved the day, with senior vets David Mills and Millie Wilder managing to fix her with life-saving surgery.

As a non-profit charity, they were able to offer the service for free.

Kersharn said: “Our world crumbled when we found out that Winnie had a serious, life-threatening condition at such a young age.

“I can’t express the relief we felt when we found out the surgery was a success and she was recovering well.

“We were bracing ourselves for the worst news, so we are eternally grateful to PDSA for saving our girl’s life.

“This Valentine’s and beyond, we will be spoiling Winnie with so much love. After beating all the odds, we can’t wait to enjoy many more years with her.”

Pictured top: Winnie relaxing at home (Picture: K McPherson)