KC and Sasha came to us from Odessa, Texas. KC, a former Army Ranger, had been struggling with severe PTSD. He needed to find something that would help him get parts of his life back that he was missing due to his PTSD. Little did he know, help was on the way, and a German Shepherd by the name of Sasha was the answer that he had been looking for.
Years later, on may 4th, Sasha was diagnosed with congenital heart failure by her primacy veterinarian. KC had posted some of this information on facebook and that’s when I was able to find out a little more about KC and Sasha. Upon speaking with Dr. Moore and Dr’s Sonya Gordon and Ashley Saunders from the Texas A&M veterinary teaching hospital, it was agreed upon that they would have her evaluated for a second opinion. In just a few short hours Sasha, KC, and Dodie were headed to College Station, Texas.
Upon arrival and intital diagnostics it was determined that she had a PDA or persistent ductus arteriosis. Her heart had enlarged to over 70% of its normal size. It was recommended she have a surgical procedure to correct the PDA.
Sadly, after two surgeries, Sasha passed and left us to be with the good lord above. Due to the enlargement of her heart all of her blood vessels, arteries, and the heart walls themselves were paper thin. The veterinarians at Texas A&M did absolutely everything they could, and this was truly an incredible team they had assembled for Sasha. Their care and compassion could truly be felt and that meant the world to everyone involved, especially KC. Sasha’s heart was donated to Texas A&M so they could further study the complexities of her heart to hopefully teach future veterinarians to help save other dogs with PDA. KC likes to say that Sasha “lived to serve”, and in this case, even after death, we find that to be true.
KC’s journey isn’t over yet! Upon speaking with Forgotten Coast K9, Hank’s and Eli’s Fund has paid to have KC’s young puppy Zander undergo service dog training in Florida. As of today Zander has started that training and we will keep you updated on how that goes on this page.
Thank you so much for all of the donations. It’s because of your generous donations that we are able to give a veteran or service member the best possible chance to save his or her best friend. One of our goals is to help give peace of mind in knowing that they won’t have to worry about putting their service animal down because of a bill.
