Hi everyone! I’m Jaida!

The last few weeks of my life have been an absolute whirlwind. One minute I’m hanging out with my brothers and sisters and then, BAM! I’m told I have a heart murmur. The next thing I know, someone from RAGOM is picking me up and I’m starting a new life! 

Everyone has been really nice. I stayed with a great family for a little while and am now settling in with my permanent foster family. I miss my other siblings, but now I have foster fur siblings, a non-fur foster brother and a foster mom and dad.

My foster fur sisters like to play chase and wrestle with each other in the backyard. Foster Mom and Dad won’t let me join in with them yet. They say I’m too small for how fast they’re playing and I have to wait to grow up a little bit, so I just bark at them as they run by.

Foster fur grandpa Marley told me I have to work on my doggie manners—can you believe he barked at me when I jumped on his face? Otherwise he’s great. I love to follow him around the back yard and lay by him while we chew on sticks.

And I’ve got my two-legged foster family in the palm of my paws. Well, my foster mom and dad also say I have to learn better manners (what’s with parents wanting you to learn manners?!), but my 8-year-old foster brother feeds me by hand. It’s really difficult because I want to eat faster than he’s feeding me, but I’ll sit down and wait for him until he’s ready and opens his hand with the food.

Speaking of food, do you know what the funniest thing is? They give me treats when I pee and poop! Only when I’m outside, though. I still pee inside every once in a while to see if they’ll give me food but, so far, no dice. Still, it’s the biggest racket. I go outside and pee and look at Foster Mom or Dad and they give me food. Ha! They’re crazy.

One thing hasn’t been quite so fun, though. Shortly after RAGOM came to get me, I went to the vet and they confirmed I had a heart murmur, so I had to make an appointment to see a cardiologist. Which was confusing at first because I thought they said “cat-iologist.” I was only 9 weeks old at the time (I was so young!), but I knew I was a dog.

I later overheard Foster Mom say it was a heart doctor, which makes way more sense. The cardiologist did an echocardiogram and found out that I have patent ductus arteriosus, or PDA. And let me tell you, if you’re going to have a diagnosis, you can’t beat one whose initials stand for Public Displays of Affection, am I right?

The best thing about PDA is that there’s a procedure for it that gives me a great chance at a normal life, and RAGOM made sure I got it.

Things moved really fast after that, and now I’m recovering from the procedure the veterinary cardiac surgeons at the University of Minnesota did to fix my heart. I was a bit nervous about it at first but my foster-fur sister, Tonks, has been there before (she has a heart murmur, too!) and told me that they’re great—and she was right! Plus, Tonks said I’m a college girl now, whatever that means. 

Anyway, everyone there was awesome, and, because they caught and fixed the PDA when I was so young, I shouldn’t have any complications from it for the rest of my life.

They did find something called a Pulmonic Stenosis (PS) while working on my heart, which is a slight narrowing of a valve. But they say it’s really mild and aren’t worried about it. They just want to keep an eye on it as I get older and check on it every year or two.

What’s really exciting is that my procedure at the U of M went so well that RAGOM says I can start looking for my forever home! Whoever that special person is will need to take me for a heart checkup in a few months. The U wants to make sure their handiwork is still intact, and then every so often to check that PS.

My forever family will also need to be committed to my training and socialization. A fenced yard would be best, but at the very least I will need someone to watch over me when I am outdoors whether in a fenced yard or on a tie out.

I would love to have other dogs to play with, whether they live in my house or through regular play dates. I also love children, but I am a puppy with sharp little teeth and need work on my mouthy manners.  

So, do you think you can keep up with me? Because even though I have to lay low while I recover, I’m really looking forward to some adventures once I’m out of this cone!

Well, that’s enough from me for now. I’ve got some convalescing to do. But don’t worry, you’ll hear from me soon!