Dedicated to raising funds and awareness
for dogs and cats diagnosed
with heart disease.
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Godric's Story


Just a little background about this sweet guy: When Godric was in the hospital, fighting for his life and in congestive heart failure, his owners found BHF and applied for a grant. His moms would like to share his story to “give Godric’s death a purpose” by reaching other pet parents, increasing awareness of heart disease, and hopefully saving lives. Our heartfelt thanks to Krysta and Sera for sharing this story with us.

“We had recently lost a female kitty that we had had for 13 years and without really knowing why exactly, we suddenly felt a pull to go look at orphan kitties at Petsmart and there was Godric. Godric started out life by being discarded in a cardboard box, along with his brother. They were not old enough to be weaned when they had been rescued, but ‘Zeke’, as he was then known, was at the door of the cage trying to pick the lock! It was love at first sight and after a long night of waiting for the adoption people to show up, we took him home. Once in our home, it did not take long for him to show how special he was, and to wiggle deeply into our hearts. As a kitten, he often slept on the tops of our heads. We called him our ‘cat hat’ and he showed affection by running his nose into ours with his much loved ‘nose bumps’.

We took him to his first vet appointment within 2 weeks and were told that he had ‘a significant heart murmur’. The vet then suggested that we might be able to exchange him. Not surprisingly, we chose to remain a family. We took Godric home and promised to love and care for him all his days. And he quickly repaid us by sharing his loving, quirky personality. He was a very intelligent boy, and preferred to be near us at all times. He nearly always joined us in the ‘pride bed’ and seldom did one or both of us come in the door that he was not sitting there waiting to meet us. Although until recently, Krysta went to work every day, Sera has health problems and is usually home. She and Godric played together every day, and when she didn’t feel well, Godric just laid near her.

He, too, had problems with fatigue and shortness of breath, yet he was always interested in interaction and play. He loved it when Sera would fold a blanket into a strip and he could surf by standing on the end of the blanket while Sera would pull him around the house. To show his enthusiasm for play, he would deliver his favorite toys to us by carrying them over in his mouth and dropping them at our feet. Or on top of us if we were in bed. He knew his left paw from his right and would ask for treats with the appropriate one and then ‘nose bump’ to show affection. He loved to play fetch, especially with straws and pop catnip bubbles that Sera would blow for him. At only three-and-a-half years old, he was physically beautiful, too. A lean 15 lbs. with four white paws, a bib, and a coat that did not shed, but was tiger-striped, shiny and pelt-like. Every day we reminded him how much we loved him. Sera would daily whisper in his ear in a special voice, ‘I love you, I love you!’ Even his Gramma seldom left her house without picking up a little something special for Godric.

Then one day he started vomiting. After a few days our boy also quit eating and began drinking very little so we bundled him up and took him to the vet. An x-ray revealed nothing obviously wrong with tummy or bowels, but did show a chest full of fluid that, along with his bad heart seemed to indicate congestive heart failure. The doctor prescribed a diuretic to help get rid of the fluid even though he was already somewhat dehydrated. Two days later he was so weak and low on fluid that we took him to the local animal ER where he was admitted with both the CHF and now kidney failure. This was a tough situation because the kidneys need fluid, but fluids would overload the heart which ultrasound showed to be in far worse shape than we had ever imagined. Adding to the stress were the quickly mounting vet bills. Krysta’s job had gone away with government cuts, and even the unemployment had run out. The bills were being handled by Sera’s mother who is on a fixed income.
It was about this time that we discovered The Big Hearts Fund and the very compassionate and supportive Christy who was trying very hard to help us save our beloved kitty’s life with some much needed financial aid and emotional support.

Unfortunately, in spite of the superior care provided by the staff at Animal Emergency & Critical Care Center of Brevard, much improving kidneys, and the fact that Godric was trying so very hard to get well, he passed away shortly after the surgery that we absolutely believed would bring him back home. His big, loving heart had lost the battle. However, we will be forever grateful to, and supportive of, Christy and her wonderful organization. We believe Godric would too. Please help give his death meaning by donating to save another beloved pet’s life. Meanwhile, we will give another orphan a ‘forever home’, but are still crying an ocean of tears, missing our boy."