‘Gentle Giant’ Dog Needs Life-Saving Heart Surgery After Rescue Off The Streets

Stray Rescue of St. Louis received a call about a very pregnant dog who may have been hit by a car. Donna Lochmann and her team rushed to the scene, but upon closer inspection realized the dog was actually male. Donna’s first thought was that the big dog was suffering from heart failure, given the amount of fluid in his body.

“We needed to get him off the streets right away – he was suffering and needed our immediate help. He was a big boy at 113 pounds, and his tail was tucked. He was hungry, but his body language was a bit stiff, so we decided to set up our humane trap, hoping he wasn’t too tall to trip it on his way in. Thankfully, he went right in, and we rushed him back to our shelter,” they wrote.

Once safe, the dog’s entire demeanor changed. He wagged his tail, gave kisses, and revealed himself to be a gentle giant. The team named him Andre.

Doctors at the shelter immediately began running tests to determine the cause of the fluid accumulating in his body and the blood around his heart. Advanced heartworm disease? A tumor? While awaiting results, they drained four litres of fluid from around his heart—something Andre tolerated calmly.

Over the following days, staff got to know him better and learned he is is sweetheart. “He’s a BIG-TIME smoocher, and his favorite thing is to give kisses of appreciation,” they said. “He’s affectionate, attentive, and very silly.”

The test results came back but were inconclusive. Disturbingly, more fluid had to be drained from his around his heart. Doctors now plan to give Andre a CT scan to ensure nothing has been missed. If no tumor is found, he will need a full pericardiectomy—removal of the sac around his heart that continues to fill with fluid. The surgery would give him a second chance at life, and given that Andre is only about 3–4 years old, Stray Rescue is determined to give him that chance.

Andre’s surgery is estimated to cost between $10,000 and $12,000. Donations toward his care can be made at: www.strayrescue.org/andre

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