About Stella

This sweetheart is Stella. She is a 2 year old, 52 pound Labradoodle. Stella came into rescue as an owner surrender. We first learned about Stella when she was just over a year old. Her owner never brought her in to be groomed often but when he did, she was always a matted mess and had to be shaved to the skin. The first pictures are the day we finally got him to surrendered Stella. She was emaciated. Stella was purchased as a puppy from a breeder and quickly became a pawn in an ugly divorce. She was spending 16-20 hours a day in a kennel. Her owners took her to the vet to be spayed as a puppy and she almost died because she had a heart murmur. Her owners did nothing to help her. As soon as we got Stella she went straight to our vet. Stella had a grade 6/6 heart murmur. From there she went straight to the Cardiologists at Iowa State University. They did some thoracic radiographs and an echocardiogram. Stella was born with a common congenital heart defect known as a Patent Ductus Arteriosus or PDA. When a puppy is in the womb the Ductus Arteriosus connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta. It carries blood past the nonfunctional lungs. When a puppy is born the lungs expand and the Ductus Arteriosus is no longer needed and should close. Stella's didn't close and overloaded the left side of her heart causing it to enlarge. The Cardiologists inserted a catheter up through her thigh and placed a small device inside the ductus to stop the flow of blood. Stella still has a slight left sided heart murmur but that's to be expected. She likes other dogs and loves to play. Stella would enjoy having another playful dog in her home. She also does well with cats and kids. Stella craves all the attention she missed out on and really likes to be with her humans. Someone home most of the time would be ideal for her. Stella was forced to spend way too much time in a kennel as a puppy and young adult. She will kennel but doesn't like it. It makes her anxious so we started her on fluoxetine to reduce her kennel anxiety and it has worked. This medication costs about $10 a month. Since Stella is a Labradoodle, she requires regular grooming. She also requires a physically fenced yard so she can safely run and play. Stella is housetrained, spayed, up to date on vaccinations, heartworm tested and microchipped. If you would like to meet Stella, please complete the adoption application on our website: www.furfunrescue.org. If you have questions about Stella, you can contact [email protected] or call 319-929-6657. Adopters must be within a two-hour radius of Cedar Rapids, IA. Indoor homes only. Adoption fee is $250.

Linn County
Lisbon, Iowa 52253