Pacemakers for dogs!

There are no pacemakers made specifically for veterinary use. Devices used by veterinarians are either units with good battery life that have been donated by human patients following their death, or are units provided at no cost by manufacturing companies after the pacemakers' shelf expiration date has passed.

"Pacemakers in dogs correct the same abnormalities as they do in people," according to Alan Spier, assistant professor of veterinary cardiology, University of Missouri-Columbia (MU). "We receive many phone calls from people with pacemakers, or their family members, expressing desire to donate the pacemakers after the individual's death. Many people feel strongly that this is an important gesture."

Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University.

Giving was important, to Dorothea Edwards. Throughout her life she gave of herself in many ways, including spending 35 years as a faculty member at the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Before 80-year-old Dorothea Edwards passed on February 4, 2002, she instructed her family to give her pacemaker to a patient who needed it.

After Edwards' death, her family learned that federal regulations prohibit person-to-person donations of pacemakers. So the family provided instructions to the funeral home for removal of the pacemaker and found another way to carry out her wishes.

The pacemaker was given to the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine. "We thought this was a great thing to do," says Edwards' daughter, Mahla Swinford. "This is a way she's been able to draw attention to a need that a lot of people didn't know existed and to, hopefully, encourage others to donate."

At about the same time, Sunshine, a 9 1/2 year old German Shepherd dog of dubious ancestry, needed a replacement pacemaker to keep her alive.

Sunshine's story starts with her owners who were busted for a drug and prostitution ring. Needless to say Sunshine needed a home; and neighbors Cindy and John Wren were up to the task.

In 1998, Sunshine became very listless, lost her appetite and began fainting frequently. Medical examinations revealed that she had a congenital heart defect and required a pacemaker to be surgically implanted.

After some touch and go moments, she eventually pulled through the crisis with a new, electronically-enhanced ticker.

About a year later, Sunshine suffered complications and it was found that she needed a replacement pacemaker. Enter Dorthea Edwards. On March 1, 2002, Sunshine received Dorthea's donated pacemaker and the surgery was deemed a success!

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