Rapid City family asks for help from Save the Rocket community

RAPID CITY, SD (KOTA) – Dogs are often called man’s best friend. With such strong bonds, many people consider their dogs part of the family. But what happens if a four-legged family member gets sick? One special furry friend needs heart surgery and his family is asking the community to help in any way possible.

Rocket is a five-month-old energetic Bedlington terrier who loves to cuddle and play with his big brother, Findlay.

“He is very interesting. He’s just really cute, but he definitely has his own personality, he’s very independent. You can tell he was biting the carpet for us, he was trying to help us decorate. He’s always exploring and more than my other dogs, he’s extremely inquisitive,” said owner Liz Hogan.

On the outside, Rocket looks like a normal healthy puppy, but after a recent routine check-up, he was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition known as pulmonary stenosis.

“Later on x-rays and echocardiograms, we discovered he had a valve defect. It basically makes his heart work a lot harder than it should,” Hogan said.

If left untreated, Rocket’s heart will eventually fail. Treatment? The procedure, known as balloon valvuloplasty, involves opening the heart’s pulmonary valve to allow blood to be pumped more efficiently from the heart to the lungs. The procedure costs approximately $6,600. Gaughan says she was ready to empty her savings account to save her best friend, but she got help from a loved one.

“I have a niece who heard the story and knew I was saying, ‘If I have to empty my savings account, I’m willing to do it.’ She was touched by it and she set up a GoFundMe for me,” Hogan said.

They’ve raised just over $2,000 so far, and Hogan says the support her family has received from the community has been overwhelming.

“It’s nice to know that people are coming together and to see people come together to be compassionate and be kind to someone else. And from people I’ve never met. So it’s just a fact that people come together for a dog. To give the dog a second chance,” Hogan said.

Operation Rocket is scheduled for Monday. If you or someone you know wants to help give Rocket a second chance, click here sacrifice.

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