Frankie's Fight

When we rescued Gracie and her "Rockstar" puppies just before the January freeze, our focus was survival. Two of the puppies had already been lost before we could reach them, and we were determined to ensure the rest of the litter—Stevie Nicks, Prince, Jagger, Bowie, and Freddie Mercury—made it.

We didn’t know then that Freddie (now called Frankie) was already fighting a much quieter, more dangerous battle.

In February, Frankie went home with the Keating family. During his first routine vet visit, a serious grade 5 out of 6 heart murmur was detected, so we kept him in a foster-to-adopt status due to his medical situation. Since that day, his life has been a whirlwind of specialty visits and long drives in search of answers.

Following diagnostics at EcoVets in St. Augustine, Frankie was referred to a cardiologist. The Keatings drove him across the state to Southwest Florida Veterinary Specialists near Naples, where he received a definitive diagnosis: Severe Pulmonic Stenosis.

This is a congenital defect—Frankie was born with a malformed valve that doesn't open correctly. It forces his tiny heart to work much harder than it should just to circulate blood. Looking at him, you see a happy, playful puppy; you’d never guess how much pressure his heart is under.

Because of his age and condition, Frankie is a candidate for a balloon valvuloplasty. This specialized procedure is designed to open that valve and give his heart the relief it desperately needs to live a long, healthy life. 

We kept Frankie in foster-to-adopt status while navigating this medical journey, and we are so grateful to the Keating family for their dedication and commitment to him. They have been his biggest advocates through every echocardiogram and radiograph.

Please keep Frankie and the Keatings in your prayers tomorrow. He’s been a rockstar since the day we found him in the cold, and we’ll do everything we can to help this little guy.

Update: Frankie is out of surgery and doing well. He will stay the night in the ER and our plan is for him to go home tomorrow. Thank you for all the prayers! 𝗙𝗨𝗥 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺

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Florida Urgent Rescue is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and FUR earned a Four-Star Rating on Charity Navigator with a score of 100%, the highest possible rating. FUR also received a 2025 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency by Guidestar. Less than 1/10th of 1% of all nonprofits receive these ratings.