Update 1/19/12:  Duke had his follow up visit this evening and we are thrilled to say that as we had hoped, his PDA has resolved and he no longer has a heart murmur.  He will need check ups each year and may need to go on heart medication in his senior years but he is expected to have a full, normal life and life-span.  He continues to be a sweetheart who loves to be held but is ready for tug of war with stuffed toys, or his favorite, empty water bottles.  Duke has been growing and is in leggy stage.  We anticipated he would be on the smaller side, in the 15-20 lb range but his vet's estimate that he will be closer to the 25-30 lb range.  If you are interested in meeting Duke or would like further information please submit an application at www.DelawarePuppyRescue.org/forms.  Adoption Fee:  $200.00 plus $50.00 refundable altering deposit.

Updated 1/3/12:  Duke is doing great.  You would never know he has any problems.  He had his second visit with the heart specialist, Dr. Helinski for an echocardiogram which showed he had a tiny patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).  His heart murmur actually sounded better than when first diagnosed and has decreased as we had hoped.  At this point his doctor does not want to jump to the surgery.  We have scheduled a second echocardiogram for mid January to see if his heart has started to heal on it's own, if we determine that he will need surgery or if he would just need heart medication in the future.   He is the one boy out of Daisy's litter of 8 pups.  Daisy was rescued from a VA shelter when she was turned in a few weeks before she was due to give birth. We were able to get her transported up to us and she gave birth to 8 beautiful pups - 7 girls and 1 boy. All the pups are very friendly and social.  Duke, the only boy, is sweet and friendly.  He will be on the smaller size like his mother who is in the 20 lb range. He does love to cuddle more so than the girls (maybe it's a boy thing).