Bailey, owned by Robin and Rick Baker of Spanish Fort, received the pacemaker to help regulate a heart rate that sometimes would drop to as low as 20 or 30 beats
per minute, well below the 140 beat desired level.

"We're very thankful and thrilled to have this done because Bailey is such a wonderful dog," Robin Baker said. "We hadn't even know a pacemaker was an option for dogs, but hopefully it will help Bailey stay healthy for several more
years."

Bailey began having trouble earlier this year, collapsing after exercise and having occasional seizures. After initial checkups revealed no serious ailments and a planned diet reduced her weight but didn't stop the seizures, AU specialists recomme nded a 24-hour monitor. This procedure measured Bailey's heart rate over one entire day last spring. The dog's heart registered a healthy 140 beats per minute at times, but during the middle of the night it sometimes slowed to 30 beats per minute.

A second 24-hour heart monitor late this summer revealed Bailey's heart was slowing even more, sometimes to 20 beats per minute. By this time, Bailey's weight had dropped from 100 pounds to 75 pounds.

"If we hadn't had the pacemaker option, I'm not sure Bailey was going to live much longer," said Dr. Ray Dillon, professor of small animal surgery and medicine at the Small Animal Clinic and the surgeon who implanted the pacemaker.

The pacemaker is a state-of -the-art device made for humans by St. Paul, Minn. based Guidant Corp., which has donated several pacemakers to the AU College of Veterinary Medicine.

"Because of the generosity of this company, we are able to provide the normally $5,000 pacemaker free to our clients, and we charge only for the surgery and related services," Dillon said.

Pacemaker surgery in the Small Animal Clinic normally runs between $750 and $1,000 and typically takes a little more than an hour to perform. Auburn's College of Veterinary Medicine is the only site in Alabama which offers this option
for pets.

Because of advancements in the pacemaker's lead-wire technology -- some of which was tested at Auburn -- the pacemaker is imbedded in the muscles under the skin of the dog's neck, with the lead wire run down the jugular vein into the heart.

The lead-wire's end is a small corkscrew-type hook that imbeds in the dog's heart. The wire itself is flexible so that the dog's heartbeats and movements don't dislodge it. The cigarette lighter-size pacemaker detects when the heartrate slows and sends a five-volt electronic charge to stimulate the heart.

"It's solidly attached," said Dillon. "Bailey will have no restrictions on running, exercising and rolling around in the house or in the yard."

The pacemaker's battery lasts for up to five years and can be easily checked to determine when it needs replacing.