Soap Star Asks For Prayers As Her Dog Battles Heart Condition

Attention Soap fans: Kristen Alderson, former star of General Hospital and One Life To Live, needs your help!

The actress is calling upon her faithful Twitter followers to pray for her beloved dog Pooka as he battles congestive heart failure.

“Hate asking again but you guys have been the most incredible support system & prayer group. You helped pray for Eddie through his Cancer, protected my Granny from COVID in her nursing home (she never caught it) and now I hope you guys can please say a prayer for Pooka.”

Pooka’s health crisis began over the weekend when the 11-year-old Shih Tzu had trouble breathing. Alderson rushed him to a veterinary emergency clinic where he was placed in ICU and given the frightening diagnosis.

Congestive heart failure can have many causes in dogs, but basically refers to the heart’s inability to pump enough blood to the body. This results in poor oxygenation of the cells, fatigue, and difficulty breathing. While it is a very serious condition, with proper treatment, many dogs are able to live normal lives for many months or even years.

The actress posted the following update on Monday:

“We went to visit him, but because he’s doing better right now, they don’t want to risk him getting excited &messing with his heart. It’s horrific to not be w/ him right now, but obviously we have to do what’s best. He’s in the best hands. Just praying that he gets through this.”

Later that day she followed up with an even more encouraging update:

“Cannot thank everyone enough for all of your prayers! We just called and they said that he’s doing better. He ate for them and finally got some sleep. He’s not out of the woods yet, but he’s seeing his cardiologist tomorrow so we’ll know more then. Again, THANK YOU!”

Alderson’s mention of Eddie in her first tweet refers to her brother and fellow One Life To Live alum. The siblings were very open on social media about his two year battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Eddie Alderson announced that he was cancer-free last September.

She also referred to her grandmother who resides in a nursing home. These facilities have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Thankfully, her grandmother has thus far been able to avoid the life-threatening disease.