The Heart to Heart Pet-a-Rama walkathon is literally a walk in the park. But it's also a labor of love.

The fourth annual fundraiser, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 17 at Steele Indian School Park, grew out of a Phoenix woman's desire to help her dog survive end-stage heart disease. Now, Lois Arnold spends months each year planning for this one day in order to give back to the center that saved her cockapoo's life.

"I took Carmel in for a routine rabies shot and annual checkup," Arnold said. "She was, at that time, 8 and had been relatively healthy."

After discovering an enlarged heart, the vet sent Carmel to a specialist, who said the dog had just months to live.

After hours of research on the Web, Arnold found a glimmer of hope: A doctor from Colorado State University was performing open-heart surgery on dogs with mitral valve disease. His success rate was about 75 percent at the time.

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