Like babies, puppies with lip and cleft palate also have a hard time feeding. These young dogs have a high tendency to develop aspiration pneumonia and put on the kill list.
While surgery can also be a solution to correct cleft palate in dogs, it is not always a guarantee that the dog would not have any other complications caused by cleft palate.
Dogs with cleft palate should be treated like any other special dogs. They need a special diet to avoid choking and developing respiratory illnesses.
One organization has dedicated itself to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming dogs with cleft palates.
Save The Clefts Rescue aims to give dogs with lip and cleft palates a second chance and to spread awareness to people about taking care of these adorable dogs.
In 1996, one woman named Jodi lost a puppy named Bosley due to cleft palate complications at four weeks old. The woman made sure that there will be no more puppies with cleft palates that will die. She wanted to educate people about cleft palate in dogs and to pursue further studies to treat this deformity.
Next, Jodi took care of Gracie, another dog with cleft palate, in 2006, ten years after she has lost Bosley. This time, there were lots of medical advancements in managing cleft palate in dogs. Gracie lived a long life because her condition was handled very well.
Jodi gave her best in taking care of Gracie. She also worked closely with Gracie’s vet so that she won’t get any complications due to her cleft palate.
Later on, Jodi decided to put up Save The Clefts Rescue to help other dogs with cleft palate.
She went to several local breeders and inquired if they have a puppy with a cleft palate. She offered taking care of these dogs so that these dogs won’t be put to sleep. After taking care of the puppies, Jodi looked for homes that would take care of these dogs.
By 2018, Save The Clefts Rescue became a non-profit organization. Presently, the organization was able to take care of 48 puppies with lip and cleft palates.
Continue with your mission, Jodi!
Photo courtesy of Save The Clefts via Facebook
