Cleft palates are holes in the roof of the mouth or along the lips, leading to the nose. This results in an opening between the nasal passage and the mouth.
Both humans and animals can develop the abnormality before birth, which makes it difficult to eat and swallow.
While the procedures for correcting clefts are fairly simple for humans, it is a little bit more difficult to correct in dogs, like this poor paralyzed puppy.
One particular newborn chocolate Lab's owners considered this difficulty, along with the time and effort it would take to safely feed him, and thought that the best option would be to have him euthanized.
But their vet thought differently and offered to keep the adorable cleft palate puppy.
And though it took an immense amount of time and feeding tubes, she was eventually able to raise him until he was old enough to have his corrective surgery.
Check down below to learn more about her amazing efforts to save the sweet Lab.
[H/T: Imgur]
At this Imgur user’s veterinary clinic, a chocolate Lab had a C-section and birthed nine puppies.
But one of the puppies was born with a cleft palate and his owners opted to euthanize him, not wanting to put in the effort it would take to keep him alive.
But one incredible vet tech decided she had to do something to save the little pup.
She convinced a coworker to get them to sign over the puppy to her so she can foster him.
While she was happy to bring the sweet baby home, she was pretty sure that he wouldn’t survive past two weeks.
Because of the opening between their mouth and nose, puppies with cleft palates usually can’t suckle properly.
Fortunately, the little puppy named Bronson was able to latch onto his tubes and Binky, enabling him to eat.
However, he had a particularly severe cleft case, extending from his hard palate to his soft palate. So, the medical staff was skeptical if surgery was even worth it.
Still, his new foster mom persisted, feeding him milk, then eventually blended chicken and rice through a tube.
Despite his feeding struggles, Bronson became a fan favorite at work and started becoming obsessed with putting things in his poor cleft mouth — typical for a puppy!
The more she took care of him, the more she became attached to his sweet hazel eyes.
“He made each day better,” she explained in the post.
At a year old, he finally got introduced to dry dog food disintegrated into water.
His face also formed a bit crooked, with the snout leaning to the side.
Finally, his was ready for surgery to fix his mouth.
His palate was fixed by lifting skin from the right side of his mouth, tucking it to the left, and stitching it into place.
With the many delicate sutures in his mouth, it was nerve-racking wondering if they would all stay closed.
But fortunately, the tissue healed, and Bronson got to begin enjoying being a normal dog who can swim, fetch sticks, and chew on bones.
Thanks to the diligence of his amazing owner, his life was spared, and he got to see his eventual happy ending!
If you love hearing about sick doggie success stories, make sure to SHARE with family and friends on Facebook!
