Puppy Saved!!

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Meet Puppy Zeus

This handsome fella is Zeus.

His Mom Daisy (a chihuahua) came to Helping Hands Affordable Veterinary Surgery and Dental Care in December of 2016 in need of an emergency C-section. Mom Daisy had three boys and one girl.

The little boy above was born with a cleft palate.This can be a life threatening condition for a newborn puppy. It makes it very difficult for the puppy to nurse resulting in slow growth and weight-loss.

Ultimately it may lead to aspiration pneumonia if the milk enters the cleft and infects the lungs. It was immediately clear this puppy would need around the clock care in order for him to have a chance at survival.

Our Rockstar Licensed Veterinary Technician Sarah Jane volunteered to take the puppy home and give him the care he needed…to give him every chance.

What Happened Next

She had to tube feed him every four hours for the first week. He did well and then graduated to syringe feeding. A little more than a week after that victory, he graduated to bottle feeding! He took to the bottle very well.

At about four weeks old, his puppy teeth came in. At that point Sarah Jane introduced wet, mushy food on a plate. He sneezed some food out exactly two times, then moved forward like the little  champ he is! His favorite activities are eating, sleeping and playing with his puppy toys…in that order.

What Happens Now

So Sarah Jane has named him Zeus and as he approaches six weeks old, he has met all of the treatment goals she set for him. He is chubby and healthy  and ohh, soo cute! Now that he has gotten this far, the question on everyone’s mind is…will he require surgery to correct the cleft palate?

At the time of his birth, it appeared that very little of the soft palate was involved and that it was more of a cleft lip. So we are all in a ‘wait and see’ stage together. As we know more, so will you…stay tuned for more Zeus chronicles.