Zoey's Story
Last October my tri girl had a litter of six precious babies, the last one being the smallest and the little "runt" of the group. She came out fighting though and had plenty of pep and spunk. I always keep a close eye on the babies at first, and I noticed that although she tried very hard to nurse, she couldn’t hang onto a nipple. I tried holding her there, but she didn’t seem to have a good sucking reflex, so I immediately started tube feeding her.
I found a wonderful video on the Internet that showed me precisely how and what to do:
http://www.naturalholistic.com/tubefeeding.html I would alternate with tubing her and trying to get her to nurse her mom, but she never seemed able to get the hang of it like her siblings, who were already gaining weight and getting nice full tummies. I started to wonder after a few days, what was wrong with this little girl. I asked a Cavalier List that I belong to and someone mentioned that she might have a cleft palate. I took a flashlight, and sure enough there was a skinny dark line that went down the roof of her mouth.
Sweet Zoey as a baby
My vet confirmed it and told me that it was a thin, but full length cleft, and that she would look into the next step in getting it repaired. An older vet there told me I’d be tubing her for five months, after which she’d need at least two surgeries, costing approximately $2,000 each. He was not at all encouraging. I left wondering if I really should keep her alive, since he indicated the surgery might not even be successful. I didn’t want to decide right then and there. I’d kept her alive this long, and she was doing great. She was active and strong for such a little funny looking pup!!
I had several breeders, the majority really, tell me to put her down. They painted a very gloomy picture. A few though encouraged me, and told me not to give up. I started researching it on the web, and found a wonderful website about cleft palate babies:
http://hennwood.tripod.com/cleft_pup_info.htm I wrote to this breeder and she was very helpful. She told me that these babies can live normal lives as long as they are only fed dry dog food their entire life, and learn to drink from a water bottle. Yes!!! I had found a glimmer of hope and someone that had helped save numerous cleft palate puppies all around the world!! I named her “Zoe” which means “life”, but decided to spell it, “Z-O-E-Y”. When she opened her eyes and stared at me, I knew there was no turning back. She had the darkest roundest eyes and she was here to stay!! The funny thing is, Zoey was the first pup to crawl out of the whelping nest, and the first puppy to learn to use the litter box!!
I did tube her, but NOT for FIVE months like the vet had said, only FIVE WEEKS! It was a long five weeks though!!! The transition week was the most difficult for me, trying to figure how to get her to like tiny pieces of dry kitten food. Anne Henwood told me to use Purina One Growth for Kittens. Zoey was not very interested at first. She took to the water bottle, but that kibble was pretty uninteresting. I had to figure out how to entice her, so I would sprinkle just a tiny bit of goat’s milk on about 10 pieces, microwave them for a few seconds, and try over and over. One day, I left her alone with them in our bathroom as the phone rung. I closed the door and when I got back, every piece was gone!! I was so excited and from then on, she started eating them more and more each time. I still supplemented for a few more days, but once she got the hang of it, I was able to quickly stop the tube feeding and wean her completely. Meanwhile, her brothers and sisters learned how to drink from a water bottle as well!! After a few weeks, I switched her over to a small puppy kibble.
At around three months old, I gave Zoey to a lady
who has an enormous heart. She and her husband adore her and have given
her the best home possible. She is ten months old now and is the
sweetest little girl. Zoey is totally loved and spoiled, and the nice
thing is she only lives five minutes from me! As an update, her
cleft has since closed in the middle, and she continues to thrive and
lives a life of luxury!
Zoey in her new home!
ZOEY "SALTY DOG" HARRISON
ZOEY THE MOUNTAIN DOG!
Zoey is almost a year old now, and she has graduated "with honors" from her first Obedience Class at the Salisbury Kennel Club. She will continue her education in the Canine Good Citizen class.
Dec., 2005- NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!! Zoey earns her CGC Title!!!!
I'm sooooooooooo proud of my "Zoey" and her owner Betty Harrison!
SUPER JOB!!! YOU GO GIRLS!!!
Meet "Stella", another cleft palate baby!!!! Owned by Susan
Ellis of Elyzian Cavaliers. Susan was kind enough to share
these photos to show how well precious Stella is doing at seven
weeks old! Susan reports that she drinks from a bowl or a water
bottle, has no problem eating kibble, and is extremely healthy.
Obviously, she is also extremely ADORABLE!!
