According to Frankie Puddin’s original plea for help from Bastrop Animal Shelter, he was found as a stray and was approximately three months old. Upon intake at Austin Pets Alive! it was noted that Frankie had hair loss on his face, as well as scabs, inflamed lips and irritated eyes. After the autoimmune reaction was diagnosed, wounds on his face and feet were cleaned and debrided to promote healing.
Mallie Morgan is also fostering a cleft lip puppy named King Tut who recently came into APA!’s programs. “Cleft palate puppies can be difficult to help survive and thrive at such a young age. They require special feedings and a close watchful eye. Puppies like King Tut will need special treatment their entire life but can live mostly normal lives as adults. Hopefully when King Tut is big enough he will be able to have surgery to help correct his cleft.”
Hiro, a second cleft lip puppy taken in the same day, was born on March 30. “He has a double cleft, with both a cleft lip and a cleft palate on the left side. He will have to be tube fed until he is ready to move on to solid foods. Eventually he will require surgery to correct his lip and hopefully the cleft palate will heal itself as he grows,” said Faith Wright, the Facilities, Information and Legal Services Manager for Austin Pets Alive! and Hiro’s foster. “We were told by an expert that these cleft babies thrive when tube fed with a goat’s milk formula, which helps to prevent pulmonary aspiration, but is more expensive than standard formula.”###
