Raven’s cleft palate surgery

Little Raven our German shepherd pup came to us at just a few days old due to having a cleft palate. To begin with her journey was very up and down but once she started weaning there was no stopping her. Since then she’s come on incredibly well, fully weaned, and just like any other pup her age

Last week we noticed the front of her cleft had opened up and every day that she continued to grow her cleft unfortunately grew wider… I knew there was always a chance this could happen but in the two years I’ve done rescue I’d never actually experienced it myself until now.

Every thing changed so quickly when we noticed an awful smell coming from her mouth, so we took Raven straight to the vets where we were told she had an infection. Antibiotics were prescribed and we were told due to how open her cleft is now and how exposed her nasal cavity is, she would now need surgery in around 4 weeks time once the infection has cleared. We’re absolutely heart broken but for Raven to continue to thrive like she has these last weeks this is our only option.

Since setting up the rescue I’ve never pushed for any of the 56 dogs I’ve saved to have surgery. I’m a firm believer that if they get to 10 weeks and are totally weaned, thriving and hitting all their milestones then why fix something that isn’t broken? But in Ravens case it’s not ideal with how much the cleft has opened, unfortunately now she will be exposed to all sorts of infections and this is our only hope of saving our amazing, intelligent, loving girl

I know Christmas is around the corner but honestly every little helps! We have 4 weeks to raise as much as we can to get our beautiful Raven the surgery she so desperately needs