Panda's Full Story 

Wow, what a whirlwind life I have had! And I am only 2 1/2 weeks old.... Let me start at the beginning. My Mom had such a hard time birthing me & my brothers. See, my Mom was found wandering the streets with my Dad. No one knew my Mom was pregnant until a couple days before we were born. My foster Mommy had to take my Mom to the emergency vet the night we were being born. Mom did not have proper nutrition and labor was too much for her body. She needed lots of help but she did it! I was the fifth puppy born, I followed 4 boys! I am Mom’s sweet little girl.

On Sunday, when I was 2 days old, my foster Mommy became concerned with my smaller brother and me. She started supplementing Mommy’s milk. My ‘little’ brother took off growing, but I didn’t. Actually, I kept choking on the milk. The next day I went to the vet, they couldn’t find anything wrong - but I was really really tiny. I weighed 5oz when I was born and I was now 3.8oz. Not the direction I should be going! My foster Mommy decided to continue to bottle feed me - just slower, maybe I needed some extra TLC and time to catch up with my big brothers. A few more days passed, and I was getting weaker. I didn’t eat real well and everyone was growing more and more concerned. I saw another doctor who discovered the problem. I had a small cleft in my soft palate and I couldn’t suck! My foster Mommy needed to learn to tube feed me if I was going to survive. With a hole in my palate it is like trying to drink through a straw with a hole in it! It is so much work and not enough gets in my tummy.

So began the adventure of tube feeding. Well... the challenge was my foster Mommy was standing up in a wedding! What to do! What to do! Well, my foster Mommy and her friends have grown quite attached to me... so they decided to bring me along! It was a trip to Sheboygan for me! Now for the fun part... we’ll at least some of it. See, my whole life has been a roller coaster for all who know me. One day I look great, the next day every one is afraid I was going to die. I am a fighter you know... I have already lasted longer than anyone thought. So they didn’t think twice about taking me along.

I needed to be fed every 2 hours, so I had to be with my foster Mommy all day. She wore a special shirt so I could ride near her heart to keep me warm and comfortable. I was not really fond of tube feeding. See, the cleft in my soft palate is all the way at the back. Which makes it really really easy to put the lavage tube in my sinuses instead of my stomach, so the vet suggested we use a bigger tube to help get the food to my belly.  After a few days of tube feeding, my throat was very very sore. I stopped eating again. The worst part was it was the day of the wedding, but that didn’t stop anyone. My foster Mommy decided to try to get me to eat by dripping milk in my mouth - she was already in her bridesmaid dress!!! Then the bride helped me poop while she was in her wedding dress! How crazy is that!  I cannot tell you how lucky I am that my Mom was rescued by the people at Almost Home Foundation.

My foster Mommy keeps telling me if I keep fighting, she and her friends will keep fighting for me. They call me: Panda, Sheboygan, Milagro, Chica and little Girl. I answer to them all.... well, I try. I open my eyes and look at each of them. My ears are opening and I am eager to tell my story to all who will listen. I am going to a new specialist in a couple weeks who will hopefully be able to fix my cleft. The trouble is, the surgery is very expensive. With so many other dogs needing medical help, Almost Home Foundation needs some extra help with the costs for my surgery.   I am fighting as hard as I can and that is half the battle. I want to lead a full life.

Can you help me get my surgery by donating to Almost Home Foundation?

Thank you!!!