Kyra had a birthday! *7 pics*

[Taz_Zoee]

Happy Birthday Kyra!! You've got your humans well trained.

[ramanth]

Happy Birthday Kyra!!

I'd give you smoochies, but you'd probably eat me.

[elizabethann]

Oh, she's adorable. Happy Birthday Kyra!

[4 Dog Mother]

Oh, Ashley, Kyra is a little doll! She definitely will always look like a puppy! Happy Birthday, Kyra! Some day you will have to tell us more about Kyra - and what "I'm glad I took a chance and stood up for the stinker when things weren't looking too good for her future" means.

[k9krazee]

Oh, I would love to tell more about KyKy.

So four years ago, July 11th, she was born. The smallest of 6th, and the 5th to be born. We took the pups for their first check up shortly after they were born and all were given a clean bill of health, except Kyra. The vet was worried because she was a third of the size and only 3 oz. We noticed she wasn't getting any milk from her mother and she didn't have the ability to suck. We bought her a bottle and began feeding every few hours (good thing I was on summer vacation). I noticed that milk would bubble out her nose every so often and didn't think that it was normal. I opened her mouth and witnessed a huge gaping hole leading to her nasal cavity, she was probably a week old as this point. Hopped online and found a wonderful woman, whose name escapes me now, that sucessfully raised many cleft palate puppies. She gave me the encouragment and support that I needed. My mom got home from work that day and told me she made an appointment to have the pup, that we were calling Baby, euthanized. I told there was no way that I was going to give up that easily and I'd raise the pup and find her a home when she was older if I had to. "I'm glad I took a chance and stood up for the stinker when things weren't looking too good for her future" Needless to say, my mom fell in love with her and when people came to look at her when she was about 8 weeks she wasn't able to give her up.

Her people and dog issues I'm sure could be resolved with some training and patience, but I'm not willing to work with her. My mom has spoiled her too much and won't even take my simple suggestions that'd make her a better dog. She's her baby and will always be treated as such.

[4 Dog Mother]

Wow, Ashley what a great story! I knew you were a special young woman but to go to that much trouble to allow a pup to live when anyone else would have just put it down - that was truly a special thing to do. Does she still have a cleft palate? (shows you what I know huh?) Does she have any trouble eating or drinking? I understand about the spoiling part - when you can't get the main person in the dogs life to cooperate it makes it almost impossible to train or socialize a dog. Thanks for sharing Kyra's story with me - by the way - I didn't know you had let any of your dogs have litters. Who is Kyra's mom and dad? I can't even imagine a 3 oz. puppy - she must have looked like a mouse?

[gemini9961]

Happy Birthday Kyra!!

[k9krazee]

I didn't know you had let any of your dogs have litters. Who is Kyra's mom and dad?

And that's another reason I don't feel like working with Kyra I vowed from the beginning not to get involved with the puppies because I didn't agree with the whole breeding situation. I wasn't even home when they were born. Mini was bred to my Uncle's Jack Russell, Snickers...my dad believed that a dog is a better dog once it has had puppies. I did advise them to wait until she was 2+ years old and we did have a couple homes lined up in advance, which is better than nothing I suppose. After we had the puppies though I was old enough to start volunteering in the shelter with a parent so my mom started too. After that I think she really started to understand the whole over population problem, and after all the work with Kyra, has decided to never breed again.

Here are the puppies family reunion a couple years ago
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=96544

Does she still have a cleft palate? Does she have any trouble eating or drinking? I can't even imagine a 3 oz. puppy - she must have looked like a mouse?

She still does have a cleft palate, but it's significantly smaller. No trouble eating or drinking but she can only ever have hard foods and plain water. The only time we are really reminded of it is when she goes swimming and sneezes uncontrollably. When she was little she used to get things (like food or leaves) stuck up there and we'd have to try to flush it out. Our vet, after we told her we weren't going to give up on her, refused to do her spay and told us the longest living cleft palate dog he saw lived to be 6. We would like to prove to him that she's as normal as any other dog.

As for being 3 oz, she fit comfortably in a cupped hand. She was TINY. It took her months to reach the 1 pound mark, when the rest of the pups were a pound within a week or two.

A comparison picture with Kyra and her brother Buddy and sister Jackie a couple days after they were born


And here's a picture with me and all of the puppies - minus Kyra.