[King Bombo]

I want to tell you my experiences with Bombo, a cleft palate puppy. This might give some people here more hope, as well as awareness of issues down the line


The vets who've seen Bombo have all expressed surprise that he is alive. He has a severe cleft palate. He's now 9 months and doing great. He is going to UC Davis Veterinary School on August 18 to have surgery to correct his cleft palate. This will be done by two oral surgeons with a gaggle of students looking on. We waited until his jaw had matured. With earlier surgeries there is risk that as the oral cavity grew, it would rip apart the newly repaired area.

Some basics of how I kept Bombo alive:

1. He was tube-fed colostrum for the first three weeks.
2. He transitioned to kitten kibble, which are around the size of tiny pellets. He swallowed those whole.
3. He gets water from a lixit bottle. On the road, he drinks from a dropper, syringe, or water bottle with a spout. The idea is to have his head tilted back as he drinks to avoid having it go into his nasal areas.
4. He is on hard kibble only. No pastes like Nutrical, no soft food, no thick liquids. Water only.
5. He takes antibiotics prophylactically. Before doing that, he had 4 or 5 sinus infections and one low-grade pneumonia episode. We compound azithromax into 7 mg beef tab. I coat that with a little olive oil and slip it down at the back of his throat. With green discharge, we add clavamox twice a day.
6. I suction when he has discharge in his nose, using a baby bulb syringe. In prior days, I had to suction several times a day and also at night. He could not eat when he was congested. These days, he's doing so well, he does not need suctioning.
7. Be on the lookout for hypoglycemia. In my guy, it started with shivering and then led to incoordination and falling over. I drop whole kibble down his throat to get him going again.

I hope these tips are helpful.

Good luck.
Amy