Imgur user KaffeKalle‘s will definitely remember her 30th.
Celebrating her birthday on a typical day at the office, she met Bronson, a puppy with a cleft palate that was brought by his owner to be euthanised.
She couldn’t bear the thought of terminating him, so she decided to adopt him.
In a post on Imgur she notes the struggles and the joy of their journey together.
Here is the amazing journey as told by KaffeKalle:
“On my 30th birthday, a chocolate lab had a c-section at my veterinary clinic and had 9 puppies. One of those puppies had a cleft palate, and the owners opted to euthanize the puppy. Knowing the sucker I was, another vet tech got the family to sign the puppy over and got me to foster the puppy. Here is my chocolate shake and chocolate lab puppy.”
“First night home, Quinn (Spawn of Satan) took an interest in this squealing creature. It broke my heart because I told her that he probably wouldn’t live two weeks.”
“It is a blessing to be able to provide humane euthanasia to puppies with cleft palates. Depending on the severity of the cleft, and if it affects the hard or soft palate, puppies usually do not thrive. The space in the roof of their mouth does not allow them to suckle properly, and they eventually die of starvation. This little chocolate bean had no idea he had some bad genetics and latched quickly to his binky.”
“At this point, I have been up every 1-2 hours religiously tube-feeding this little boy with a red rubber tube and syringing Esbilac (puppy milk replacer). I am exhausted, but realizing my little ‘science experiment’ might actually survive. I took him on knowing that he might not live.”
“This little boy traveled to work with me every day. Being that I worked in a veterinary clinic, it was easy to feed and stimulate him every 2 hours. He really loved his binky.”
“At this point, I’ve decided that this little boy was a fighter. He was starting to scream for his feedings and would come barreling out of his kennel with his little legs. I named him after one of my most favorite roles Tom Hardy played…Bronson.”
“Quinn, Queen of the Underworld, still shows interest in Bronson. This is one of the last photos I have before they decided to become mortal enemies.”
“His eyes and ears are all the way open, and he is taking in the world and all it’s sounds and tastes and sights. He has since completely ditched his binky and has become attached to my fingers. Many cleft palate puppies that survive will often carry this trait with them to adult hood.”
“Bronson is starting to look like a real pupper. I LITERALLY CAN’T EVEN AT THIS POINT.”
“This asshole is starting to get into sh*t and running around the house like a madman. I get him this superman t-shirt to watch him fly. He’s absolutely naughty and I love it.”
“Bronson Bean, Chocolate Thunder, Creature from the Brown Lagoon, mi Cucaracha…thriving and two months old. My heart is completely fucking his, and my husband is obsolete at this point.“
After a year of bonding and many emotional moments later, Bronson was finally ready for his palate surgery which would fix the cleft and help him eat like a normal dog.
“The day had come. April 29th, 2016, my 31st birthday. I was a nervous wreck, but excited that this hard year was finally coming to a close. My baby boy, my best friend, the bane of my existence and the absolute love of my life, was finally going to have a normal life…The surgeon explained to me (as I watched), that he was literally going to lift the skin from the right side, flip it to the left, tuck it, and suture it. It was much more complex than that (took a scalpel and cut an incision along the inside of the right side, scraped under the skin, exposed the tissue on the left side, and sutured everything together). We also took the opportunity to perform a laparoscopic gastropexy and vasectomy. We kept his boys for the hormones since at full grown, he was only 50 lbs. Don’t worry, he’s only shooting blanks now. It was extremely nerve-wrecking the first weeks of healing since we didn’t know if the tissue would dehisce or not. Luckily, he did fine.”
Bronson is a happy pup now living the perfect dog life with his brother and sister.
