Help Peeta Through His Second Cleft Palate Surgery

Peeta has been fighting medical challenges since he was only days old, but more than a year later, one of the problems everyone hoped he had outgrown has come back to affect him in a serious way.

Peeta came to Rags to Riches as a tiny newborn after his mother wouldn't feed him. His brother sadly passed away shortly after birth, leaving little Peeta dependent on his foster family to give him the chance to grow.

Within his first few weeks of life, his rescuers discovered that Peeta had a small opening in his palate, known as a cleft palate. Because the opening was so tiny and similar cases they had cared for had closed naturally as the puppies grew, everyone hoped Peeta's would do the same.

And for a while, it seemed like it had.

Peeta still faced other medical challenges during puppyhood. He experienced neurological symptoms and frightening episodes of dangerously low blood sugar that sometimes resulted in seizures. His rescue worked closely with veterinarians, sought emergency care when necessary, and kept him under careful supervision while trying to understand what his little body was going through.

Eventually, the episodes subsided, and his cleft appeared to have completely closed.

Then, more than a year after Peeta was born, something suddenly changed.

He began struggling to eat. At times, trying to eat would send him into respiratory distress, and his rescuers worried that it felt as though he was suffocating whenever food entered the opening in his palate.

Further examination revealed that although Peeta's cleft had appeared closed, a very small opening was still present between his mouth and nasal passage. A catheter passed through his nose was able to emerge through the opening, confirming the problem.

For the first time in all of the cleft palate puppies his rescue had cared for, waiting for natural closure was no longer enough. Peeta needed surgery.

Veterinarians surgically closed the opening in hopes of allowing him to eat more comfortably without food entering an area where it didn't belong. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of Peeta's journey.

When the problem continued, Peeta was brought in for another surgery, with the hope that a more extensive repair would finally close the cleft for good.

Through everything, this little guy continues to fight. Following surgery, Peeta's rescue is hoping that the second time will be the charm and that he can finally put this painful and frightening problem behind him.

His veterinary care has already included extensive diagnostics, imaging, sedation, anesthesia, surgery, dental care, medications, and follow-up treatment, with nearly $2,000 in documented veterinary expenses already and additional surgical care now added to his journey.

Peeta has spent his entire life surrounded by people determined to give him every chance possible. Now his rescue desperately needs some help covering the medical care it has taken to get him this far.

Please consider donating to Peeta's Waggle campaign to help with the cost of his cleft palate surgeries and continued recovery. His second surgery may be behind him, but he still needs time to heal and make sure this repair finally allows him to eat comfortably and safely. Every donation helps his rescue continue giving Peeta the care he has needed since he was just a tiny newborn.