Trooper is a 4 month old Golden Retriever in Canastota, NY, who needs $2,000 for Cleft Palate Repair.

We had a litter of puppies and Trooper was the last to be born. He was already a bit smaller than the rest of the puppies and it wasn't until the next day when we weighed him we realized there was an issue. He had lost a substantial amount of weight. He could not suckle and that's when we found out he had a cleft palate and decided to try to save him. We had to tube feed him every 2 hours .

I had a friend tell us we could save him and that his cleft should heal on it own. We did save him but the cleft keeps growing bigger. Cornell university is the only hospital that will provide this surgery and I must've called 100 vets in NY state. He is currently able to eat kibble but it's only a matter of time before he aspirated on food or water. We can't even allow him to swim due to the risk

Trooper has cheated death several times which is why we named him Trooper. He's always been the runt and pushed over by siblings during feeding and play times. Now that his siblings are rehomed, he gets mom and dad all to himself. I think from being tube fed for many weeks has caused him to want to taste everything he can get his paws on. He is spunky and so lovable all the time.

I am a brand new nurse and have a credit card and student loan debt from the last 2 years. I tried to keep the house afloat while going to school and working as much as I could. Now I'm in a better place but trying to get my financial situation squared away....