Kailani has a number of medical issues and we'd like to use this page to share her story. In November 2012, Peace for Paws Ohio (PFPO), a non-profit animal rescue in Columbus, Ohio, rescued 9 dogs from a puppy mill in Shelby County, Ohio. When Leilani was vetted, it was discovered that she was pregnant. Leilani's foster mom took her home, gave her a warm, safe place to relax and gave her lots of love. On December 22, 2012, Leilani gave birth to 6 puppies. Five little girls and a little boy. Mom and puppies seemed to be doing great! Leilani was a very attentive (and protective) mom. Leilani's foster mom would check in on the pups every few hours, and all of the puppies were contently nursing. After two days, however, one of the pups didn't seem to be gaining weight like the other puppies in the litter. This little puppy is Kailani Grace. The foster mom picked Kai up and attempted to bottle feed her. It was immediately apparent that there was an issue because every time Kai drank from the bottle, the formula was coming back out her nose. The foster mom started to become very concerned because Kai didn't seem to be getting any food, and it was feared that she might also be aspirating the formula she was getting from the bottle. A few phone calls were made to one of the vets who works with PFPO and the cause of the issue was discovered. Kai was diagnosed with a cleft palate. So, little Kai was only 48 hours old, and it was determined that she would need to be tube fed. It was Christmas Eve, and another vet that work with PFPO walked the foster mom through the process of tube feeding this little girl. The foster mom was a little nervous at first, but eventually got the hang of providing sustenance for this little girl through a tube down her throat that had to be inserted every 2 hours. Once this little girl had a day or two of regular feedings, she was doing great! She was gaining about 10% of her body weight every day. Fast forward 5 weeks. Kai had taken to the tube feeding very well, and had actually grown to be bigger than a few of her litter mates. All of a sudden, though, Kai started to really fight having the tube inserted when it was time to eat. She had also started to regurgitate the formula, and it was coming out her nose. The poor little girl seemed to be struggling. The foster mom was growing more and more concerned, and decided to take her to the vet to have Kai checked out. An x-ray was taken and Kai was put on antibiotics. It was also determined that she should have an appointment with an internal medicine specialist. Unfortunately, given her cleft palate, there was a high likelihood that she could have other congenital defects. We already knew that she had an umbilical hernia that would need to be repaired when she was spayed. After a day of observation and a few tests, Kai was diagnosed with a PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosis). A PDA is the most common congenital heart defect in dogs, but it requires corrective surgery or the dog will eventually go into cardiac arrest, and die. Although it is suspected that Kai has a few more congenital defects, it has been decided to wait until Kai is a little bit older/bigger until further testing is performed. That brings us to today. Kai has learned to eat on her own, and she is now big enough to have her heart surgery. We have a few more diagnostic tests to get through, but we need to schedule her surgery sooner rather than later to ensure she doesn't run into any complications from her heart defect. Kai is a fighter, and we want to do everything in our power to give this little girl a fighting chance of the wonderful life she deserves.
