Border Collie Born with 'Two Noses' But It Only Makes Him Twice as Cute
There’s always a lot of anticipation and excitement when a loved dog is about to have puppies. While some people may be upset that more dogs are being brought into the world, there are breeders out there who do their due diligence and their utmost to make their chosen breeds stronger, fitter and healthier.
There are a lot of health checks you can do beforehand to make sure both the sire and dam are from good lines and don’t have any health problems or predispositions, but you never quite know what you’ll get until the puppies are “on the ground.”
Jessica Wheatley, from Gomshall, Surrey, got quite the surprise recently when her border collie, Willow, gave birth to a litter of seven. That’s not the interesting part, though. One of the seven pups was born with separated nostrils, making him look like he has two noses!
According to the Daily Mail, the pup also has cleft palate issues, similar to hare-lip, but the odd nose situation has given him an unusual appearance and earned him his name: Pua (the pig from Moana).
Apparently, this trait crops up in some breeds and is even desirable in some cases, but it’s a fluke for Wheatley. She’s never seen anything like it.
“I’ve been breeding puppies for 14 years and I’ve never seen one like this before,” Wheatley said. “I’m a hobby breeder and a stay-at-home mum, so I can look after them.”
“It is very important to me that they are healthy and their temperament is good.”
Because of his cleft palate issues, the pup can’t nurse like his siblings, which means Wheatley and her daughter have to take turns feeding him — even through the night. It may be exhausting, but it’s turning him into a particularly friendly pup.
“It is really good for the puppies, to socialize them. My daughter Katie formed a really strong bond as she helped bottle feed Pua. All the puppies rush to Willow to feed, but Pua rushes over to us. He’s a very people-oriented dog.”
“We noticed straight away that Pua’s nose was deformed. Within an hour of him being born, I was able to pick him up and check him over. It was just a little line between his nostrils. As I checked it, it became more obvious.”
Eventually, the pup will need some surgery to make sure his mouth works like a normal dog’s, but for now, Wheatley has it under control and has had him evaluated.
“There’s a cleft in his top jaw and teeth and the teeth are growing toward each other,” she said. “The people at the vets said they had seen cleft palates but nothing like the nose before. It is not very common.”
Wheatley knows that because of the extra care Pua will require, finding him a home might be difficult. “If we can’t find an excellent home for Pua, we’ll have to keep him,” she said.
“He’s healthy but he’s going to need some procedures. They could operate to fix his lip and nose together but that’s purely cosmetic, and a couple of things he needs which are necessary.”
For now, this little guy seems quite content to receive the special treatment he’s getting, and in the hands of a knowledgeable person, he’ll be able to get the procedures he needs and live life as normally as his siblings.
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