Marie DeMarco, a nurse practitioner from Westchester County, New York, is giving a tiny pit bull named Sasha a new lease on life and a whole lot of love!
Sasha was born in a breeding facility, weighing a mere 11 ounces. From the get-go, it was apparent that the pup had an obvious cleft lip and palate, and as a result, was not able to nurse. From her very first day, Sasha was already at a disadvantage, with death being a distinct possibility.
Sasha’s breeder immediately contacted Courtney Bellew, director of SNARR Animal Rescue Northeast. “The owner recognized she had a cleft palate and lip and wanted to save her, Bellew told The Dodo. “He brought her to my house and she was so tiny and fragile.”
Bellew, in turn, contacted Marie DeMarco, a nurse practitioner who has experience nursing ill kittens. When DeMarco examined Sasha, she thought the dog’s head looked a bit too big for her body, and sure enough, it was discovered that Sasha’s cleft palate and lip were only the beginning of her troublesome health issues.
The tiny pit bull was ultimately diagnosed with hydrocephalus, an upper respiratory infection, a urinary tract infection, and orthopedic issues— but Bellew and DeMarco had no intentions of giving up on her, and Sasha, for her part, just kept on fighting.
“She’s defying all the odds, DeMarco told The Dodo. “She’s proven that she wants to be here.”
DeMarco feeds Sasha every 3 to 4 hours during the day. At night she feeds her every 5 hours so they can each get a bit of rest. When DeMarco prepares her food, Sasha lips her lips in anticipation, The Dodo reports.
“She has an amazing will and determination. Through all this, she really shouldn’t be here,’ DeMarco said.
Sasha is currently 3.5 months old and weighs only 1 pound, 9 ounces. Unfortunately, she’s still too small to get any of the surgeries that she needs to help her eat and remove the fluid from her skull. She keeps warm with stylish puppy sweater and dresses and loves spending time with DeMarco’s foster kitties, following them around and sniffing nose-to-nose.
Sasha’s future remains unclear, but it’s clear that this dog is a fighter. With her fighting spirit and DeMarco and Bellew’s love, I’m going to guess that little pup will be juuuuust fine.
To follow Sasha’s story, just check out the FURR 911 Facebook page
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