Two-year-old Boy Born with Birth Defect finds his Perfect Match in a Rescue Dog

An imperfect pair become an imperfect match as a young American boy is handed a puppy with the same birth defect as him.

OKAY, it’s time to reach for the Kleenex as the story unfolds of an adorable two-year-old from Michigan in the US who was gifted a puppy from a rescue centre that was found to have the same birth defect – a cleft lip. It really is a beautiful and uplifting story in these times of grim news and crisis – that little addition to the boy’s family has given everyone hope and happiness.

The imperfect pair become the perfect match

The little boy, Bentley Boyers, who was born with a birth defect, found his perfect match at the Jackson County Animal Shelter in Michigan. It was, Bentley’s dad, Brandon, that visited the animal shelter actually looking to adopt two chickens! but, instead, he came across a puppy with a cleft lip. Bentley’s mom, Ashley Boyers said: “He (her husband) FaceTimed me. He goes, ‘I think this one has a cleft lip,’ and I said, ‘Get her’! We need her!”

Ashley explained that Bentley had been given a tough start in life, as a newborn, it was a struggle for him to eat. “We had to sit him up and feed him and hold his lip together in order for him to eat, so it was a process,” she said. Now though, at two years old and with two surgeries under his belt, Bentley’s parents say he’s growing stronger and stronger each day. For mom Ashley, she feels owning the puppy will make her son feel like he’s not alone and having a cleft lip does not make him any different.

“To see him have something in common with a puppy means a lot cause he can grow up and understand that he and his puppy both have something that they can share in common,” his mom said.

The animal shelter says they normally do not see puppies with cleft palates, it is a rarity. However, the animal shelter does not think the two-month-old puppy will have any health problems in the future.

“Her disability is really not holding her back, and as she grows, they’ll be able to see more if there’s any change that has to do with that. But she’s really doing well,” said Animal Services Director Lydia Sattler. “She might look a little different than a normal dog would, but it’s not slowing her down at all.”

As far as Bentley’s future, he will have to undergo a bone-grafting surgery as he gets older. Thankfully, this time he’ll have a gorgeous furry companion by his side and, of course, as always, extremely supportive parents.

If you like reading stories about rescue dogs then you may like this article about rescue dogs in Spain.