Kynlee Rogers was born with a cleft lip. In humans, cleft palates and lips develop in utero from a variety of environmental and genetic factors. The 10-year-old used to ask her mom Kimberly why she was different from other kids, a challenging question for any parent to have to answer. Kynlee no longer sees herself as different because she has a dog with the same feature. The Rogers family adopted Tennessee, a Boston Terrier, from Cleft Rescue Unit. The organization works to raise awareness of the dangers to pups who are born with a cleft lip and takes them off the hands of breeders or owners who aren’t capable of taking care of them. Once the dogs can eat solid food, the organization works to pair dogs with a human owner who has the same craniofacial feature. Lindsay Weisman, who started Cleft Rescue Unit in 2023, explained that they get puppies from across the country and the humans who adopt them delight in their shared difference. “They love that the puppies look like them,” she said. A cleft lip, says Weisman, prevents a puppy from nursing properly, leading to malnutrition and death if they aren’t recognized and taken into veterinary care for tube feeding. Kynlee has had Tennessee since September, and the dog has had a profound impact on the young girl’s life.
