A chihuahua-cross puppy who was born with a cleft palate and brought into the Chilliwack SPCA when he was just hours old, is now the face of a fundraiser.

Baby Snoot was taken to the Chilliwack branch of the SPCA, by the person who bred him, when he was less than 10 hours old.

鈥淗e probably wouldn鈥檛 be alive today if they hadn鈥檛 dropped him off,鈥� said Chilliwack SPCA branch manager, Chlo茅 MacBeth.

Now that he鈥檚 with the SPCA, Baby Snoot has become the poster puppy for Lock-In For Love, an annual fundraiser for the SPCA.

The Chilliwack SPCA was 鈥済rateful鈥� he was brought into the branch, but 鈥渨e definitely want to remind people to be very conscious and not support people who are breeding animals for profit鈥� or supporting puppy mills,鈥� MacBeth said.

The breeder who dropped him off knew Baby Snoot would cost them a lot of money and take a lot of time to care for him.

鈥淚t鈥檚 actually quite costly to breed animals and to do it well,鈥� MacBeth said. 鈥淯nfortunately this particular individual didn鈥檛 plan for any kind of medical issue when they were breeding their animals.鈥�

When Baby Snoot came in on March 26 he weighed 137 grams. He was immediately put into the hands of one of their foster caregivers who gave him round-the-clock care including bottle feedings every two hours.

His cleft palate will need to be fixed because there鈥檚 an opening into his nasal cavity and there鈥檚 a risk of aspiration pneumonia. He is now 13 weeks old and was scheduled to have a consultation with a veterinarian earlier this month.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a cosmetic thing, it something that is a medical concern, but that can be fixed provided people plan for these things and don鈥檛 breed genetic defects into their bloodlines,鈥� MacBeth said.

Because of COVID and because there鈥檚 been an increased demand for puppies, people are seeing that as an opportunity to make money without recognizing that emergencies can happen and medical issues arise, she added.

鈥淧lease breed responsibly and make sure you鈥檙e not supporting people who don鈥檛.鈥�

In the coming weeks, Baby Snoot will be having surgery to fix his cleft palate and once he鈥檚 healed, he will be up for adoption.

It鈥檚 going to cost the SPCA more than $5,000 for Baby Snoot鈥檚 procedure. MacBeth is asking people to donate to Lock-In For Love to help not just him, but other animals. They have a goal of raising $10,000 this year and all funds raised here to stay at the Chilliwack branch.

鈥淎nimals like Baby Snoot are the creatures we are there to support 鈥� the ones that are the most vulnerable and the ones that need our help.鈥�

People can raise money, start a team or simply donate to Lock-In For Love. For more info, go to .