One year after a buttless dog named Tooshie captured Perth’s heart, the community has gathered around a second puppy born with the same heartbreaking condition.
Booty, a six-week-old toy poodle born with atresia ani — a birth defect where the anus is missing or blocked — was surrendered to Murdoch’s Animal Hospital by a backyard breeder on Sunday.
Moon’s Mission rescue founder Kate Doyle said she received a message from one of the nurses at the veterinary practice about the peculiar case.
“One of the nurses knows me and sent me a message to say the backyard breeder was unable to give her the care she would need if she was to undergo treatment,” Ms Doyle told PerthNow.
“She asked if it would be possible for me to take her to Moon’s Mission.”
Camera IconMeet six-week-old Booty – the toy poodle born with no butthole. Credit: Moon’s Mission
Ms Doyle and her animal rescue made headlines back in 2025 over the medical journey of Tooshie, a cavoodle in her care who was similarly surrendered due to his lack of butthole.
“Tooshie had a massive, massive journey — enemas twice a day for 270 days, plus five surgeries — and I had just gotten my life back, I wasn’t sure about doing it again,” she said.
“An hour later, however, I started to feel bad . . . who else will do it, be able to raise the money and give Booty the chance she needs?
“The chances of this happening twice (are) pretty rare . . . but it did, so I made the call to help her.”’
Ms Doyle quickly organised a surrender of the six-week-old into her custody and began making arrangements for Booty to receive necessary medical care.
In addition to the atresia ani, veterinarians also diagnosed Booty with a rectovaginal fistula — a tunnel that causes her faeces to pass through her vulva instead of her anus.
Ms Doyle took to social media to share Booty’s story with fellow animal lovers across WA, in addition to a GoFundMe for her ongoing medical treatment.
The fundraiser and social media post quickly gained attention, with more than $10,000 donated to the six-week-old’s care in less than two days.
She also noticed the ‘surreal’ timing of Booty’s arrival at Moon’s Mission, which came right in time for Tooshie’s first birthday.
“It honestly feels surreal that almost exactly one year later, another poodle with this condition has landed in our care . . . (but) helping Booty feels like the best birthday present Tooshie could ask for,” Ms Doyle wrote in a Facebook post to nearly 4,000 followers.
Camera IconTooshie has been a supportive figure to Booty as she navigates the same treatments he received last year. Credit: Moon’s Mission
The six-week-old toy poodle met with Tooshie’s specialist surgeon Dr Taka Sugiyama at Cedar Mountain on Tuesday, where she underwent a procedure to create a functional butthole opening — however the journey is only just beginning for Booty.
“She is likely to need multiple surgeries, ongoing care, and has a long road ahead before she can live a normal life,” Ms Doyle said.
Camera IconDr Sugiyama and the team at Cedar Mountain Vet Referral seen giving Booty a functional butthole on Tuesday. Credit: Kate Doyle
Ms Doyle said although the condition is rare, the fact that both Tooshie and Booty were poodle-mixes with atresia ani who were surrendered by Perth backyard breeders was worrisome.
“In both cases, the condition hasn’t been discovered until they’re five weeks old — a breeder who knows what they’re doing would have discovered it way earlier,” she said.
“I would urge people to discourage backyard breeding, you don’t really know what you’re doing or what you’re looking for when puppies are born because there are just so many congenital defects that can happen.
“For Booty and Tooshie, their atresia ani wasn’t discovered until weeks into their lives so there would have been a degree of suffering they went through in that time.”
Ms Doyle encourages others to keep up to date on Booty’s journey through her social media.