Surgeons save dog born with severe cleft palate

ALBEMARLE — In the life of Hoobie, the old-saying, “You lucky dog,” certainly applies.

Hoobie, a soft-coated wheaten terrier, was almost certainly doomed to a short life, as are most dogs born with cleft palates.

But her owner, Ellen Amrein, breeds the terriers and decided to try to save Hoobie. With the help of some generous surgeons, Hoobie is somewhat of a medical miracle.

In general, dogs with cleft palates are put to sleep, according to Dr. Mark Emery, an Albemarle ear, nose and throat specialist for people.

Cleft palate, a hole running through the roof of the mouth, is well-known among humans. But for dogs, it’s not quite as common.

And Hoobie’s case was about as severe as it could get, Emery said. Hoobie’s cleft extended through both hard and soft palates, which is a rare, the doctors said.

When she discovered Hoobie’s birth defect, Amrein contacted Dr. Sam Griffin, her veterinarian, and he said they could save the dog.

Griffin, an Albemarle veterinarian, said, “It is not a common problem, but it’s certainly not something we don’t see at all.”

He said, however, that the dog needed to grow some before they could perform the operation.

So she got help from friend Linda Whitley, who is known in Stanly County for taking care of orphaned and rare animals, including bears and monkeys.

Whitley began tube feeding Hoobie to keep him alive. Otherwise, anything Hoobie put in his mouth usually went up through the hole and into his nasal cavity, causing infection, Emery said.

When Hoobie was 8 months old, Griffin and Dr. Lad Jones, an orthopedic surgeon in Albemarle, performed the first operation on Hoobie.

Griffin said this was an unusual procedure and explained that situations like that are usually handled by veterinarian surgeons because those doctors typically have more training.

Griffin called the other doctors who agreed to do the surgery, and he said all the doctors involved acted “out of the goodness of their hearts.”

In a second operation on Aug. 9, Emery joined Griffin and Jones to finish fixing Hoobie’s mouth.

Now, the doctors expect Hoobie to have a good recovery.

“Dogs just heal remarkably well,” Emery said because of genetics and having a low intake of antibiotics compared to humans.

At this point, Jones believes Hoobie to be approximately 98 percent healed and will likely lead a normal life.

Contact Erin Henrickson at 704-797-4247 or news@salisburypost.com .