San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
A BOY WITH A CLEFT LIP FINDS ‘HIS MATCH’ IN ANIMAL SHELTER PUPPY
Family adopting chickens instead takes home dog
ONE GOOD THING
A rescued puppy with a cleft lip had been at an animal shelter in Jackson, Mich., for almost a week, and staff worried that she wouldn’t be adopted.
Then a man who has a 2year-old with a cleft lip walked into the shelter.
Brandon Boyers made an appointment to visit Jackson County Animal Shelter Sept. 3, hoping to adopt rescued chickens to expand his family’s small farm.
But his thoughts quickly shifted from poultry to puppies when he spotted a small black-and-white dog whose cleft lip reminded him of his son, Bentley.
“It was pretty shocking actually,” said Boyers, 27. “I had never seen a dog with a cleft lip before.”
He called his wife on Facetime to show her the puppy.
“I immediately told him to adopt her,” said Ashley Boyers, 23. “I said to bring her home today.”
Brandon Boyers asked Lydia Sattler, the director of the animal shelter, about the adoption process.
“I explained that they could take the puppy home two days later, after she had her final vet appointment,” said Sattler, who was delighted that a family was interested in adopting the dog.
But Bentley’s parents couldn’t wait to introduce their son to his new friend with a familiar face. They made an appointment, required because of the pandemic, for the next day, and Ashley Boyers took Bentley to the shelter for a visit.
“They were head over heels for each other right away,” she said. As Bentley cradled the puppy in his arms and nestled next to her, “everyone started crying.”
“We were all in tears seeing the two of them together,” said Sattler, who explained that this is the first time the shelter has had a puppy with a cleft lip. “The fact that this is something we never see, the puppy came from 1,000 miles away and that Bentley’s dad just happened to be here at that moment, it was just amazing.
“The puppy immediately started soaking up all his love,” she continued. “It was genuine joy.”
Bentley, who decided to name the dog Lacey, was born with a cleft lip and has had two surgeries. He has several more procedures to come, including a bonegrafting operation, his mother said.
“I found out he was going to have a cleft lip during my gender ultrasound. He had his first surgery when he was 5 months old,” Ashley Boyers said. “He is the strongest little boy I know.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one in 2,800 babies is born with a cleft lip in the United States.
While the numbers aren’t as clear for canines, purebreds have a higher incidence rate of the condition than mixed-breed dogs. Although Lacey’s breed is unknown, the shelter suspects she is a combination of many breeds.
Lacey and 24 other rescued dogs were transported from an area in Mississippi with an overpopulation of animals to the Jackson County shelter.
“She was one of the last ones of the 25 to be adopted,” said Sattler, adding that despite the birth defect, the puppy is expected to live a normal, healthy life.
In a Facebook post, the shelter wrote, “It’s so hard to put into words how meaningful this adoption is to all of us.”
“Bentley found his match today in this tiny pup who also has a cleft lip,” the post says. “They instantly loved each other.”
Although the cleft lip is a coincidence, Bentley’s parents believe Lacey was meant to be their son’s dog, they said.
“He knows that the dog has the same condition as he does. He understands,” said Ashley Boyers. “It is remarkable to see him share something in common with the puppy.”