Doggie's Heart As Good As New

A different kind of transplant patient is doing very well after undergoing delicate surgery.

Correspondent Mike Hooker of CBS Station KCNC-TV in Denver met a dog who underwent heart surgery and talked to some relieved owners.

Beth and David Bennett found out Lewie, a miniature Schnauzer, needed a heart valve transplant in order to survive, and putting him to sleep was out of the question.

News About Animals

So they took him to the veterinary hospital at Colorado State University, where Dr. Chris Orton is the only veterinarian in the country who performs such operations.

For the valve transplant, Dr. Orton used the type of valve that is made for people.

Even though Lewie's condition is quite common among dogs, he is the first one that has survived this type of valve surgery.

"Our goal is to pioneer this so that it will be available, " said Dr. Orton. If all goes as planned, he would like to perform a heart valve transplant a month.

For now, Lewie is recovering well and the Bennett family is very happy.

More from CBS News