University Of Tennessee At Chattanooga Team Makes Tiny Helmet For Special Needs Chihuahua Puppy

A Chihuahua puppy born with a life-threatening condition has a bright future ahead thanks to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s (UTC) College of Engineering and Computer Science. 

According to a UTC blog post, Niblet, a 2.5-pound Chihuahua puppy, arrived at Humane Educational Society (HES) in Chattanooga with a soft spot on the top of his head, indicating that his skull had not fully fused.

Niblet was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, or water on the brain. The soft spot that resulted can make even the simplest bumps potentially deadly. “It makes him very susceptible to any kind of injury,” HES Director of Veterinary Services Sarah Callahan explained. “Simple things falling around the house could hurt him.”

So HES set about finding a solution for the small pup. They needed a custom tiny helmet. 

“Our animal services officers wanted to see the best outcome for him and started brainstorming ideas like, ‘How could we get the head protected? Do we know anybody who can do us a favor?’ That’s when Dr. Samantha Blair brought up the contacts that she had from over at UTC,” Callahan said. “She made a couple of phone calls, and I want to say later that afternoon, they were scanning the dog’s head for a helmet and coming up with a little prototype.”

From the moment the HES reached out about Niblet a few weeks ago, mechanical engineering professor Trevor Elliott said he was “all in.”

 “Dr. Elliott said, ‘Yes, we can do this,’ which was amazing—because without this helmet, this dog won’t be able to live,” Callahan said. “I mean, this is necessary for him to be able to grow up and to continue to have a good life.”

Elliott said he felt compelled to help as soon as he “saw his cute little face.” He enlisted the assistance of Connor Mackey, a May graduate who led the 2024 UTC Rocket Mocs team in winning the 3D Printing Award at this spring’s NASA Student Launch competition.

Volkswagen’s Justin Stephens volunteered to scan Niblet’s head to get a 3D image, which Elliott and Mackey each used to create a helmet for Niblet. While Mackey’s design resembles a football helmet, Elliott’s is more of a skull cap.

Elliot and Mackey finally met with Niblet at HES on Monday, July 15, to fit him with his new 3D-printed hat. Niblet, now 10 weeks old, favored the football helmet design.

“It’s just kind of crazy what you can do,” Mackey said in a statement. “It was honestly a very simple process of getting a scan and then modeling around that. It’s really cool that you can save a dog’s life using this kind of manufacturing process.”

Caroline Smith, HES director of animal protection services, praised everyone who collaborated on saving Niblet. 

“Sometimes in this line of work, you don’t always get happy endings, so it’s so nice to see everyone come together to help out an animal,” Smith said.

Callahan and the rest of the HES team is optimistic about Niblet’s future.

"We believe he’s in the best possible place to have a good outcome and the longest life he can in a happy home,” Callahan said.

Go Niblet, go!