With the help of the technology over the years, scientists can use prosthetics to help amputated animals. It has also given pet owners a chance to save their beloved pets born with defects and give them a chance to live normal lives again, instead of having them put down. Here are 15 stories of animals that were saved thanks to medical prosthetics.
Homeless Dog Naki’o
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Image: chelseadogs.com[/caption]When this dog was a puppy, he was left in the basement of a foreclosed house along with his mother. Cold temperatures and perhaps lack of food killed his mom, but this guy hung on. Unfortunately, frostbite caught Nakio's feet. Christie Pace, one of the veterinary assistants, found and later adopted this puppy. She also raised money to pay for Nakio's prosthetic devices made by Martin and Amy Kaufman, who own Orthopets, a company that makes custom-made prosthetic orthotic braces and limbs for animals. Several months after the prosthetic devices were in placed in, Orthopet clinicians fitted Naki’o with artificial legs.
He became the first dog in the world with four bionic legs. Naki’o is now a superstar after a tough start in life.
Aku-3 The Sea Turtle
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Image: popsci.com[/caption]Rescue workers in Turkey found a wounded loggerhead turtle after the animal got involved in an accident and lost a part of its beak. They took the injured sea turtle to Sea Turtle Research Center, where they treated its wounds. Officials at the rescue facility, together with a research team from BTech Innovation, made medical-grade titanium prosthetic using 3D printing technology to create a new part of the turtle's beak. As we all know, sea turtles are a critically endangered species. They are a huge environmental factor and have been around for ages.
We hope that making this biomimetic-inspired flipper will be a preliminary step in the expansion of the field of sea turtle prosthetics, as well as increase awareness for the plight of sea turtles. Thank you for helping this cutie!
Brutus The Rottweiler
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Image: source.colostate.edu[/caption]A two-year-old Rottweiler, named Brutus, could walk on its own again after being fitted with 4 prosthetic legs. He lost his legs when his first owner tried to operate this poor dog an at-home amputation on his legs. When the surgery was done, his owner instead decided to leave the dog outside to freeze to death. By the time Brutus was saved, the dog had suffered from frostbite aside from his injured legs. The dog was taken in by Laura Aquilina, who has nursed him and officially adopted the dog. She even launched a fundraiser to cover his prosthetics and physical therapies. OrthoPets, a leading veterinary orthotic and prosthetic center in Denver, created 4 unique prosthetic legs for Brutus capable of protecting the dog's limbs, supporting his legs and realigning them to equal lengths.
The dog is now recovering from the operation, so we hope he will run again just like before.
Piglet Leon Trotsky
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Image: edgarsmission.org.au[/caption]Leon Trotsky is a little piglet who had a tragic accident when his mother fell on him, which caused paralysis of his two back legs. When the staff of Australia-based animal sanctuary Edgar's Mission met Leon, they immediately fell in love! This sanctuary helps to rescue, rehabilitate, and then finds homes for farm animals whenever possible. He was so young, no more than 3 weeks old when he was first rescued, and because of this fact Leon’s tiny little bones were not strong enough for a typical cart that would take the pressure off of his hind legs. But, necessity is the mother of invention, says Edgar's Mission, and coupled with Leon’s courage,
a specialized wheelchair was made to allow him to move around, pain free, whilst enabling his injured hind legs to heal. He is now happy, running around like he has no wheelchair. Bravo!
TurboRoo The Chihuahua
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Image: thepetmatchmaker.org[/caption]This chihuahua was born with a birth defect common among small dog breeds, without his front legs. Despite the recommendations of four vets that the dog be put to sleep, his owner refused to give in and left him at a vet office hoping the dog would find someone to care for him. Luckily, he did. Ashley Looper, a veterinary technician in Indianapolis, fell in love with him. Ashley and her boyfriend Ray adopted this dog and named him TurboRoo. They tried to build a cart for TurboRoo with PVC pipe, but it didn’t quite work. Thanks to a local news report that went viral, president of 3dyn in San Diego, Mark Deadrick,
heard about TurboRoo’s story, and decided to use 3D printing to create the pup a better mobility cart. He can now move around comfortably as he wishes to on his own.
Fuji The Dolphin
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Image: blogs.wsj.com[/caption]Fuji, a 36-year-old bottlenose dolphin living Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Japan, is one of the first known animals to ever receive a prosthetic limb. Fuji has been in the aquarium since 1976 when she was first captured off the eastern coast of Japan. But in 2002 the staff from the aquarium discovered that an unknown disease had caused her to lose 75% of her fin because of rotting. Fuji recovered from the disease, but was missing a part of her flukes.
With the help of the Bridgestone Tire Company, animal experts were able to make a prosthetic tail fin made of rubber to replace the missing part. After the operation, Fuji lived the rest of life normally until her death in November 2014.
Yogo The Dog
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Image:3DPrint.com[/caption]Yogo, only a year old, suffers from a congenital atrophy (limbweakness) in his right front. Before being fitted for a leg prosthetic, he couldn't walk properly. Since he was born, his owner had desperately searched for a solution for Yogo's condition but found little success because China's pet hospitals are currently unable to provide services to handicapped animals. However, as his owner perused pet microblogging forums, she quite fortuitously found a newly launched charity effort to help disabled domestic animals walk again. To do so she has teamed up with the Hangzhou, additive manufacturing company Shining 3D, based in China.
Together, by using 3D scanning and 3D printing technology, they created Yogo’s leg, so she can walk again and play just like any other dog.
Pit Bull Goody
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Image: Amy Felts[/caption]Goody's abusive owner had amputated her hind legs, so the poor pup got around by pulling herself with her forepaws. Amy Felts, the professional dog trainer, worked very hard on rehabilitating Goody physically and mentally. Amy said that the dog would always struggle to move. OrthoPets, the company that provided Goody with the legs, makes prosthetic limbs for pets from all over the world. Using casts of her legs she received from Douglas Strammel, a vet in Dallas, OrthoPets created the legs.
Now Goody has a good chance to do as much as she wants — including run. Goody received a new pair of prosthetic legs, so now she can walk, run and play just like any normal dog. We are so glad that she is happy again.
Beauty, An Eagle
This bald eagle was shot in the face by poachers in Alaska2005, and since then the upper mandible of Beauty’s beak was missing. Without it, she was unable to eat food on her own, or preen her feathers. A situation probably impossible: trying to survive without one jawbone. Her beak didn’t look like it would grow back and expert opinions suggested to put her to sleep as the only option. At this point, Nate Calvin, a mechanical engineer who has already worked with animal prosthetics, offered to help and save Beauty. He made a mold of her missing upper mandible, 3D scanned it, used software to create the 3D model, and then printed it in nylon-polymer material.
Using a titanium metal mount the 3D printed prosthetic was fitted onto the remaining beak. Beauty was able to eat and drink on her own again, thanks to the synthetic beak.
Cyrano The Cat
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Image :3dprintingindustry.com[/caption]The 9-year-old Cyrano had a great life taken away from him when he was diagnosed with bone cancer in one of his left legs. His owners were intent on doing everything trying to heal their pet and bring his life back to normal. He was the first cat ever to receive radiation therapy and although his cancer didn't return, it left his leg damaged without a chance to move this leg again. Removing the leg would have been the best option, but for the 26 pound cat, surviving on just three legs would invite a host of other health problems.
The only possible solution would be a total knee athroplasty, even though this had never been done before for a cat. After athroplasty Cyrano is back purring on four legs, instead of losing his life to bone cancer and its side-effects.
Felix The Sheep
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Image :3dprintingindustry.com[/caption]Felix is not an ordinary sheep. First of all, he is a rare breed of sheep called a Katahdin that has hair instead of wool. Secondly, and more importantly, as a baby, Felix came at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in New York missing a back leg. The three-legged animal, in need of a prosthetic, was cared for by Jenny Brown, founder of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, who herself wears a prosthetic, having lost a leg after childhood struggle with cancer. The cute sheep was then fitted with a regular prosthetic leg, and just as he was getting used to it, it broke because of the light material. With the help of a biology major, a prosthetist, and a veterinarian from SUNY New Platz, his leg was scanned and modified to build him a prosthetic leg.
The three-legged sheep is once again four-legged and now has a long, healthy life to look forward to.
Grecia The Toucan
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Image: Zoo Ave Animal Rescue Centre[/caption]“Grecia” got his name after the town in Costa Rica where he was born. He is now recovering at Costa Rica’s Animal Rescue Bird Zoo. His beak is not just vital because of its ability to eat and defend himself, but is also needed to find a female, because females choose the best male based on the color of their beak. Even though he quickly learned to use his lower beak to feed himself, he still depends on his caretakers. To help him, they designed an ideal beak in two parts with one that can be detached, cleaned and readjusted as he grows with it.
If successful, the 3D printed replacement beak procedure will be the first toucan in Latin America. And since it will be 3D printed, this bird might enjoy the opportunity to have a uniquely colored beak!
Holly The Horse
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Image :theodysseyonline.com[/caption]Holly, a 10-year-old mare in Australia, suffered from a crippling disease that is common among horses, donkeys and ponies (laminitis). It affects the hooves of these animals and Holly had been affected from it for 3 years. The disease causes inflammation and pain between the hoof and bone, and if unattended, could have left her unable to walk. Working with horse podiatrists, they 3D scanned and created a shoe that was a perfect fit for her hoof and 3D printed it in titanium.
This shoe, the first of its kind “horse-thotic” that can be created on-demand in just a few hours, would equally redistribute the weight on the hoof, encourage it to heal and give Holly a new chance to live again.
Buttercup The Duck
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Image: theodysseyonline.com[/caption]This duck was born with a left foot that was pointing backwards. The deformed foot didn't allow Buttercup to walk or waddle like a normal ducks and caused him pains. His owners tried physiotherapy, but it wasn’t making a difference. They used the left foot of Buttercup’s sister and scanned it, made 3D model and print a mold for a new, silicone leg. The silicone foot was then fitted on using a customized nylon sock and Buttercup could walk more like a duck again. Later, a special foot with flapper doors was also designed to allow him to swim.
This silicone foot has little trap doors that open when Buttercup moves his foot forward to allow water to pass through. This was his present for Christmas!
Gigi, The Parrot
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Image: 3ders.org[/caption]When Gigi was found her poor little beak was so deformed that she couldn’t even eat on her own. In order to help Gigi, experts from the Animal Care Center in Sao Paulo, tried to do something that had never been done before – they created 3D-printed prosthetic beak out of titanium, instead of plastic. Parrots use their beaks to break open hard seeds and shells, meaning they must be extremely strong and durable. Along with being biocompatible, rust-resistant and lightweight, titanium is one of the strongest metals on the planet, making it the perfect material for this job.
Even with her new beak, the veterinarians have said that this parrot would be unlikely to survive in the wild, because she lived most of her life in captivity, so they wish Gigi would be adopted by a zoo.
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