Pet prosthetics are changing animal's lives and giving many a second chance at happiness.
When a pet or wild animal suffers severe physical trauma and devastating injuries, such as the amputation of limbs, often veterinarians and owners agree that euthanasia would be the most humane and cost-effective solution.
However, modern advances in technology, rehabilitation methods and pain management mean many of these animal's lives are now being spared, NBC News noted.
There are many heartwarming stories of how special needs pets have overcome adversity.
Derby the husky was born with no front paws and very short front legs but refused to give up. Tara Anderson, an employee of 3D Systems in South Carolina, decided to foster Derby and see if she could design a 3D printing solution for his limb handicap.
Together with a team of 3D designers, they were able to create loop-shaped prosthetic forelegs and on the first trial run, Derby took off running and hasn’t slowed down.
Vincent the cat is also walking around like a bionic pet after receiving two 3D-printed titanium-alloy prosthetic hind legs to make up for the ones he was missing since he was a kitten.
There are countless other similar stories and one man, Derrick Campana, the founder of Animal OrthoCare, is behind many of their successes.
He was instrumental in saving the life of Chi Chi, a dog that was badly abused and found on the side of the road in South Korea, Mental Floss reported.
She suffered severe loss of blood flow to her legs and battled low odds to survive, but Campana decided to take a chance on her.
Rather than euthanize, he opted to amputate all four of her legs.
She survived and found a new forever home in Arizona, but best of all, she was given the gift of walking again thanks to Campana, who designed prosthetics for the dog.
Campana was not always a prosthetics designer for the veterinary field. He initially worked as a doctor specializing in prosthetics for people.
This all changed one day when a dog was brought in to see another doctor, who happened to not be in at the time, so Campana decided to construct an artificial limb for the animal.
Years down the line and Campana is working full time with animals and has not looked back since.
He has even fitted two Asian elephants in Thailand, who lost front limbs in landmines, with prosthetics.
"This is just the best job ever," told PBS. "I went to school for human prosthetics and orthotics, but I always loved animals. So, to be able to combine both passions is just a dream come true."
Campana will be the focus of the first episode of "Dodo Heroes," a new series on Animal Planet that tells the inspiring stories of animal survival, Mental Floss noted.
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