An adorable two-legged puppy is now more mobile than ever thanks to his 3-D printed wheelchair.
Disabled Dog Runs On 3D-Printed Braces
The pup in question, Tumbles, was born without his two front legs earlier this year. In an interview with ABC News, Tumbles' foster mother explains that the dog weighed a mere 1.5 pounds when he was born, and had to be bottle-fed for over a week.
Over the past six weeks, he learned to haphazardly use his nose as a front limb of sorts, but a veterinarian suggested that Tumbles be outfitted with front wheels in order to strengthen his hind legs.
Sea Turtle Gets 3-D Printed Beak, New Lease On Life
Crafted by the Ohio University Innovation Center, Tumbles' new set of wheels reportedly took 14 hours to print using a Stratasys Objet350 Connex, an eight-headed printer that the university boasts is the "largest and most sophisticated 3-D printer in the region."
In a Facebook post, Tumbles' caretakers at Friends of the Shelter Dogs explain that the prototype cart's design needs to be further refined in order to accommodate the dog's small frame.
Tumbles will also need to undergo several weeks of physical therapy before he can locomote efficiently.
This article originally appeared on DSCOVRD; all rights reserved.
From dolphins missing their tails to horses unable to trot, custom-fitted animal prosthetics are becoming more and more common. Take a look at some of the prosthetics giving animals of every shape and size a second chance at leading an active life.
Fuji, a female bottlenose dolphin, lost 75 percent of her tail to an unknown disease in 2002. This photo from 2007 shows Fuji being fitted with her prosthetic tail -- believed to be the first-ever artificial fin for a dolphin. Officials from the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium say the rubber tail actually lets Fuji swim faster and jump higher.
Hoppa, a four-year mutt, was born without front paws. An art student created this contraption to help her walk.
Oscar lost his back legs after being accidentally run over by a combine harvester in Oct. 2009. But on June 25, 2010 he showed off his new "bionic" legs to the public. The operation took three hours and required the prosthetics to be implanted into the remaining bone.
Meet Macho. An animal welfare group found him on the side of the road with a leg wound and had to amputate his limb. This photo shows Macho in June 2003 in Bombay, India, after he was fitted with a prosthetic limb made simply from plaster of Paris.
Veterinarians at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo aren't sure how Arava, an African Spurred Tortoise, ended up with paralyzed back legs. But it hasn't stopped her from getting around. Veterinarians created a wheeled platform that could be attached to her back legs to allow her to move around.
On Aug. 28, 2005, six years after Motala stepped on a landmine in Myanmar and had to have her left front foot amputated, specialists fitted her for a prosthetic paw.
Although the success stories are heartening, the need for prosthetic animal limbs is growing. In March, 2007, the Shaanxi Rare Wild Animal Rescue and Research Center in China made a plea for outside help when they rescued this wild female giant panda who lost her front paw in a fight with other pandas.
Yu, an approximately 25-year-old female loggerhead turtle, swims after receiving her 27th pair of artificial front legs at the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe, Japan.