Derby was born with deformed front legs.
Then along came Tara Anderson, a director at CJP Product Management – 3D systems.
She first met Derby through a dog rescue group named Peas & Pods. She would look at photos of him and cried literally every time. After some deliberation, she finally decided to foster Derby.
At the beginning, Tara got Derby a cart with the objective of easing his movements. However, it turned out that he was limited in terms of his mobility to play with other dogs. He wasn’t really able to execute the full motion of running as well.
So one day, the notion of 3D printing of prosthetics struck her. And what happened next changed Derby’s life and enable him to feel what’s it is like to move like all other dogs.
The first time Derby put on his new 3D printed prosthetics, he took off running ever so happily! It was simply amazing how well he did! From then on, he has been able to live his life as a normal canine and even running 2 -3 miles on a daily basis.
The accomplishments made in the video are really tremendous, bringing hope and aid to even disabled animals. Hopefully in the near future, with 3D printing, fully functional prosthetics would be made easily available in an economical and affordable manner to those in need.
