High school Junior creates 3D-printed leg to assist injured dog who wants to walk again
By Mike-Ross
Every dogs deserve the right to be able to roam and run free, however some dogs have to deal with injuries or disabilities that make it challenging for them to get around. But thank goodness, there are some smart, kind people in the world willing to do whatever they can to help these poor animals.
Now, one story has gone viral after a high school junior went the extra mile to help a dog who lost his leg in an animal attack.
Kane’s story
Kane is a rescue dog from BARC Rescue Oklahoma. According to a Facebook post from the rescue, Kane was a cattle dog who was abandoned with his siblings and mother on the side of a country road.
A woman found the dogs and took them into her shop, but Kane was attacked by an animal — believed to be either a coyote or mountain lion — who broke in through the window and mauled the dog’s leg. The rescue had no choice but to amputate.
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Despite only having three legs, Kane never let it hold him back. “He’s just remarkable,” BARC founder Jamie Cope told News 9. “Some dogs are just really special. He’s very special and resilient. I learn a lot from the dogs.”
As resilient as Kane is, running on three legs takes a lot out of him — but an unexpected new friend realized she might be able to help.
Help from a high schooler
Brooke Tyler is an 11th grade student at Vanguard Academy. She loves animals and designing things with technology, and recently decided to combine her two interests in one inspiring project.
“I feel like there’s a lot of people out there that we can help, and we don’t really realize it,” Brooke told FOX 23. “And there’s a lot of animals that need help.”
Brooke, who volunteers at BARC, came up with the idea to make a prosthetic dog leg using a 3D printer, and the rescue realized it could be an opportunity for Kane to walk on all fours again.
“I just got really excited. I knew that Kane would be a perfect candidate,” Jamie Cope told News 9.
Though she’s only a high school junior, Brooke knows she has what it takes to completely change this dog’s life with cutting-edge technology.
“I feel like it was definitely an obstacle I’ve learned to overcome with my age having definitely been looked down on by a lot of adults,” Brooke said. “I feel like overcoming that issue helped me a lot with ‘I’m just as good as everyone else. I can do things everyone else does.”
The project is currently a work in progress: Brooke created a mold of Kane’s body, scanned it into her phone and built a prototype cage from the mold. She is currently working on creating a 3D printed leg with a more flexible filament.
Hopefully, the new artificial leg will help Kane walk around a lot more easily. Brooke says the project is inspiring her to push the limits of technology to help animals in need.
“It’s something that I didn’t think I could do. It makes me feel like there’s more ways to help the community, to help animals, without just kind of thinking about it and thinking it’s impossible,” she told FOX 23.
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