Fall Fund Raiser for PAWSTHETICS

In 2015 we began our quest to help animals in need of custom prosthetic and enrichment devices. It was more of a side project of The 3D Printing Store , our main business. We began to be approached by people who were interested in making prosthetics and devices for their animals. One of our first clients,  Cleopatra the Tortoise ,needed a covering to protect her shell, which was being depleted from malnutrition due to an incorrect diet. We 3D scanned and 3D printed a new shell covering or "shell-met" to help her improve the consition of her shell and her daily life as well! Her story caught on all over the World and we realized quickly the impact we could make by using 3D design, scanning and 3D printing to help make super custom devices to help animals in need.  

We have since worked with dogs, cats, and tortoises for
our cause which we have named Pawsthetics! In 2017 we have officially recieved our 501c3 and we have been able to expand our reach more and more. 

Current Press:

Thanks to @Vocativ for this great video!



Past and Current Projects:

Making a Cart for Tazo for his BEST DAY!
-We helped to make Tazo's best day ever a reality by building a custom cart that was very light weight and functional in just two weeks. 

Tazo's Best Day on Barkpost


Helping Athenas and Orion in Venezuela in 2016
-A very cool project for an amazing rescue in Venezuela that has over 100 animals that they are supporting!


Working with Bronco in 2017 to develop a World's First Prosthetic of it's kind for a three-legged full hip amputation
-We worked with Bronco for 6 months to develop a progressive solution that would have allowed him to learn to use his prosthetic over time and becom acclimated. Unfortunately Bronco passed away this Spring and we weren't able to see the work through, but his memory and legacy live on as we will use what we learned from his project to provide hope to other similar dogs in need! 



Rebel Without a Paw and Kaja Chicken Wing, two of 6 puppies in a litter born handicapped. 
-A new project for us, where we will hope to get Rebel moving with a prosthetic process that will help him build muscle memory and learn to use a final device over the course of his first year. If we are successful with Rebel we hope to work with the entire little of puppies in need so that they can have long and fulfilling lives! 
-We had the good fortune of meeting our friend Kaja last week as her foster mom passed through Denver. We got to measure and watch her run. It gave us a new way to do intake for animals that will speed up the process in the future. We had her come back through town on Tuesday and we made a test device for her in 3 days! Our team member Collin really put in extra time to get something that was a good building block to help Kaja learn how to use and get used to a prosthetic device. 

Kaja:

Rebel:

Read more about Rebel and Kaja here: Rebel Without a Paw

Winston, a miracle pup from Zimbabwe
-We are currently working with Winston and his new owners to develop some solutions for Winston to get him running around with his friends at Twala Trust ! This rescue is a must see as their work helps many local dogs, cats and other native animals, including LIONS! 


Toby The Tortoise
-We have been working with Toby and his owner Michael for over a year. Toby was attacked by a dog and lost an important part of his shell called the "gular horn." This horn helps protect him from predators and also is essential in attracting mates. With Michael's expertise we are making a custom attachment that could influence research on Tortoise's for years to come, not to mention give Toby a chance to meet his one and only! 


Toby The Tortoise by Michael Tuma


Other clients:

PegLeg Martini on IG: @peglegmartini
Toki2Paws on FB: Toki2Paws 


Project Locations:
-California
-Texas
-Maryland
-Colorado
-Rhode Island
-Venezuela
-Zimbabwe



Our mission is to continue to develop technologies and solutions to improve the lives of animals all over the World. In order to do this we need to continue to expand our staff of volunteer and paid advisors.  Our hope is that we can raise general funding to help all of the inquiries we get free of charge. At this point with experimental technologies we are absorbing much of the research cost and helping rescues and owners to raise funds for some of the projects we undertake. We are hopeful to be able to cover all costs for our development process with donations to our general fund each year. We will remain need based giving first priority to the most dire situations where we can be helpful to save animals in rescues or help with injury prevention. We will also be able to use the funds to widen our reach by supporting projects in other places with financial backing and the support of our experience. 

We are also going to be launching a new initiative to work with schools across the country to have students learn how to design and develop pawsthetic devices for animals in their area. We have schools identified in 4 states(and growing) that we will work with to pilot this program with as part of their STEM and STEAM curriculum. This initiative will start this Fall and we hope to grow it over the next semester's and school years. 

We do not currently have all the answers to each problem an animal or an owner might face. We aren't sure we ever will, but with new techniques, materials, technologies and team members we look to be able to find creative solutions to continue to push the limits of what can be done to make the lives of animals even better. We intend to remain on the cutting edge and hope that you will join us in our quest to help animals in need. 

Thank you for your donation!