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Allen students use 3D printer to make wheelchair for rescue dog with missing, deformed front legs
A rescue dog without his two front legs was in need of something to help him get around.
ALLEN, Texas - A rescue dog without his two front legs was in need of something to help him get around.
Thankfully, a pair of Allen High School students were there to help create a new set of wheels for him.
Bruce, a rescue dog from Mexico, is used to balancing on his back legs, but he’s now learning to use wheels to help him get around.
This was all done thanks to two Allen High School robotics students.
“I have two dogs at home. Love them. Love dogs,” Allen HS junior Mason Allen said.
“One of the main reasons why I actually wanted to do engineering was to actually help other people,” Allen HS junior John Koithan added.
Dan and Christie Pinto rescued Bruce, who has deformed and missing front legs, and have been searching for an affordable prosthetic, which isn’t easy to find.
“I actually found some plans online for a 3D printer and I reached out to Allen High School, and I was like, ‘Hey, can I borrow your 3D printer?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah. We’ll one up you and make it for you,’” Christie Pinto recalled.
“I said, ‘Hey, is anybody interested in doing this? It would be a fun project.’ And I got a response really pretty quickly,” Allen High School engineering and robotics teacher Greg Burnham said.
“So here we are, with a custom-made wheelchair,” Pinto added.
Allen and Koithan designed the model using software, then 3D printed it.
Bruce is now getting the hang of it at home.
“It was kind of heartwarming to be honest,” Koithan said.
The students have a long list of changes to make to improve it, including adding the Batman logo.
That’s because the little guy is named after Bruce Wayne because of his missing leg the Pintos call a “batwing.”