We’ve seen a lot of animal rescue stories here at BuzzNick. Heartbreaking, as well as heartwarming, stories of innocent animals that were struck with tragedy. These neglected or abused animals have found comfort and a life long companion with the humans that have rescued them. These stories are all individually unique and touch my heart in their own ways. This story is no exception, but it is incredibly unique and special. Meet Ozzy The Goose. Ozzy is 5 months old and is just like any other goose who loves to do goose things. The exception with Ozzy is that he was accidentally trampled by his mother when he was born. This caused Ozzy’s leg to be broken beyond repair. Ozzy’s owner was left with two choices. She could put Ozzy down or she could look after him all day and take care of the helpless goose. Well, his owner just couldn’t put the bird down so she decided to take the time needed to care for the one-legged goose. This would be no easy task but she was up for it. A one-legged goose may not be that interesting of a story to most readers, but that’s only the beginning of this goose’s one of a kind story.
Ozzy is now 5 months old but has been living without his left leg since right after birth.
Ozzy’s owner, Sue Berger of South Africa, didn’t have the heart to put the goose down so they decided to care for it each and every day.
Ozzy can move about, but not easily. He relies on other parts of his body to compensate, which ends up hurting him. He has suffered broken wings and injuries due to his lack of balance. Ozzy’s owners reached out to a local radio station who put their plea for help on the air. Within a short time an entire team was assembled with the goal of helping Ozzy and Sue regain some normalcy in their lives.
The team consisted of 4 separate companies, all with a specific task in helping Ozzy get back on his feet. 3D Printing Systems, BunnyCorp, J-Lee Inc., and Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing all worked hand in hand in aiding Ozzy. 3D Printing systems offered hi-tech materials that would be used to create a prosthetic leg for Ozzy. BunnyCorp was responsible for the functioning design of the new leg. J-Lee Inc. offered 3D printers and a workshop to create a one of a kind goose leg. CRPM was responsible for the final 3D print of the leg.
Many companies help people with prosthetic limbs to aid them in their daily lives. It’s not often that you see these companies come together to help out an innocent white goose with a mild honk.
Designing a prosthetic leg for a goose is no easy task and is quite a lengthy ordeal. Just like creating a prosthetic limb for a human requires many sessions of fitment and measurements, it is no different for a goose. Certain angles have to be reworked, some materials work better than others, and some of the materials are more comfortable for Ozzy.
Ozzy was fitted with his first prototype leg on April 3rd. This is just a trial run that will allow Ozzy to get used to a prosthetic and spend some time in physical therapy. He stumbled around at first but is quickly gaining confidence walking on his new leg.
Geese spend the majority of their days grazing and foraging for food. They wander about enjoying their surroundings. This was not possible for Ozzy until now.
BunnyCorp has extensive experience in making human prosthetic limbs so they were the perfect choice to help Ozzy’s condition.
They had to take precise measurements to create a comfortable and permanent prosthetic for Ozzy. This required a lot of trial and error to get the dimensions and angles just right for the goose.
Now that they have the main design elements in consideration, they can start creating something more comfortable and more permanent for Ozzy. They are using only the most advanced materials to provide the most comfortable prosthetic for Ozzy.
The overall design, as well as the advanced materials used, will allow Ozzy to do normal goose things during his days at home. He will be able to swim, graze, and run with this prosthetic. He will still need a long time of physical therapy and getting used to the prosthetic but he is advancing very quickly.
This is the rough design for Ozzy’s new leg. You can see it’s quite advanced, using multiple materials for proper functioning.
It looks like Ozzy is going to run faster, jump higher, and swim further than all the other geese in his neighborhood.
Ozzy is obviously one happy goose! I’m sure he’s happy just to be alive let alone back and walking!
What’s good for the goose is good for the goose owner. You can easily see that this prosthetic will change Ozzy’s life and allow him to live a much easier and fulfilling life at home with his human, Sue.
Watch Ozzy’s very first walk with his prototype prosthetic leg in the video below.
More Info: 3dprint
I find it incredible that people and companies came together to help out an innocent goose. It would be so much easier to look the other way and focus on personal gain or profit, but this team of people have put selfishness aside to help out one single goose. While many people might not care, I can promise you that Ozzy and his owner Sue are forever grateful. Everyone deserves a chance to enjoy a full life and sometimes we need to help each other out in order to make that a reality. Even if it is just for a silly goose named Ozzy.