A wonderfully outgoing kitten named Squid, born with hind-limb deformities that made locomotion very difficult, was able to walk with a clever LEGO exoskeletal brace built by his humans, the Anthony Vets of Atlas Pet Vets in Frisco, Texas. They explained that this was the perfect solution as the LEGO brace was strong enough to support Squid yet was light enough for him to move around easily.
Time was of the essence as far as being able to correct his deformity. We tried so many different styles of splints. The biggest challenge with Squid was how tiny he was because he was so tiny. Nothing on the market existed. So, we had to get really creative. We built this apparatus from LEGOs. Given that it was lightweight but also structurally really sound, it worked perfectly. In his case, it allowed him to stay really nice and straight so that he could walk normally again.
With diligent work, Squid’s legs grew stronger, and he is now able to move around easily without a brace.
Squid has really, really blossomed to the point where he is very confident. It almost made us cry the other day because we let him play with our little dogs, who love him so much. And so he’s doing amazing. He’s kind of a little inspiration for us. Every time we see him, it just reminds us that what we do as veterinarians is really special.
