“As humans, if we’re in pain, we can talk about it. An animal cannot.”
This very sentiment of Dr. Tapesh Mathur led to the invention of prosthetic limbs for animals in 2014. He started his own practice back in 1996 and with nearly 20 years of experience, he began working for Krishna Limb, where he conceptualised the idea for the same. “People don’t realise this but when an animal undergoes an accident or when an animal gets a fracture, you can’t expect to put a plaster on them and tell them to lay in a bed all day! Plus, their ligaments take longer to heal. This is why a prosthetic limb just works better,” explains Dr. Tapesh, about his innovation.
While the clinic is based in Jaipur, the doctor travels to different states if needed. Often, he’ll fly in to take the measurements of the injured animal, and then fly back to Jaipur. The mold is then made, fabricated carefully with attentional to detail, fitted with belts and velcro, and then taken to the animal in need. It isn’t as easy as fitting an animal with a limb though, he says, “We train the owners to give their animals physiotherapy as we cannot extend every visit till the animal has adjusted to the new limb.”
He continues humbly, “This does not mean we sign off on the animal though. We do ask owners to send us videos of the animal on Facebook or WhatsApp so we can check their progress daily.” Their very first patient was a little calf, but they’ve gone on to help mares, horses, dogs and more cattle — they’ve helped out a total of 54 happy patients till date! While it may not be the first of its kind in the world, it definitely is a great example of how the smallest thing could make the biggest difference. His inventions are giving these animals a chance at a whole new life again while putting their best (prosthetic) foot forward.
For more information or to contact them, you can visit their website here.
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