TurboRoo in his 3-D printed doggie cart. (Ashley Looper)
TurboRoo, or Turbo for short, first made headlines when the tiny Chihuahua puppy's story of being born without front legs went viral following the creative solution put together by the staff of an Indianapolis vet clinic: a makeshift cart made from a toy helicopter and a ferret harness.
But as Turbo continued to grow, it was apparent that a new solution would need to be found.
The outpouring of support that followed Turbo's initial story was unbelievable according to Ashley Looper, a vet tech of the Indianapolis clinic that ended up adopting him. But none were quite as generous as Mark Deadrick, the owner of a San Diego-based design company called 3dyn.
Mark had contacted Ashley through Facebook and offered her his 3-D printing services to make Turbo a new cart. Ashley responded enthusiastically, but had to wait nearly a week to hear back from Mark. When Mark finally responded, he surprised Ashley with the news that he'd already sent her two carts for Turbo to try.
Mark had estimated Turbo's measurements based on pictures and designed both carts to work like Turbo's original cart: Turbo could push himself around using his back legs with the help of the wheels in front.
According to Ashley, once Turbo reaches 6 months old and can get a professionally-made dog cart, she plans to start working to help other disabled dogs get the wheels they need to help them get around.