Rescued calf gets new high-tech prosthetics
A 600-pound calf that lost its back hooves and part of its legs to frostbite in Virginia more than a year ago has been fitted in Texas with a new pair of prosthetic hind legs.
The English Charolais (SHAR'-lay) calf known as Hero received the high-tech devices on Wednesday in Houston. The animal may be the only double-amputee calf in the U.S. with prosthetics.
Technicians who made the replacements for the hooves and legs and a Texas A&M University surgeon who treated the animal earlier this year say they're not aware of another head of cattle with prosthetic legs.
The calf has been adopted by an animal rescuer, Kitty Martin, who says the roughly $40,000 she's invested in Hero is worth it. The new devices replace others Hero had outgrown.
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