Xavier University Students Made Prosthetic For Assistance Dog

Tiny, a beautiful, gentle golden retriever being raised and trained through nonprofit 4 Paws for Ability to give independence to a child with a disability, got some assistance of her own.

The young girl who knows no strangers was born with part of her front, right leg missing which caused some challenges when it came to being able to be of help to someone else. Laurie Maier, Tiny’s foster parent, reached out to Xavier University’s new Center for Innovation and within hours, a solution to Tiny’s mobility challenges was within reach.

Students in the Introduction to Making class (led by Professor Gary Lewandowski) designed, worked with prosthetist Christine Reedey to make a mold, and produced a prosthetic using a 3D printer.  It was a huge accomplishment that took several prototypes to find the design that worked.