A mixed-breed puppy had a tough start to life after losing all four of his paws and the tip of his tail to frostbite.
Naki’o was left abandoned at a foreclosed Nebraska home when he was a young puppy and was found alone, frozen into a puddle of icy water in the cellar.
He was taken to an animal rescue center and under their care his paws healed to rounded stumps.
Photo: EPA
照片：歐新社
It was a tough existence for Naki’o, not being able to walk and play with other dogs due to the pain it caused him, instead he had to crawl along on his belly.
Fortunately for Naki’o he meet veterinarian assistant Christie Pace. She adopted Naki’o when he was eight-weeks-old and then set about organizing a fundraiser to pay for him to have his two back legs fitted with prosthetics.
He took to these so enthusiastically, that the company who fitted them decided to complete the process free of charge.
“When we saw how good he was doing with his back leg prosthetics and how he was struggling to use his front legs it was very simple to say, “He could do much better with all four prosthetics on,” said Martin Kaufmann, owner of Orthopets, a Denver company that specializes in pet prosthetics.
Naki’o is the first dog to be fitted with a complete set of bionic paws that work naturally to allow him to run, jump and even swim.(Liberty Times)
一隻混種幼犬在凍傷喪失所有四個腳掌與尾巴的尾端後，開始過著艱困的生活。
納基歐幼年時被遺棄在內布拉斯加州一間喪失抵押贖回權的房子裡，牠被發現時，獨自在地下室一個結冰的水坑中。
牠被送到一個動物救援中心，在他們的照料下，牠的腳掌治療後剩下圓形殘肢。
對納基歐來說，這是艱困的生存，因疼痛以至於牠不能行走，也不能跟其他狗狗玩耍，牠必須靠著肚子爬行。
納基歐幸運地遇上獸醫助理克莉絲蒂．佩斯。納基歐八週大時，她收養牠，然後著手募款，以支付牠兩條後腿裝設義肢的費用。
牠熱切穿戴適應這兩個義肢，這也讓這家裝義肢公司決定免費完成整個過程。
專門從事寵物義肢的丹佛公司Orthopets老闆馬丁．考夫曼說：「當我們看到牠使用後腿義肢的情況良好，而牠又是如何掙扎地使用前腿時，就一句話 —『裝上所有四個義肢牠會表現得更好。』」
納基歐是第一隻裝上全套仿生腳掌的狗，這套裝置讓牠能自然地跑、跳，甚至游泳。
（自由時報／翻譯：魏國金）
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