This Adorable Dog's Life Has Been Forever Changed by 3-D Printing

What happens when you take an adorable dog, friendly Internet-users and 3-D printing? TurboRoo and a new start of his doggie life. 

TurboRoo is a Chihuahua that was born with a birth defect that caused his two front legs to not grow. As a baby, TurboRoo's owners hobbled together what was basically a set of wheels made from assorted children's toys. 

But as Turboo grew older and larger, it was clear a better, more permanent and trusty solution was necessary. So, TurboRoo's owners took to the online fundraising site YouCaring.com looking for $600 to purchase/build what would have been an expensive wheelchair. 

3-D printing to the rescue: While building a functioning wheelchair for TurboRoo would have been expensive and somewhat difficult, 3-D printing one would not. Mark Deadrick, a mechanical engineer and the president of 3D design company 3dyn, noticed TurboRoo's fundraising page and story and decided to step in and help.

Because Deadrick lives in San Diego and TurboRoo in Indianapolis, measuring TurboRoo in person would have been difficult, so Deadrick just went off a series of photos available and used 3-D modeling software to design a new set of wheels, according to 3dprint.com. Just a few hours later, Deadrick had a working model in his hands and shortly after that, a box arrived at TurboRoo's doorstep in Indianapolis that changed his life dramatically.

Because the design was simple and 3-D printed, it can be easily modified and rebuilt at very low costs. Not that price is a major concern for TurboRoo anymore; his online fundraising site quickly surpassed its $600 goal and is now sitting pretty at over $3,500 raised. 

Without a doubt, 3-D printing is the future of so many things, from tattoos to health care and phone cases to even houses. But it's something as simple and thoughtful as TurboRoo's new set of wheels that reminds you how useful and easy 3-D printing really can be. Because if a puppy wheelchair isn't what we really need 3-D printing for, then what is?

h/t Daily Dot