These Animals Wearing Prosthetic Limbs Are the Antidote to Your World-Weary Cynicism

Photo by Niyazi Çapa.

Photo by Niyazi Çapa

Don't panic: the stirring you feel in your chest as you gaze upon these photos of animals wearing prosthetic limbs is only your heart reviving itself from the deadening tedium of life in a post-industrial society. These chokingly adorable photos arrive to us by way of an orthopedics company in Turkey that is the only place in the country where amputated animals can be outfitted with specialty prosthetic limbs or orthotics. The company began producing prosthetics for animals nine years ago when its founder, Niyazi Çapa, created an artificial leg for his friend's dog. Since then, they’ve become inundated with requests from pet-owners around the country.

"So far we have enabled more than 700 animals, including cats, dogs, doves, storks, calves, eagles, horses, jackals, rabbits and seagulls to walk with prostheses and orthotics. In a first for the world, we attached a prosthetic to a horse. When their legs are broken, horses are usually killed because their bones cannot heal properly. But I thought a horse with a broken leg could have a chance to live with a prosthetic, so I proved my claim, and our work was reported in an American magazine with a photo of the horse’s prosthetic limb. Such things make me happy,” Çapa told Turkish news outlet Hurriyet Daily News.

If your cold dead chest organ is unmoved by the story, please look at this photo of a two-legged cat wheeling around in a wheeled brace and allow yourself to gently weep.