Rescued Cow Receives State-of-the-Art Prosthetic Brace

Animal prosthetics expert Derrick Campana recently created a new prosthetic brace for Woodstock Farm Sanctuary resident and rescue jersey cow Fawn. After falling into a concrete manure pit on a dairy farm at birth, Fawn severely injured both of her front legs, and a vet recommended she be shot. Woodstock Farm Sanctuary rescued Fawn in 2014, where she underwent several surgeries leading to fitted boots and braces. “Our hope is that [Fawn’s story] not only encourages other organizations to do more to help injured farmed animals, but also will demonstrate to everyone who hears her story that Fawn matters and is an important individual who is worthy of our consideration and our best care,” Woodstock Farm Sanctuary Communications Manager Lori Woods told VegNews. To straighten Fawn’s leg further, Shelter Director Hervé Breuil asked Campana—the only prosthetist licenced to use the Ultraflex brace on animals—to provide his expertise. “It’s not going to be a miraculous change overnight. We have to start out slowly and build up the amount of time she will wear the brace to avoid any discomfort,” Breuil said. “But we are very hopeful that it will greatly improve her mobility.” The Ultraflex brace uses new technology designed for use on humans and prevents further deformation of existing joints, increases activity level, and prevents gait deviations. “Sweet little Fawn has the potential to have a very large impact.” Woods said. “We’d like to see more use of these types of technology to help not only humans, but non-humans as well.”