Phillip the duck has two new feet, thanks to a 3D printer and a middle-school teacher, Wisconsin TV station WBAY reported.
Vicki Rabe-Harrison saw a picture of the duck, with his feet dried up from frostbite, and she instantly took him in.
Since Phillip the duck had lost his feet and couldn't walk, or waddle, Rabe-Harrison said there was little choice but to euthanize Phillip.
"We literally were an hour away from putting him down," she said. Then, she got a call from Jason Jischke.
Jischke, a middle school teacher at South Park Middle School, had a 3D printer in his classroom and had made videos using the technology and posted them online.
Rabe-Harrison saw one of his videos and emailed the teacher, asking for his help in making Phillip a new pair of feet.
"The initial email I thought...is this for real?" Jischke said to WBAY.
He called Rabe-Harrison and told her to not to put Phillip down, and that he was making the feet right then.
Rabe-Harrison said that they both cried on the phone.
That was six weeks ago, and the two have been working non-stop to make Phillip's feet fit just right.
Someone donated Ninja Flex, a flexible material, to make Phillip's feet with, last week. The new material was fitted to slip onto Phillip's legs and took 36 hours to print, WBAY said.
Phillip tried on his new flippers Friday morning, and they fit.
Rabe-Harrison said while it took Phillip some time to get used to his new feet, he is doing well.
"He picked it up real fast, and I'm sure he'll learn to balance again and be able to waddle around with all the other ducks."
Her hope is that he has a normal, water-filled future ahead of him, and "that he lives with a bunch of ducks and is happy and can run outside and can swim."
Jischke said, "Phillip and I have become pretty good friends, and it's going to be sad to see him go."
Rabe-Harrison is planning to take Phillip to a sanctuary where he can swim and be around other ducks.
Source → Wisconsin duck named Phillip gets new feet from a 3D printer
