SPANGLE, Wash. — A local company is aiming to give animals across the world a new lease on life with custom-made orthotics and prosthetics.
Angela Boncz has always loved animals. She was working in the orthopedics and prosthetics industry when she made her puppy a knee brace that helped her heal completely from a torn ligament without surgery.
Boncz then went on to make a prosthetic leg for her adopted three-legged pony. That was when she realized she could do this kind of work for all kinds of animals at a cheaper rate than the alternatives.
“We get a lot of animals that nobody else knows what to do with,” said Boncz, the founder and CEO of Specialized Pet Solutions in Spangle. “We always have to come up with new ideas and reinvent whatever they’re dealing with.”
Most of the devices Specialized Pet Solutions make are for dogs, but Boncz has also helped sheep, goats, cows, a warthog and even a camel.
“The camel actually hyperextended backwards on his knees,” Boncz explained. “I actually put human grade knee joints on those to prevent the knee from hyperextending.”
Brian Rowley brought his dog, Belle, to Specialized Pet Solutions to be fitted with a prosthetic leg.
“She has two speeds: thump, thump, thump where she’s going slow through the house and 100 miles an hour,” Rowley said.
Belle is able to run and play like a normal dog thanks to her prosthetic. Rowley said he believes its straightening out the way Belle walks.
“I think it’ll help keep her from getting arthritis in her shoulder,” said Rowley. “Hopefully, she won’t get hip dysplasia in the hind end.”
For Boncz, seeing animals like Belle live their best lives is what it’s all about.
“It’s fun being able to watch them utilize it,” she said. “That’s probably the best feeling.”
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