Wisconsin duck gets new feet, thanks to 3-D printer

The 3-D-printed future is here, and it's probably going to alter all aspects of our lives - including in dentistry, shopping, dining and driving.

For one lucky duck in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the technology has already been a lifesaver.

The bird was taken in and named Phillip by Vicki Rabe-Harrison, who had noticed his webbed feet were curled, dried and frozen after a cold winter. Rabe-Harrison told WBAY that she tried to contact a local middle school technology teacher, Jason Jischke, in hopes that his 3-D printer could fashion some new flippers for the duck.

When she hadn't received a response, Rabe-Harrison told the station, she was "literally an hour away from putting (Phillip) down."

Then Jischke called.

Six weeks later, after some trial and error, Phillip was fitted with 3-D-printed, bright orange bootie-feet. He took to them right away and even waddled about for television cameras. (see the video at https://youtu.be/N4plR3rJFjc).

Phillip is not the first duck - or animal - with a heartwarming tale of reclaimed mobility thanks to 3-D-printed prosthetics.

More than three years ago, Buttercup, a duck born with a backward foot, began walking well thanks to a 3-D-printed replacement. He has since gotten a version used for swimming, and even a Christmas-themed bootie.

Last year, a Turkish sea turtle whose beak had been mangled by a boat propeller, donned a 3-D-printed, medical-grade titanium chomper and was immediately transformed into a swimming superhero - or, maybe, a cute supervillain.

In 2014, a fluffy mutt named Derby, whose front legs were deformed, got 3-D prosthetics that allowed him to walk for the first time - and run.

"He runs with (my wife) and I every day, at least two to three miles," Dom Portanova, Derby's adoptive owner, said in a statement at the time. "When I saw him sprinting like that on his new legs, it was just amazing."