Turkish orthopedics company helps disabled animals

ESKİŞEHİR – Anadolu Agency

More than 700 animals that were left disabled by accidents are now able to walk, and even run, thanks to a company in Eskişehir.

An orthopedics company in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir has rehabilitated more than 700 animals that were left paralyzed or unable to walk because of accidents by giving them prostheses or orthotic replacements.

The board chairman of the company, Niyazi Çapa, said they have been producing prostheses, orthotics, orthopedics and walkers for paralyzed humans since 1976.  

“Nine years ago, one of my friends told me that his dog’s leg had become gangrenous and was removed. ‘You make legs and arms for people, think about something for my dog,’ he said. So then I started creating the first prosthesis for animals,” Çapa said.

“I was busy producing replacement limbs for people. I saw that nobody had made an effort to develop replacements for animals in Turkey. I started receiving demands from around the country, which were impossible to refuse. My three sons became the heads of the company and I dedicated myself to animal replacements," he added.

“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 said.

“I took it as my mission to rehabilitate disabled and weak animals. We do our best for animals to have a healthy life. We even produce prostheses for skinny legs,” he added.

The company still makes prostheses for humans, but demand for its limbs for animals is growing all the time. Çapa also described the work as a "social responsibility project."

“The only company that produces replacement limbs for animals is in Eskişehir. I don’t want older animals to live in pain because they become weaker as they get older, just as humans do. Their muscles can gain strength from the tractions we attach to them. Afterward, we see these weak animals are able to run and become happy. We do this as a social responsibility project and do not take a penny. We have never received money from any official state institution or any other group or individual, either. Our company covers all expenses. We do it because we find it fulfilling and we will continue to do it,” he said.