An Idaho family's pet goose has a new bill thanks to the help of a local animal rescue clinic and a volunteer group with a 3D printer. Vicky Taylor brought her pet goose, named Bruce Bruce, to Sandy's Haven Animal Rescue after he was injured during a fight with a raccoon.
"When he first came in, he was, I don't want to say depressed, but he definitely wasn't himself," Susan Curtis, Director of Sandy's Haven Animal Rescue, said. "As soon as I looked at him, I was like, 'oh my goodness, this guy wants to be here, he wants to live. We've got to figure out a way to help him.'"
Curtis contacted the 4-H Cache Makers, hoping they could use their 3D printer to design a plastic bill for Bruce Bruce. A team of volunteers got to work and began studying bills so they could create a functioning one for Taylor's beloved pet goose.
"So we did a lot of trial and error, fixing the bill and then remodeling it, and then fixing it again," Carmen Ramirez, a volunteer with 4-H Cache Makers explained.
Now that Bruce Bruce has a new a bill, he also has a new job. He will remain at the rescue center and work as a therapy animal for people who get prosthetics.