Save the 3-Legged Dogs
Canine Prosthetics & Graphic Design
From the Artist:“I wanted to address 3-legged dogs in a positive way. A prosthetic could allow a dog to do all the tricks he’d learned before he lost his paw.
I used bright colors and chose to show a dog doing something fun, a basic command/trick that most dogs learn.
Being an animal lover I kept thinking about how animals all have these individual personalities, and something like that doesn’t go away when an animal gets injured. The dog that loved doing tricks still wants to “shake hands” even if he’s now missing his front paw.
To create the piece, I sketched with pencil, researched images of dogs and then created the final image in Adobe Illustrator.”
– Catherine Casalino
The Science
Each year approximately 50,000 dogs lose a limb each year due to accident or bone cancer. This creates a balance issue for dogs around the world who suffer from their injury. Moriah Jenkins, a student scientist from Hawaii examined how a myoelectric prosthetic—that’s a prosthetic limb that reacts to brain signals—could be used to ease trauma in dogs and help them regain their balance. Moriah produced the world’s first working model of a myoelectric prosthetic for dogs that could potentially be controlled by a dog’s brainwaves like a natural limb.
The Artist
Catherine Casalino is a graphic designer living in New York, NY where she has been practicing design since 2003. She began designing as an intern with Rodrigo Corral and also attended the School of Visual Arts to help her hone her craft. Her work has been recognized in AIGA’s 50 Books/50 Covers Competition, Print Magazine, and Communication Arts.
