Storm, a Belgian Shepherd. A dog barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic dog. Storm will be that dog. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.

The word’s first bionic man may have made his debut in the 1970s, cost a whopping $6 million, and made a strange “che, che, che” sound when using his bionic abilities, but now we finally have a bionic dog — well almost. 

A Belgian Shepard in the UK has had an artificial paw fitted after his original paw was amputated due to an aggressive cancer. What makes this so special is that it’s the first time that skin has been able grow into metal, which helps to provide protection against infections.

The vet who undertook the operation, Noel Fitzpatrick, told the Telegraph that this was the first time that this type of implant type had been used outside of the human finger.

“Because it has been implanted into the radius of the forearm of the dog, it will act as a model for human amputees in the future and provides hope for people without feet or hands,” he said.

There was no indication as to how much the procedure cost — but given that it didn’t include atomic powered legs, arms or left eye, it was probably less than $6 million.

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Entry was posted on Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm under Science and technology.

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