Derrick Campana Goes Cross-Country in ‘The Wizard of Paws’ Season 2
Preview
Take it as a stamp of approval from the universe: In The Wizard of Paws’ second season, animal prosthetist Derrick Campana’s first patient is a dog named…Toto (above).
The energetic mixed-breed pup, who lost her front paws in a farming accident, belongs to the Glick family of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their home is Campana’s first stop on a 10-episode cross-country journey in his pickup truck, towing a mobile workshop trailer.
“I always dreamt of being able to travel to people’s houses, use this trailer and fit [animals],” says Campana. The husband and father usually works out of a 6,000-square-foot Virginia facility, but after Season 1 aired, he heard from so many people with animals in need that he decided to visit in person. “To make lives whole and happy again makes my heart sing.”
(Credit: BYUtv)
Even though Campana has created prosthetics for more than 25,000 animals — dogs, llamas, elephants and more — since 2002, he sweats each one. (“It’s hard to sleep a couple of nights before.”) For Toto’s on-camera moment of truth, he says, “it’s actually the real first time we’re putting these prosthetics on, and I’m crossing my fingers and hoping the dog will take to them.”
Later this season, watch for the customized 3-D-printed car he makes for an 85-pound tortoise!
The Wizard of Paws, Season Premiere, Wednesday, April 28, 9/8c, BYUtv
