CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. An American dog has received the world's first set of
canine testicular implants made of solid silicone, the manufacturer said
Monday. 

Frodo, a Chinese pug aged 16 months, was neutered and surgically implanted with
CTI Corp's Neuticles Naturals in a three-minute procedure performed by a
veterinarian at a clinic in this San Francisco suburb, the Missouri-based
company said. 

"He never knew he lost anything," said Frodo's owner Janell Sausser, of San
Lorenzo, Calif. 

CTI said 14,560 pairs of its less expensive, hard polypropylene Neuticles had
been implanted in dogs and cats in all 50 states and nine other countries in
the past three years. 

The new, softer silicone version of Neuticles is more authentic and "has the
feel and texture of a gummie bear," said CTI president Gregg Miller, who
invented Neuticles. 

The product is meant to reduce the trauma of neutering by fooling the animal
into thinking nothing has happened. 

"Frodo doesn't know anything's missing and that's important," Sausser said.