Inventors do tend to be misunderstood, particularly when their creations are in the early stages.

For Gregg Miller – the inventor of Neuticles – that was certainly the case.

Neuticles are prosthetic dog testicles that help ‘hesitant pet owners overcome the trauma of altering and allow their beloved pet to retain its natural look and self esteem.’

In an interview with CNBC that has got the world wondering more than ever about pet balls, Gregg tells how he started out with a journalism degree from Missouri State university and went into advertising.


Neuticles weren’t his first invention. Gregg decided to re-use the tubes that paper is sometimes sent in by using them to package sweets. SweeTubes was born.



Twelve years later, after being successful in the sweet business, he got a bloodhound called Buck.

When he went missing after smelling the scent of a female dog, Gregg knew Buck had to be neutered. However, he wanted him to ‘maintain his God-given natural look.’

He found out there was no such thing, and began working on a silicon testicle prototype with his vet, who finally came round to the idea.

It was a surprisingly controversial idea, and although Gregg secured $100,000 from 32 investors, printers refused to print his materials and people thought his idea was ‘sick’.

Business wasn’t always easy, either. At one point he was so poor that he had only one working light-bulb, and had to take it from room to room and screw it in if he wanted light.

The original Neuticle design was also made from a hard plastic, and customers complained that dogs were making a clunking noise when they sat down.

They redid them, and Neuticles are now made of a hard silicon.

Over 500,000 dogs have now had them implanted, including Kim Kardashian’s boxer dog Rocky. They cost up to $500 for a pair, so are generally for the more boujee of pets.

Although Gregg still says ‘We have a lot of haters,’ he’s built an empire out of these dog balls.

He calls his home the house that Neuticles built, and has a sauna, special room for his fancy cigar collection, space to park his new Mercedes, and Las Vegas slot machines.

Not bad for some plastic testicles.

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