ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A retired Polk County K9 is running and playing once again after being fitted with a custom artificial limb following a line-of-duty shooting in August.
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K9 Ace recovery progress
Big picture view:
Polk County Sheriff’s K-9 Ace is adapting to life on four legs again after receiving a donated prosthetic limb from Westcoast Brace and Limb. After the dog lost his leg, Ace’s handler, Natalie Oestreich, searched for solutions to help him recover. She reached out to the clinic about custom pet prosthetics.
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Three weeks after receiving it from the specialized clinic in St. Pete, K9 Ace is adjusting smoothly to the new prosthetic leg. The company made the custom prosthetic limb for the retired K9 for free.Â
Dr. Kerry Jackson at Polk County Animal Control helped arrange the new leg by contacting West Coast Brace & Limb, one of the few facilities that builds custom prosthetics for animals.
Jackson said Ace initially required support from a walking harness but is now fully mobile.
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“He’s doing extremely well. He was in here yesterday to see me and is doing extremely well,” Jackson said. “He walks on his own with his leg now. Originally he didn’t; he had to have his harness on, and Natalie would hold onto the harness as he was walking, but now he’s doing great—running and jumping around with the leg.”
August shooting forces amputation
The backstory:
An armed, wanted suspect shot Ace in early August before dying in a shootout with deputies. The severe injury required veterinarians to amputate the dog’s left front leg and shoulder blade.
After the amputation, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office retired K9 Ace. His handler will keep the retired K9 in her home for the rest of his life.
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Custom prosthetic design process
What they’re saying:
Staff members at the clinic already knew Ace’s story and stepped up to provide the prosthetic leg at no cost to the department. Ace visited the company’s St. Petersburg location, where practitioners created a cast of his body to ensure a proper fit.Â
“We donated it for them. So, our time and then our main fabrication lab is in Tampa over by USF. That’s where we did all the fabrication. We have a couple of technicians that specifically work on our pet orthotics and prosthetics,” said Danielle Tobler, a certified prosthetist-orthotist with Westcoast Brace and Limb St. Petersburg.
Dig deeper:
During his fitting, practitioners had Ace hop around the clinic to practice shifting his weight onto the new device. Staff members described the recovering K9 as a very sweet boy throughout his visit. Â Â
The new limb has already transformed Ace’s daily routine. Before getting the prosthetic, he focused on work, but now putting the leg on means something different. Â
“It isn’t something he’ll wear all the time. It’s just for those walks and different activities,” said Tobler. “We’re having them come back in a couple weeks to kind of just check the fit, see if we have to adjust the alignment things like that.”
Clinic staff expressed excitement over helping K9 Ace, even making custom shirts to support Ace during his recovery journey.Â
Handler seeks new partner
What’s next:
Deputy Oestreich will choose a new K-9 partner in the near future while Ace enjoys his full-time retirement at home.
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