Keeping Heroes Moving: Jagger, Paws of Honor and OrthoPaws
This blog was submitted by Corporate Allies Program member, OrthoPaws, a veterinary orthotics and prosthetics company in Palm Harbor, Florida.
For years, K9 Jagger dedicated his strength, training, and loyalty to serving his community. Today, through our partnership with Paws of Honor, we at OrthoPaws have the privilege of giving some of that support back.
Jagger Coyman, an 11-year-old Belgian Malinois, is a retired Patrol and Explosives Detection K9 who proudly served with the Tampa Police Department. After a demanding career alongside his handler, Jagger is now enjoying a well-earned retirement as a beloved full-time companion to his former partner.
Like many working K9s, years of service took a toll on his body. Jagger developed degenerative joint disease in his left hind leg, leaving his stride increasingly stiff and making everyday movement more difficult.
Through our partnership with Paws of Honor, we had the opportunity to help.
A Shared Mission
Paws of Honor is dedicated to providing veterinary care and support to retired military and law enforcement K9s. Their mission is one that feels especially close to ours. While these dogs may be retired from active duty, maintaining their mobility and quality of life can become an important part of caring for them in the years that follow.
As a proud Paws of Honor Corporate Ally, we are able to bring our expertise to that shared commitment. At OrthoPaws, a veterinary orthotics and prosthetics company based in Palm Harbor, Florida, we design custom devices that restore mobility in animals with injuries, limb loss or neuromuscular conditions. For Jagger, that meant creating a custom stifle brace for his affected hind leg. The stifle is the canine knee, and his brace was designed to provide additional support and stability and help him move more comfortably.
A Brace Made For One Dog
A custom brace begins with an impression of the individual dog’s leg, so the finished device is shaped to him. Throughout the casting and fitting process, Jagger was a calm and steady patient. His finished brace featured an American flag design, a fitting tribute to a K9 who spent his career serving his community.
Seeing Him Move
But what mattered most was seeing him use it. Once fitted with his brace, Jagger began walking with a noticeably improved stride. Seeing him moving with that added support was a reminder of why partnerships like this matter. Sometimes helping a retired K9 enjoy the life he earned can be as simple and meaningful as helping him move a little more comfortably.
Plenty of Walks Ahead
Working K9s give an extraordinary amount during their careers. They patrol our communities, detect threats, search for those in need, and work alongside the handlers who depend on them. The physical demands of that work can stay with them long after their service ends.
That is what makes our relationship with Paws of Honor so meaningful to us. Their commitment to caring for retired law enforcement and military K9s, combined with our focus on mobility, gives us an opportunity to help these heroes continue doing something wonderfully ordinary after extraordinary careers: walking, exploring, spending time with their families, and simply enjoying retirement.
For Jagger, there are still plenty of walks and adventures ahead, and plenty of time beside the partner who spent so many years by his side.
We are proud to play a small part in keeping him moving.
About OrthoPaws
We are a veterinary orthotics and prosthetics company based in Palm Harbor, Florida. We design custom, non-invasive braces and prosthetics for pets and other animals with injuries, limb loss or neuromuscular conditions, and we work alongside veterinarians and rehabilitation centers. Veterinarians can submit a case for review at orthopaws.vet.