Retired Polk County K9 Ace Is Running Again With a Donated Prosthetic Leg
Ace, a retired Polk County sheriff's K9, is learning a new version of life after a shooting cost him his left front leg and shoulder blade. Now, with a custom prosthetic made just for him, the dog who once worked on duty is back to running, jumping and heading out for walks with a little more help under him.
Ace gets back on his feet
For a dog who used to work for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the biggest change now can be summed up in one simple moment: putting on a leg no longer means getting ready for duty. For Ace, it means something much more ordinary and much sweeter. It means a walk, some activity, a chance to move through the world on four points again.
Ace has been fitted with a custom prosthetic limb from Westcoast Brace and Limb, and the change has been dramatic enough that the retired K9 is running and playing again. Three weeks after receiving the device from the St. Petersburg clinic, he was reported to be adjusting smoothly.
Dr. Kerry Jackson of Polk County Animal Control said Ace is doing extremely well. Jackson said the dog now walks on his own with the prosthetic. At first, that was not the case. Ace needed a walking harness, and his handler, Natalie Oestreich, held onto it while he moved. That stage has given way to something much more mobile. According to Jackson, Ace is now running and jumping around with the leg.
For dog lovers, that image carries a lot of weight. This is a dog whose injury ended his service career and permanently changed his body. Seeing him regain movement with a limb built around his new reality is the kind of comeback that lands in the smallest details. He is not wearing the prosthetic all the time. It is meant for walks and different activities, not every minute of the day. But for those parts of life that call for extra support and freedom, the leg is already making a visible difference.
A service dog's injury changed everything
Ace's path to retirement began with a line-of-duty shooting in early August. An armed suspect who was wanted shot the K9 before dying in a shootout with deputies. The damage to Ace's body was severe enough that veterinarians had to amputate his left front leg and shoulder blade.
After the amputation, the sheriff's office retired him. Oestreich, his handler, will keep Ace in her home for the rest of his life. She is expected to choose a new K9 partner in the near future, while Ace settles into full-time retirement.
That retirement, though, is clearly not a story about a dog fading quietly into stillness. The focus around Ace has been recovery, adaptation and finding ways to support the life he has now. After he lost his leg, Oestreich started looking for options that could help him move more comfortably and confidently. She contacted the clinic about a custom pet prosthetic, searching for a solution that could fit a working dog whose body and routine had changed all at once.
Jackson also helped make the new leg possible by reaching out to West Coast Brace and Limb, a facility described as one of the few that builds custom prosthetics for animals. That detail helps explain why Ace's story stands out even among other recovery stories. This was not an off-the-shelf adjustment. It required specialized work, technical skill and people willing to shape a device around one dog's exact needs.
Built for Ace, and donated for free
When Ace went to the company's St. Petersburg location, practitioners made a cast of his body so the prosthetic would fit properly. The work itself was done in the company's fabrication lab in Tampa near the University of South Florida, where technicians who specifically work on pet orthotics and prosthetics helped create the limb.
Danielle Tobler, a certified prosthetist-orthotist with Westcoast Brace and Limb in St. Petersburg, said the company donated the prosthetic at no cost. That included both staff time and the fabrication work. Staff members at the clinic already knew Ace's story, and they stepped in to help.
The fitting process also included something that sounds both clinical and unmistakably canine. Ace was encouraged to hop around the clinic so he could practice shifting his weight onto the new device. The goal was not just to attach a prosthetic, but to help him understand how to use it. Clinic staff described him as a very sweet boy during the visit, a small detail that rounds out the image of a dog known publicly for service and recovery.
The clinic is continuing to monitor how the fit holds up as Ace gets used to moving with the limb. Tobler said the plan is for him to return in a couple of weeks so the team can check the fit and see whether the alignment needs any adjustment. That follow-up matters because this kind of prosthetic has to work with a living, active animal who is still adapting.
The people involved seem to understand that Ace is not just another patient. Clinic staff even made custom shirts in support of his recovery. It is an extra gesture, but one that fits the shape of the story. Ace is a retired K9 who survived a shooting, lost a leg, left the job behind and is now relearning how to move with help from people determined to get him there.
What makes his comeback especially shareable is that the payoff is not abstract. It is easy to picture. A harness is no longer doing the work it once had to do. A custom leg slips on for a walk. A dog who was forced into retirement is back to running and playing. Ace's career may be over, but his world has gotten bigger again.
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