How a Center in Tucson Helps Dogs With Mobility Challenges Stay Active

TUCSON, Ariz.—Half Moon is a frisky senior Chihuahua mix who moves easily on his front legs and a couple of wheels for support.

At 13, he serves as a “mobility instructor” at A Loyal Companion Canine Mobility and Swim Center in Tucson, Arizona, where he helps other dogs learn to steer their specialized carts.

Joey and Andy, both poodle mixes who came from an animal shelter, are among his fellow trainees and companions. Joey also uses a custom wheelchair, while Andy needs only a support harness.

All three dogs darted around the exercise room, eager for treats and full of energy. Custom wheelchairs, braces, and other devices help dogs with mobility problems run, explore, and stay active, said Kate Titus, the center’s owner and founder.

Titus, a pet mobility specialist, founded the business more than a decade ago to help canines stay active despite illness, injury, or age-related conditions.

Watching her beloved dog Harley decline in his later years inspired Titus to find better ways to help pets. She said it took a nudge from the universe to turn that experience into a mission.

“At the end of the day, we’re a quality of life company. We’re really here to make sure that the owners understand how to make the dog’s life as great as possible, whatever their mobility challenge,” Titus told The Epoch Times.

The center is one of several pet orthotics and prosthetics specialists in Arizona that help animals of all breeds and sizes stay active in the face of injury, illness, or infirmity. Together, they are part of a growing national effort to improve mobility and quality of life for animals.

A herniated disk weakened Half Moon’s hind legs, but his two-wheel mobility cart allows him to move freely, Titus said.

Advances in materials and techniques have opened new possibilities for disabled dogs and other pets. Much of the technology grew out of braces and prosthetics developed for wounded veterans during the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Titus said.

Canine mobility specialist Kate Titus conducts a training session in the fully equipped gym at A Loyal Companion Canine Mobility and Swim Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 9, 2026. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

The new film “Heart of the Beast” has brought the subject further into the spotlight. It features the canine character Odin, a highly trained military combat dog with a prosthetic leg and titanium teeth.

Dozens of canine braces and prosthetics line the wall of the Tucson center’s training room, each custom-made to fit its wearer. One was designed for a Saint Bernard battling bone cancer.

“This one was for a very small Cairn Terrier,” Titus said, pointing to another device. “This one is a knee brace made for probably one of the biggest mastiffs I’ve ever seen. The dog was 187 pounds.”

Before canine prosthetics (artificial limbs) and orthotics (braces) became more widely available, owners of dogs with severe mobility problems had fewer options.

Some faced difficult decisions about how to preserve their pets’ quality of life or whether to let them go.

“As the human world [of technology] grew, so have the veterinary applications,” Titus said. “The materials have gotten so much better.”

One of the first animal cases Titus learned about involved a calf in a Colorado field whose hooves had frozen and had to be replaced with prosthetic devices.

On Oct. 9, 2023, Raven, a three-year-old German Shepherd and Tucson police K-9, was shot three times during a standoff involving a mental health crisis at Reid Park.

Raven survived but was left paralyzed in his hind legs. Along with other clinics, A Loyal Companion helped him through therapy, ongoing support, and a custom cart that allowed him to move around despite his injuries.

Raven died on July 5, 2025.

A Second Chance

Advances in custom fabrication are also expanding the range of animals that can benefit from specialized devices.

As smartphone scanning becomes more accessible and 3D-printing technology advances, custom-made devices are becoming cheaper and more widely available, NatiPets, an Ohio-based company, said.

Specially made canine prosthetics and braces fill a wall inside the gym at A Loyal Companion Canine Mobility and Swim Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 9, 2026. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

“The prosthetics revolution is not limited to dogs,” the company said, noting that 3DPets and other innovators have developed solutions for pigs, goats, tortoises, alpacas, llamas, and elephants.

At the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, an East African grey crowned crane named ODot received a custom 3D-printed device in 2023.

“After an old fracture left her unable to use her left wing normally, she repeatedly struck and reopened an abrasion near her wrist,” NatiPets said.

Zoo staff and an engineer designed a plastic “wing cap” to cover and protect the injured area, allowing ODot to return to the zoo’s savanna section with other cranes.

Similar innovations have helped animals outside the bird sanctuary.

Canine mobility specialist Kate Titus entices Joey, Andy, and Half Moon with treats during a training session on Oct. 9, 2026. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

Eddie’s Wheels in Massachusetts specializes in custom wheelchairs for dogs with medical conditions such as degenerative myelopathy, a spinal cord disease.

In 2005, veterinary prosthetics and orthotics pioneer Derrick Campana founded Bionic Pets in Virginia. Known as the “Wizard of Paws,” he has traveled the world helping more than 35,000 animals, including a 31-year-old elephant in Thailand.

Quality of Life

When Titus’s beloved dog Harley began to decline, she tried everything she could to help him, including rest, restricted activity, and medication. His struggles led her to recognize that dogs need care for their spirit as well as their bodies.

Determined to find better ways to help aging and disabled dogs, Titus began offering massage, strength, and flexibility training for senior dogs in 2008.

Seven years later, she opened Arizona’s first canine fitness and mobility center, equipped with an indoor pool and full gym. She developed exercise plans for dogs recovering from surgery and home routines for those living with arthritis or paralysis.

Canine mobility specialist Kate Titus and Half Moon walk beside the pool at A Loyal Companion Canine Mobility and Swim Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 9, 2026. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

Wheelchairs, artificial limbs, and braces gave families hope and new options when they thought they had run out of ways to help their pets.

“It’s not unusual to have a dog that has cancer and [their owner] wants to get the best six months they can for that dog. Maybe they'll do a partial amputation. So there’s some of the leg left,” Titus said.

“Other times, you may have other health issues.”

Canine Joey walks with the help of a custom mobility cart on Oct. 9, 2026. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

Titus said the goal is to help owners make their dogs as comfortable and confident as possible using a brace or prosthetic.

“Joey can get along pretty well without his cart. He can scuttle from place to place. But if I want to make his life as good as it can be and make him as comfortable for as long as possible, then I’m going to do that,” she said.

Each dog’s amputation is unique, the American Animal Hospital Association says, requiring a custom-made prosthetic to replace a front or hind leg or paw.

Industry Growth

Grand View Research expects the veterinary ortho-prosthetics market to grow significantly in the coming years due to increasing global demand.

Valued at nearly $48 million in 2024, the market was expected to surpass $56 million in 2026. The research firm projects it will exceed $83 million by 2030, with annual growth approaching 10 percent.

Actor Brad Pitt and canine character Odin, portrayed as a military combat canine with a prosthetic leg, battle the Alaskan wilderness in the film "Heart of the Beast."

Titus said custom prosthetics and braces must suit each dog’s needs and activity level. But designing, fabricating, and fitting the device is only half the battle; dogs and their owners must learn how to use it.

“We may also be looking at a dog who is much bigger and need to figure out how to get them in the cart,” Titus said.

“We'll teach owners how to teach their dog to use a ramp, what kind of equipment they need, how long that ramp needs to be.”

Therapeutic massage helps relieve muscle tension and discomfort and improve flexibility, while swim therapy supports rehabilitation after injuries and medical conditions, she said.

Titus envisions 3D printing playing a greater role in the design and fitting of veterinary prosthetics. Biomechanical engineering and hybrid devices also offer room for further development.

Canine Half Moon (L) walks down the swimming pool ramp with the help of a custom wheelchair while his training companion, Joey, heads back to the gym at A Loyal Companion Canine Mobility and Swim Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 9, 2026. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

Dogs with mobility challenges are sometimes given up on too soon, Titus said.

With the right equipment, they may be able to return to activities their owners thought were no longer possible.

“I think the biggest thing is that dogs with mobility challenges can be very easily written off,” Titus said.

“If I can get them in wheels, they can go hiking with me.”