Retired K9 Finds Support After Torn ACL With Stifle Brace
Published on December 7, 2017
By SUSAN JENNINGS For Animal Ortho Care
While most people have affection for their four-legged pets, there’s a particularly special bond that forms between a working dog and their handler– the result of intensive training and a handler’s deep understanding of what makes the dog tick.
That’s how it went for Andrew Hotinger and his K-9 partner, Cheddar.
He and the 12-year-old yellow lab spent more than two years searching airline cargo for explosives at Dulles International Airport as part of the TSA before Laryngeal Paralysis– a disorder that can affect a dog’s breathing– sidelined Cheddar’s career.
The first month of retirement was rough on Cheddar. Andrew’s wife told him that when he left for work, the dog just sat and stared at the front door until he returned home.
And while they don’t commute to work together in their government-issued truck anymore or undergo all the rigorous training required for working K-9s and their handlers, Andrew still holds Cheddar in high esteem and makes sure his former co-worker is well cared for.
So last winter when he noticed that Cheddar’s gait was changing and that he seemed to have some tenderness in his hindquarters, he called his vet, Dr. Rachael Nuzzo at Animal Medical Center of Frederick County.
After several tests and follow-up visits, they determined that Cheddar had torn the ACL in his right hind knee. What’s more, because of the disorder that prompted his retirement, Cheddar was not a good candidate for surgery.
When he found out that Cheddar had blown his ACL, Andrew was fearful that there would be no good option for his companion and former co-worker.
But he wasn’t going to allow Cheddar to live out his senior years in pain; afterall, the dog and not only served his country in the tense years following 9/11, but also played a role in transforming Andrew’s career from the airline industry to the aviation security sector.
Launching the TSA’s K-9 Unit
Andrew says working aviation is in his blood– his dad flew for United for 27 years, his brother flies for Delta– Andrew himself had spent 15 years with United at Dulles International Airport. But the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 had a major impact on his career plans. Uncertainty about the future of his job at United during a challenging period for the airline industry as well as a desire to help protect his country led him to apply for a position with the Transportation Security Administration.
He’d been working in regulatory compliance for TSA at the inception of the administration’s K-9 program. Though he’d never had any experience with animal training beyond his own dogs, Andrew realized the opportunity and applied to the program.
Once accepted, he went to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for training. There, he met Cheddar– a 2-and-a-half-year-old yellow lab who’d been donated to the K-9 program from Fort Sam Houston. The two spent 10 weeks training together– Andrew learning about how to handle and train working dogs. They were the first class of graduates of the TSA’s K-9 program. Andrew was then given a truck and told the vehicle was Cheddar’s. He’d just be the driver. So with that, Andrew chauffeured his charge back to his home in Winchester.
Returning to work at the airport was challenging at first. Because they were the first class coming out of Lackland, they had to start their program from the ground up, helping to develop procedures and policies as they worked.
And then there was the process of ensuring that Cheddar would acclimate in his new environment with the Hotinger’s two other dogs.
While Cheddar would be a take-home dog– he’d live with Andrew and his wife full time– he was not a pet. He stayed in a crate when Andrew was out of the house– Andrew’s wife did not handle him. Unlike the couple’s two boxers, Cheddar couldn’t have treats at home or horse around in the yard– that might interfere with his rigorous training. He could only receive his specific reward, a Kong, awards when he identified trained odor during his training– that was his paycheck.
Cheddar and Andrew trained constantly.
“You fix one thing, you break something else.” Andrew said. He was always in the process of learning how Cheddar learned and developing as a team.
But Cheddar’s career in explosives detection was sidelined after only two and a half years. Andrew said one day in 2010 Cheddar suffered heat stroke on a day that was just 70 degrees after only 10 minutes of light exercise. He was diagnosed with Laryngeal Paralysis, a disorder that can make it difficult for a dog to cool itself through panting and worsens when the animal is exercising or in the heat. Cheddar was working harder to try and cool down than he was deriving benefit from the. Surgery to correct the disorder leaves a dog susceptible to pneumonia and aspiration, which would make Cheddar less reliable on the job. He would have to retire.
Andrew eventually moved on to become a canine coordinator at the TSA– a position that only came about because of his work with Cheddar.
“Working Cheddar was the best job I ever had, without a doubt,” Andrew said.
Finding Support for Cheddar
With surgery off the table for Cheddar’s torn ACL, Dr. Nuzzo mentioned that a brace might be an option for Cheddar, so Andrew started making phone calls.
He reached out to a former colleague, Jason Johnson, who works with Project K-9 Hero, an organization that provides assistance to handlers and their retired police K-9s and military working dogs. Jason referred Andrew to Paws of Honor, a nonprofit created to help retired service dogs in the Washington, D.C. area with veterinary services and financial aid as available.
It was from a vet there that Andrew learned about Animal Ortho Care. He called the office right away.
“I was in a bad way for a couple of weeks until I found these guys, and they gave me hope.”
Both organizations and Animal Ortho Care were extremely responsive– getting back to Andrew right away to help him find the right solution for Cheddar.
It took Andrew a few practice rounds to get a good cast of Cheddar’s leg from the take-home kit. When he stopped by the office to drop off his fourth attempt, he was surprised to learn that Derrick was already working of the first cast he’d sent in.
“When I put the brace on the first time, [Cheddar] was laying down. He held his leg up so I could put the brace on,” Andrews said.
He had to tighten the brace up pretty snug, so it would fit the dog, but Cheddar never chewed on it, never licked it. Since getting the brace in June, Cheddar’s been slowly increasing the amount of time he wears it during the day– Derrick advised he wear it when he’s active, but that it could come off at night or if he’s lying around the house. Cheddar is adjusting his gait to the brace, but he walks well with it.
“It’s exceptionally well made,” Andrews said. “There’s no edges on it, it’s nicely padded on the inside, has a hinge in it that allows his knee to bend …
It’s an incredible product.”
Andrew is not only grateful for the brace, but also for all the people who made it possible for Cheddar to get it.
Representatives from Paws of Honor shared Andrew and Cheddar’s story with Derrick and the Animal Ortho Care team, who agreed to reduce the price of the brace, Paws of Honor agreed to pay $500 toward the cost. Andrew only had to pay the balance.
Life for Cheddar has been a bit more relaxed in retirement. He likes to play in the backyard, but now only goes on walks. Andrew even trains with him from time to time– because he knows he enjoys it. Ever the working dog, Cheddar hired himself for a new position in home security.
“Cheddar’s become very attuned to everything happening outside of the house,” Andrew said. “His high drive now serves to protect our home.”