Dagny Laur: Pet Prosthetist

Paws in Motion founder helps pets regain mobility.

"I have seven dogs, seven cats, two ferrets and a potbelly pig,” says Dagny Laur ’00 CERT, ’01 CERT, founder of Paws in Motion, the animal branch of the American Limb & Orthopedic Co. of Valparaiso, Ind. After completing certificates in orthotics in 2000 and prosthetics in 2001 at the Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center, Laur worked with the American Limb & Orthopedic Co. in South Bend, using the skills she obtained through Northwestern’s program to build prosthetics for humans. But everything changed when her 19-year-old dog tore her cranial cruciate ligament, one of the most important stabilizers inside the canine knee. “I made her a brace,” explains Laur. “That’s how I started to really understand that prosthetics and orthotics work the same for animals.” With some encouragement from her local veterinarian, Laur launched Paws in Motion in April. Since then, Laur and her veterinary technician Megan Hornsby have helped more than 20 dogs, but they aren’t limiting themselves to canines. “I was approached recently about doing a prosthetic leg for a chicken,” Laur says. “As long as the animal can come to my office, I’ll see what I can do.”