How the Landscape Is Changing — and What That Means for Your Cases
Many veterinarians know Danielle Robins, MSOP, LCPO through her previous work with OrthoPaws, where she served as the founder and sole licensed prosthetist–orthotist, providing clinical oversight, case management, and education for veterinary orthotic and prosthetic cases.
Danielle has since separated from OrthoPaws to launch ExoPets— not because veterinary orthotics and prosthetics are becoming less effective, but because the structure of the field itself is changing.
Understanding that shift is key to making good decisions for patients going forward.
How Veterinary O&P Traditionally Worked
Historically, veterinary orthotics and prosthetics operated under a bundled model. Devices, clinical case management, and long-term oversight were typically delivered together as a single service.
Veterinarians did not need to separately distinguish between:
-
who fabricated the device
-
who selected the design
-
who guided adjustments
-
who interpreted function over time
Those roles were inherently linked.
What Has Changed
As the field has grown, fabrication has become more centralized and accessible, often relying on trusted partners and established legacy designs—including those originating from the work of Dr. Martin Kaufmann.
This has expanded access to high-quality devices. At the same time, it has separated fabrication from clinical oversight.
In many cases today:
-
the device is no longer automatically paired with case management
-
clinical guidance may be limited, informal, or variable
-
long-term oversight is no longer guaranteed
This mirrors the structure of human orthotics and prosthetics, where fabrication is often centralized, and outcomes depend heavily on how devices are selected, applied, adjusted, and managed over time.
Why This Matters Clinically
Orthotic and prosthetic devices do not exist in isolation. They interact dynamically with anatomy, healing tissue, movement patterns, compensation, and activity level.
Adjustments are common. Strategy often changes. Decisions about alignment, suspension, and function directly influence comfort and outcome.
A poorly chosen or poorly guided device can be just as harmful—or more harmful—than not using a device at all.
As fabrication and case management are no longer inherently bundled, the responsibility now lies in choosing who is guiding the case.
Why ExoPets Exists
ExoPets was created in response to this shift. ExoPets provides both world-class devices and unlimited clinical guidance when ordered through ExoPets.
The practice is led by Danielle Robins, MSOP, LCPO, a nationally boarded and licensed prosthetist–orthotist with veterinary-specific training and experience. Danielle was part of Dr. Kaufmann’s original veterinary CPO cohort and has worked hands-on with hundreds of animal patients while guiding hundreds of veterinarians locally, nationally, and internationally through orthotic and prosthetic care.
During her time leading OrthoPaws, Danielle built the clinical protocols, case-management systems, and educational framework that many veterinarians came to trust. ExoPets continues this same clinician-led model independently, with a focus on transparency, education, and consistency of outcomes.
Who Is Best Positioned to Guide These Cases?
From ExoPets’ perspective, the highest level of device-specific clinical guidance is provided by a formally trained, licensed prosthetist–orthotist with veterinary-specific experience.
This training includes graduate-level education in orthotics and prosthetics, biomechanics, gait analysis, and long-term device management, combined with sustained veterinary application.
Veterinarians, rehabilitation professionals, technicians, and case managers all play essential and complementary roles. However, decisions about how an orthotic or prosthetic device should function over time are often best guided by someone whose primary clinical discipline is orthotics and prosthetics with specialized knowledge and experience in the veterinary realm.
Formal education and experience provide a depth of understanding that informal training alone cannot typically replicate.
How to Choose the Right Partner Going Forward
In today’s landscape, veterinarians benefit from asking two key questions:
-
Who is fabricating the device?
-
Who is providing the clinical oversight and guidance associated with that device?
In many cases, the difference between providers is no longer the product itself, but the qualification and involvement of the person overseeing its use.
Looking Ahead
Veterinary orthotics and prosthetics will continue to evolve. As access to fabrication expands, clinical leadership, education, and continuity of care will increasingly define success.
ExoPets exists to provide that leadership—grounded in formal education, licensure, and firsthand veterinary experience—so devices can be applied thoughtfully, adjusted appropriately, and supported over time.
In today’s model, knowing who is guiding a case is just as important as knowing what device is being used