K9 Roam, Who Lost a Leg in the Line of Duty, Receives the Department's First Canine Medal of Courage
The Colorado Springs police dog medically retired in January after the injury; in September, he becomes the inaugural recipient of a new award created for canine bravery.
One October Call
A night in October 2025 turned into the last assignment of Roam's career. The K9 from the Colorado Springs Police Department was working a call when a suspect attacked him. The wounds were severe. Veterinarians performed emergency surgery and had to amputate Roam's left hind leg.
The arithmetic of a working dog is unforgiving. Patrol work means jumping into trucks, clearing corners, and taking the hard hits that a three-legged animal simply cannot absorb. So the amputation ended Roam's active service, and the department faced a hard question: what happens to a police dog whose body has given out but whose spirit hasn't?
He Recovered 'Incredibly Well'
Officer Robert Comstock, Roam's handler, watched the recovery with a kind of astonishment. "He has recovered incredibly well," Comstock told FOX21 News, describing Roam as energetic, happy, and always wagging his tail.
Dogs do not wag their tails to prove anything. They wag because they are glad to be alive, and Roam was. He moved around on three legs with the same enthusiasm he had shown on the street, greeting people, playing, staying stubbornly cheerful. The recovery was not a graceful process; it was a raucous one. And that, more than anything, is what made him remarkable.
January 26: A Promotion Disguised as a Farewell
When Roam officially retired on January 26, the department structured the ceremony like an advancement, not a goodbye. He was introduced as a Special Department Advisor, a title with no operational duties but a real emotional one: he remains a presence in the Colorado Springs Police Department, a reminder that giving everything to the job does not have to end in a kennel.
The January event was more than a handshake. It was the department's way of saying that Roam's contribution had not stopped. His handler had watched his partner survive something that would break most animals, and the department was saying, in the only language it had, that it noticed.
The First Police Canine Medal of Courage
The Police Foundation of Colorado Springs announced the creation of the Police Canine Medal of Courage, a new award recognizing the extraordinary bravery and dedication of police dogs who serve alongside officers. Roam will be the first dog to receive it, and the timing is no accident: the medal exists because of what he did.
The foundation's announcement linked the award directly to Roam's actions on the October night that ended his patrol career. But the recognition goes beyond that single incident. It formally acknowledges what every handler already knows: police dogs are partners, not equipment, and their decisions under stress deserve the same ceremony that officers get when they go above the call.
September 25, Broadmoor Hall
The award will be presented during the department's 41st Annual Medal of Valor Dinner, scheduled for Friday, September 25, at Broadmoor Hall. The evening runs 6 p.m. to 9:15 p.m., with tickets available through advance purchase only. A silent auction supports the event.
What the ceremony will not do is close the book on Roam. Medical retirement removed him from the field, but the department has ensured that his name stays attached to the force. The medal is permanent. The title is permanent. And the lesson of a three-legged dog who never stopped moving is the kind of thing officers carry long after the applause ends.
Compiled from published reference material: iheartdogs.com
