meet titan!

My friend Julie recently rescued a fantastic little guy from a terrible situation. She wants nothing more than to keep him, but her bossy little Yorkie has other ideas. Therefore, she is looking for a new home for sweet Titan. As you can tell from the book she wrote about him below, she truly loves this dog. Julie's message:

Meet the mighty Titan, a 15 lb sturdy, muscular, precious, loving dynamo that has stolen the hearts of my teenage daughter and me….but NOT that of Ali, our 6-lb. Yorkie (a.k.a. The Queen). For that reason and the crazy, long hours I keep as a single working mother and the little time I have to devote to him, it’s imperative that I find a good loving home for Titan, so that he can be The King in a place where he’s loved and treasured by ALL inhabitants, as he very much deserves.

I have been foster mother to Titan for past last two months, after one of our neighbors left him chained to a basketball goal on a hot concrete driveway for five days during Spring Break with no food or water. I had been watching out for him over the past year, when I was scared that he would either freeze to death in near-zero temps or stroke out in stifling three-digit, hot and humid summer months, as he was left outside to brave the elements on concrete, chained to either a small, cramped, filthy dog house or simply staked into the ground by the driveway, with no attention, love, or human interaction with his owners. Though he drew attention and concern from other neighbors and walkers/joggers who made some attempts to improve his situation, he remained in this unpleasant environment until he broke his chain and magically appeared at my house during his owners’ Spring Break absence.

When Titan came to live with me, he was filthy, with horrible breath, sporting a man’s belt as a collar around his neck, and obviously starved for attention. However, upon an immediate visit to the vet, Titan was found to be free of parasites and heartworms and deemed healthy, despite being dehydrated. Since that time, I have had him neutered, his teeth cleaned, caught him up on all vaccinations, and started him on monthly heartworm/anti-flea medication. I asked the vet to help determine Titan’s age and possible breed(s), and he said that Titan looked to be about 5 years old, with beautiful, strong teeth (after we removed four bad ones in the back of his jaw), solid bone structure, and surprisingly healthy, given the lack of attention he received from my neighbors. The vet also deemed Titan “a true Heinz 57,” saying that the looked to have a number of different breeds in his make-up – marked like a tiny German Shepherd, but about the size of a smallish beagle, and mixed with a small breed like a Pom that keeps his weight at in the category of a smaller dog that’s less than 20 lbs. In my vet’s words, “I can’t determine all the breeds this boy is sporting, but it all seemed to come together pretty well to create a cute little dog.”

The particulars on Titan: 1) I am working with him on housebreaking, though inconsistently, because of the crazy work hours I keep, and he is getting better. He is doing very well considering my meager efforts in the training department, but he needs more consistency to achieve this goal 100%. I also have found that he understands some commands like “Sit” and “Stay,” so he is trainable. 2) He seems to enjoy both the indoors and outdoors equally well. He loves to play outside and chase squirrels (I’m convinced the movie “Up” and its battle cry of “SQUIRREL!” is an ode to Titan!), but he also seems comfortable indoors, where he loves to snuggle and to bed down for the night around 10 PM. I do think he must have some Beagle or Dachshund running through his veins, because he is an absolute “nose to the ground” kind of dog who sniffs and chases squirrels. 3) After having no attention for so long, but now receiving it, he craves it and needs help in managing and learning how to be a good member of a family.

Ideally, I think Titan needs to be in a home with someone who understands that he has been kept outside with limited socialization for a number of years – preferably someone with patience and skill at training and with helping Titan to manage the newfound love and caring that he’s finally receiving. I also would recommend that he be placed in a home with no small children (under 14), since he’s unaccustomed to them. For my part, I have found him to be an extremely loving, doe-eyed, handsome fellow who returns our affections three-fold, and as much as it breaks my heart to not keep him, I know that it’s the best decision for both him and my Yorkie. I “rescued” him, but now I need to find someone to give him the life that he deserves.

As always dear readers, please let me know if you or anyone you know might be interested in this sweet boy. And I'd certainly appreciate any help you can provide by forwarding along his information or posting him on your blog or Facebook page. Thanks guys!