I feel badly for people who believe canines are “just dogs”.

In our hustle-bustle busy world, taking time to connect with a pet is like a blessing from God. It’s a quiet joy, really, that puts you in touch with nature and reminds you of what’s really important.

Statistically, having a relationship with a pet even improves your health!

We’ve been experiencing a lot of quiet joys this week since Titan came along.

I took the picture above just this morning. We can tell he’s starting to fill out just a little bit. He’s starting to look ‘fluffier’. His coat is shiny, and looks healthier already.

This is Mr. Man on the ride home from the vet. He has a quiet intensity in his eyes that speaks volumes. And makes me laugh sometimes.

Like when he looks at me, and I can totally tell with his eyes that he’s saying, “I don’t like this leash.” 😀

He had some wounds on his face from a tussle with something, but those have pretty much healed. Hopefully the fur will grow back in; it’s amazing he didn’t lose an eye. Whatever he fought with gave him a pretty good fight.

Welcome, Titan!

When I brought him home from the vet, I had to work at it a little to get him over the threshold. I’m guessing it was his first time ever to be inside.

He was all fresh and clean from his first bath. He’d spent nearly 24 hours hooked up to IV’s, had what was probably his first shots, and came home with four medications: antibiotics, pain pills (for his swollen, sore infected feet), and ear drops for both his infected ears. He was also anemic, so we’ve been giving him an iron supplement all week. And what a good boy! He stands perfectly still for all his meds, and has from the very first day.

He knows we’re helping him. He knew that from the beginning.

He was encouraged to see we had other dogs. Ekko (AKA Miss Leadpants) was excited. Now she had someone to play with!

Except Titan wasn’t well enough to play.

Charra? Well, let’s just say for Charra, he was irrelevant, for the most part.

And he’s still irrelevant, unless he is near where she is. And then she’s cranky.

He discovered dog beds! Soft, fluffy dog beds. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..

Some of us snore, some of us sleep with our tongues sticking out. 😉

Clothes will do in a pinch.

“I’m ready for my close-up  now.”

For the first several days, he rested most of the time. Sleep and rest were the best things for him.

We worked on crate training and gently getting on a consistent schedule. Until last night, the only peep we ever heard from him was the first night. He objected to being crated in a different room than us; and he objected to the door on the crate being shut.

Now, he’s used to his crate, and does really well. He’s tried to tell me a couple of times that he should be able to stay out like the big girls.

“No, Titan, until little boys learn not to potty in the house, they have to be crated.”

“You’re boring me, Mother.”

Each day brings a new change now. On Monday, he began to play.

Yesterday, he began to tease me by trying to ‘get’ the laundry I’m folding.

He has also started barking at cars that go by.

In other words, he is acting like a puppy again. 🙂 That is a very good sign.

Housebreaking is coming along; as with any puppy, it is a slippery slope. At this point in the game, he is still learning to ‘signal’ us when he has to go. Sometimes he’ll go to the door; sometimes he’ll just go to the other room. Sometimes he’ll go on the deck and just stand there, until I walk out and ‘encourage’ him to step off the deck.

Each day brings improvement.

And poor Daddy still doesn’t do it right. 😉

When I first brought him home, I took him outside to potty for the first time. He didn’t know what I was doing yet, and assumed he was going to have to stay outside. (Really, what else did he know?)

He skulked behind my tall pampas grass and crawled into it and laid down to hide.

It was what he knew, what he thought he was supposed to do. 🙁

In the beginning, he hated going outside the house; he was afraid he would never get back in.

He is a handsome, sweet little boy.

He still doesn’t like the snow. (Can you blame him?)

He is scared of the dark. I can’t blame him for that either. How many dark, scary cold nights did he spend alone, and afraid?

We’ll never know.

He will probably always have some little quirks associated with his experience.

His growth may be stunted from severe malnutrition.

Whoever adopts him will probably always have to be careful with their trash. Nearly starving to death has made him opportunistic. Only time will tell if that ever goes away.

What I DO know is that he will remain ever grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to be loved, and not squander that opportunity.

It’s what makes rescues so special. It’s like they know. They remember.

I’ve had several people suggest that he’s home already. Without a doubt, we love him and are really enjoying him here. BUT…(there’s always a but, isn’t there?)

I made a promise.

I promised my husband that if we took him in, that I would find a home for him and that we wouldn’t keep him.

Where is trust if you can’t keep your promises? What does your word mean if you don’t stay true to it?

If we kept Titan, I couldn’t help anybody else. What do you think he would say the next time? Probably the same thing anyone else would say:

“I’ve heard this before!”

And so, once he has gained weight and been out in the world a little bit (as well as gotten neutered and the rest of his shots), we’ll work at finding a furever home for this most-deserving little boy. 🙂