This Is About A True Story and The Lessons Learned
Just days prior to an unidentified canine’s scheduled set up to be put down, a distressed man went to the old pitbull. It had been a rough journey for the sad little guy, who found himself homeless after ending up separated from his owner.
Never know where you’ll met your Best Friend!
After weeks in a shelter and no interest from prospective households, it finally appeared the pet may be put out of his torture. Nevertheless, days prior to his scheduled euthanasia the pooch got a surprise check out from a built man.
Barry Gerhardt resides in West Palm Beach, Florida. There, he works as a physical fitness instructor at a local physical fitness.
However, while the muscle guy may look like steel, he harbored a soft area for Titan, his treasured pitbull. Gerhardt had raised his doggo since it was a puppy. They were as close as can be.
We can only visualize the trainer’s disbelief when somebody took the 8 years of age pitbull from him in 2014.
Dude, Where’s My Dog?
Titan was relaxing in Gerhardt’s car while his owner ran an errand. Surprisingly, the pet was not there when Barry returned to his car.
The stressed-out owner gone into in a search of the pooch, or stopping working that, a description. A security guard came to let him know he’d witnessed a guy taking the canine away.
It was then that Barry knew somebody had stolen his lovable trusting Titan.
What To Do Now?
In 2016, he talked with Florida’s WPBF News, “The worst day of my life had occurred.” To make matters worse, Gerhardt believed he just had himself to blame for Titan’s disappearance.
Maybe The News Will Help
He tore himself up thinking that if he hadn’t left Titan alone, he wouldn’t have been missing from his truck. It was this idea that Gerhart couldn’t get past. Although this haunted him, he would not give up on his search for Titan.
With that in mind, Barry started a determined plan of action to find Titan. He methodically combed through every nearby nook and cranny. Barry even took to s Facebook and created a page documenting the search.
After turning over, what must have been the whole city, he could not find even a hint of Titan. Barry was desperately seeking where to turn next.
A year had passed since the day of Titan’s disappearance. Barry was starting to wonder if he should throw in the towel in his quest for his missing chum.
And that was a concept that distressed him significantly. “I sobbed every day for a year for my little guy, of that I can assure you”, he was later to report to WPBF.
I Don’t What To Do Without Him!
A Ray Of Hope
In December of 2015, Gerhart received a ray of hope. The sad owner published more photos of Titan and pleas on a Facebook Found Pets Page. To him this was a last desperate effort to reunite with him.
It was this final plea that brought forth someone with the essential details. A volunteer from a nearby Animal Care and Control Center thought Titan might be in their shelter, nicknamed Hank.
Hank had been at the pound for some time with no adoption in the pipeline. He was on the list to be put down within a number of days. With time plainly of the essence, Barry rushed to the shelter to see if the dog was indeed Titan.
In video footage from the kennel, the enthusiastic owner peers through the bars and states, “Hey boy.” And upon hearing the familiar voice, the pitbull began going insane with delight. His owner then turned his phone onto himself.
“Look who finally turned up!”, stated Barry with tears of joy streaming down his face.
It’s clear to see that both Gerhardt and Titan were overtaken with joy upon seeing each other again. He turns the focus of his camera back on Titan. He was really there!
“I Missed You So Much”, Both Cried
Not wanting to lose another minute without his family pet dog, Gerhardt had quickly taken Titan back to his house. Just then did the fitness trainer realized how close his precious pitbull was to be truly lost.
“It really is a marvel”, He mused to WPBF in January of 2016. According to Gerhardt, when Titan back to the house, he made a beeline for the back door.
“He was excited to be back out in the yard that he enjoyed so much.” While Titan had been gone for more than a year, it seems that, in this, nothing had changed.
Lessons Learned The Hard Way
Gerhart will likely never understand just what happened in 12 months that he and Titan were separated. Nobody ever came forward to describe what happened. And Titan never ever told the story.
The only fact we do know is that the pet dog had arrived at Animal Care and Control as a stray. The staff there did everything they could to find his owner and barring that a forever home. They had no success at all.
This Is Could Have Saved A Lot!
The truth is that Titan didn’t have a microchip. Animal Care and Control could not make the connection to Gerhart. With the chip, they would have contacted him right away.
With some type of identification this could have been an easy process. Saving Titan from weeks in the shelter and the possibility of being put down.
With that in mind, it’s incredibly easy and essential that all your family pets owners get microchiped. A fast scan will identity them right away if they do get lost.
Alternatively, you can tattoo a registered ID inside the ear flap if you don’t like to insert a microchip. All pure bred dogs will have this done.
Another idea is to have a name tag attached to their collar. This is one of the most popular ways to help reunite owners with their pets. However, thieves can easily remove them.
Gerhardt wants you to know that he certainly learned this painful lesson. And now that he is reunited with Titan, the fitness instructor felt able to put the past behind him. He doesn’t want anyone else to go through this ordeal.
They invested another 2 joy-filled years together prior to the pit bull passing away in November of 2017. Years that Barry is extremely grateful for.
On Facebook, following Titan’s death, Gerhart shared his story. “He’s constantly been my ride-or-die partner and my friend.”
“Simply put, the best memories of my life. Those of you that have pets know how tough it is.”
In the last homage to the late pet, Barry added, “I still thank God for reuniting Titan with me for the last days of his life.”
“Thank you for constantly being there with me. I’m going to miss you a lot.”
