Meet Titan, a 90-pound Great Pyrenees mix that had quite a rough journey with more than a few bumps along the way. A year ago, this massive pup found himself without a home. He had behavioral problems and his owner no longer wanted him. Thankfully, a Good Samaritan didn’t want to see him in a shelter (or even worse, euthanized), so she searched high and low until she found a temporary home for Titan.
That home was Adopt Me! Bluegrass Pet Rescue. They were willing to help Titan, but had to send him to prison to do it. Surprisingly, it was the best thing that ever happened to him!That’s because the rescue was partnered with the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex near Louisville, KY. They have a “Paws Behind Bars” training program that pairs untrained rescue dogs with inmates that will work with them. For a few weeks, the dogs spend every minute of every day with their handlers inside the prison.
Because of that laser-focused attention, they learn very quickly; even the most troublesome dog can be transformed! Titan worked with an inmate named Douglas Hall. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and worked with over 60 rescue dogs by the time he met Titan. They were a match made in heaven! Hall was able to teach Titans all of the commands he needed to know, plus some doggy etiquette and obedience. Titan graduated from the program easily — then, it was time to move on to the next challenge!
Although Titan was well-trained after the prison program, his sheer size dissuaded many potential pet owners from adopting him. Thankfully, he wasn’t without hope for long. A dog trainer named Megan-Kate Hoover finds rescue dogs for work in movies and commercials.
She fosters the dogs while training them and during filming, then she helps them find a home after their jobs are finished. Luckily for Titan, she needed a large-breed dog for a commercial…and he was the perfect match! She got to work right away; Megan took Titan home to her farm and began to train him for his big role. Once the commercial shoot was over, it was time to find Titan a forever home…and amazingly, Megan stumbled across someone who loved him.