Getting a dog all started with a marital feud and a compromise.

We were just one year into marriage and I was still fresh out of undergrad. Our plan all along had been to move to Colorado after my graduation to pursue his graduate school and start a new adventure. After postponing plans and flip-flopping plans, fed up with the lack of decisiveness, we were sitting at a bench at South Park in downtown Lawrence. Our bikes laid down next to us, we had journeyed there from our near-downtown, small rental home. We were deep in conversation about the future. I looked at Kevin with fire in my eyes and said, “You need to man up and make a decision.” He sat in silence for some time, took a deep breath, then looked back at me: “We’re staying.” I rode my bike home in silence, angry not at him, but at our God for giving my husband the decision I didn’t want. As emotions settled, I said, “If we’re staying, we’re getting a dog.” 

Puppy fever took over fast. We visited the local animal shelter just to “look” at dogs as we continued to weigh the responsibility. We walked in and, of course, every dog starts barking at their gates. We took a lap down and back, taking in all the sweet pups and reading their names. Amid all the barking there was one sweet puppy who laid quiet in the back corner and didn’t come to the gate: Titan.

At about 50lbs and approximately two years old, we took this dog to the yard to get to know him. He didn’t approach us but seemed delighted to be outside. We talked with the staff person about Titan. He was clearly neglected, some signs of abuse but that wasn’t confirmed, as he was picked up as a stray dog in Great Bend, KS at 1.5 yrs old and lived in a shelter for 6 months in Great bend before being transferred to the Lawrence Humane Society. He was reserved and socially awkward, but young enough that perhaps his personality could still change. Perhaps the trauma of his life could be undone if he was adopted and had a fresh start.

We left that day without Titan to talk and pray. As the hours passed by and the clinic closed, the questioning went from adopting Titan to suddenly not being able to image our lives without him. We went the very next day to adopt him. I’ll never forget bringing our new white dog home with his wide smile in my slate gray Subaru Impreza with black interior. He left his mark quickly.

Titan’s personality really didn’t change much from that quiet, people-shy, reserved soul. But his sense of safety and security came out as we bonded in our own ways. He had clearly had abuse surrounding doors, and large thin objects resembling baseball bats and sticks, we learned that quickly. It took him six whole months to feel safe to come in the house on his own from the backyard. We taught him to sit, lay down… though “come” was always a bit more difficult. We often took him on walks and to the dog park. In fact, in his younger years, I remember getting on my bike just to sprint him up and down the streets. He was fast! He loved runs, walks, scratches under the collar, springtime, and digging holes in the backyard. He hated Christmas trees and fireworks. 

He wasn’t the dog that would greet you at the door, but he showed his excitement that we were home by pacing laps around the dining table. Some of my favorite memories are when we would host a church or Young Life College gatherings during our days in full-time campus ministry. As you can imagine, during a Bible Study for example, everyone is sitting down, quietly talking in turns. That’s the environment he would thrive in. He would choose a person, seemly random, to go and sit next to for the whole night. Somehow it always tended to be the person who needed it most. The new person who didn’t know anyone. The college girl who just went through a break-up. The 18-year-old who was missing home. Many faces come to mind through Bible Studies and City Groups over the years.

When it came to other dogs, we never met a dog who didn’t get along with Titan. He was a dog’s dog, through and through! Even extremely territorial dogs that didn’t get along with most, somehow sensed Titan’s calm energy. He spent the most time with his cousin Millie, his opposite in personality, able to both play and keep her in her place!

Perhaps my favorite moment with Titan—in about 2019, we had a new family join our city group. They had a young girl in their family that had an extreme phobia and anxiety around dogs. Their mom asked me if I could crate our dog before they came over because she couldn’t even be in the same room as a dog. That was no problem at all, just not something we were used to doing with Titan because he was never disruptive in groups. After some time, we started talking to the young girl about what Titan was like. We wondered if a calm, predictable dog who mostly kept to himself might be the perfect exposure therapy for her daughter. The daughter agreed, and at about age 10, this brave young girl walked into our home. We chose a day when no one else was in the house and baby Lydia was napping. The young girl walked through our living room, her eyes up. We sat at the kitchen table, while Titan lay on his bed about 15 feet away. After some time, Titan got up and made his usual lap around the table. We all remained calm and continued our small talk, even as he gracefully sniffed her shoes and returned back to his nap. After that experience, the daughter agreed to being around Titan during our weekly City Groups. Eventually, she was able to be around other dogs and even got her own emotional support dog.

In her mom’s own words to me last week as we were recalling this event six years ago, Titan changed her life. 

In recent years, Titan has kept even more to himself with four crazy human siblings running around the house. But my favorite memories with him and the kids have been how each child, somewhere around their first birthday, starts to realize they could put the scoops of food in the dog bowl and take part in feeding him. That they can hold the leash as we take him on walks. That if they go and sit by him on his bed, he lets them pet him. 

We love you Titan. You have been a gift to our family for the last 11 years and we’re so grateful you made it to 13 years old, even though this last year has been a tough one. Amid a lot of change – four children, three houses, career changes, and honestly a lot of growing up (I’m speaking not just of the kids, but Kevin and myself) – you have been a constant.

This week we needed to experience the emotions of grief and sadness. You helped us with that. The Lord has used you in our lives, even to the end. You will be missed. 

Titan Tietz + Adopted September 21, 2014
September 2012 – November 10, 2025