Volunteering at a dog rescue comes with its pros and cons. For Stephanie Norrick, the biggest pro for her was meeting Titus. She started volunteering at FHI to spend time with the dogs and spend some of her free time after she graduated from college helping out. Titus quickly became her favorite. She tells us she fell in love with him after spending many days together. She says she understood him and he was always excited to see her; their bond grew from there. “After a few months, I was determined to give him his furever home.” Stephanie says their personalities are so similar, which is one of the things she loves the most about him. “We just get each other. He has been great for my mental health and helps me feel better when I’m hurting mentally and physically.”
His adoption was finalized in October 2019 and Titus has adjusted quite well to his new home. He is SO much more relaxed now that he’s in a home and has grown into such an amazing dog compared to how stressed he was at the shelter. “He easily adjusted to living in an apartment and me being gone for work, and then in April 2020, I moved him to my parent’s house in Oregon, so I could prepare to move there myself in June. With my parents, he has a much bigger couch that he loves and absolutely loves their big backyard and all of the animals that live around them!” He loves to “help” her dad with yard work and loves following everyone around the house because he knows her dad will spoil him with treats.
Stephanie has been back with Titus for just over a month now and has started her new job. “Since I’ve been here we’ve visited the ocean for the first time, went on a hike (which he absolutely loved), and we have had brief trips to the river. He doesn’t seem sure about bodies of water much past his ankles. I think he’s a little scared now because when I first brought him out within the first couple days he slipped into our pond, and he was a little shocked by that. Can’t wait for all the adventures to come!”
The biggest part of making sure this adoption was successful for Stephanie was taking her time to interact with him and really get to know him. She tells us that Titus has many odd quirks that she was able to learn by spending so much time with him before she brought him home; they had several “jailbreaks” and sleepovers together before everything was official. “All of the volunteers and staff were super supportive with any questions or concerns I had, or when I was questioning myself about being the right one to take him home.”
Stephanie, we have no doubt that you two were meant to be together. And Titus knew too. Please make sure you keep us all updated with all of your adventures and send pictures!! We hope you both have an incredible life in Oregon together! Thank you so much for volunteering your time with us and for giving him the best home ever!
