Animal Shelter Hopes That Tito Has His Day

Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter’s Terry Gott and Tito.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – For all of those lucky dog stories you hear, there is some poor canine that has equally bad luck. Tito, an American Bulldog, is that dog.

Tito is back at Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter after a circle of bad luck.

His trip started after being brought to animal control in Ottumwa, where they don’t allow any bully breeds or anything that looks like a pitbull, and was set to be euthanized.

A call from Heartland Humaine Society to Stephen Memorial Animal s

Shelter got Tito on the path to Oskaloosa, where he called the shelter home for approximately two months.

Tito found a home, and thus began another leg of Tito’s journey in life.

According to Terry Gott with Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter:

The story they were told was that the person who originally adopted Tito in Oskaloosa had given him to someone to train since she was having some issues with Tito. That person who was helping to train the dog was also a truck driver.

After a breakup in a love triangle, including the person who adopted the dog, and the trainer, it was reported that Tito was dumped at a truck stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The owner alerted Stephen Memorial that the dog had been dumped at the truck stop in Tulsa and was told the dog was at a rescue facility, Rescued and Ready.

The staff at Stephen Memorial reached out to the rescue facility but found out the dog was not in their possession.

After some searching, Tito was found at a vet clinic where a large wound on his side was being tended to. Another truck driver had seen the injured dog and taken it to the veterinarian.

Tito was once again facing euthanization if someone didn’t pick him up soon.

Because of the limited funds at Stephen Memorial, there was no way to retrieve the dog from the vet. Gott called back to Rescued and Ready and found out the person he had been speaking with was affiliated with Pilots for Paws and worked to arrange a flight back home for Tito.

Two days passed, and a plane was found that was heading towards Minnesota with two other dogs.

Tito’s trip home included landing at an airport in Missouri, being transferred to another plane, and eventually landing at the Pella Airport.

With concerns that a friend or family of the original adopter of Tito would send someone to adopt him, Gott had him transferred to the Animal Rescue League “to get him out of this area.”

“He has anxiety getting in the kennel because he started out his life living in a wire kennel in a basement. They never got him out in Ottumwa because he was a bully breed.”

Gott called the Animal Rescue League to check on Tito’s status. That’s when he found out the dog was again set to be euthanized.

Gott then retrieved Tito from the Animal Rescue League and brought him back to Oskaloosa.

Gott says the shelter is once again working to find a forever home for Tito. “It’s going to have to be an experienced dog owner because he does have some anxiety issues. If he does not get his medication, he becomes a handful.”

“Hopefully, we can get him out there and find somebody who’s responsible, that will take care of him and knows how to deal with his issues,” said Gott.

Gott says that home checks will be something that happens before Tito is sent to a new home, “just to make sure this time he’s going somewhere with somebody that can handle him because he is a special dog.”

If you are interested in learning more about Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter, you can find them on Facebook HERE, or their website HERE.

Edit: Gott called Oskaloosa News to inform us that he had been given wrong information, and Tito was given his medication by the ARL. Gott says he apologizes for the incorrect information.