Veteran helps save his service dog's life
HOOKER — Service dogs use their extensive training to help their owners in need.
But in one case on a terrifying Saturday last month, it was the owner who used his specialized training to help his K9 companion.
David Titley of Hooker is a trooper for the state police. He spent 25 years in the Army, most recently as a commander nurse for a Forward Support Surgical Team, which does surgery on the most critically injured people during battle.
Titley was hit multiple times with IEDs during his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving him with brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He now relies on his service dog, Bugs, for support.
Bugs, a 5-year-old, 100-pound boxer-mastiff mix, was trained to do a variety of tasks to help Titley with his condition. He checks corners, makes sure others don't approach Titley from behind, and wakes him before he can have nightmares.
Titley said the support Bugs provides has become a major part of his life.
But on Oct. 12, Titley almost lost that support after an unfortunate accident.
Titley was mowing his lawn with a push mower. As always, Bugs was right by his side.
To pass the time during the chore, Titley was playing fetch with Bugs.
But when a sunflower stock got stuck in the mower, Bugs mistook it for the stick he would normally retrieve. Bugs went after the stock, accidentally putting his left hind foot into the blade, badly slicing a main artery above his paw.
“It was a tragic accident,” Titley said.
Titley immediately reacted to save his partner, using his experience in combat to stop the bleeding.
He grabbed a rescue kit he had in the back of his Jeep. The fact he even had it with him was a miracle.
“I normally leave it at the barracks at night,” he said. “But I forgot it in the back of my police car that day, so I stuck it in my Jeep.”
It was a lucky coincidence.
Titley called for his 16-year-old neighbor, who had just arrived home from school, to drive him to the Butler Veterinary Associates and Emergency Center while he attempted to stop the bleeding.“I think he was driving about 100 mph,” Titley said, adding he even called the barracks to let them know why his blue Jeep was speeding down the road.Titley's fiancee, Jennifer Morrow, called the center to let them know they were coming.When they arrived, veterinarian Keith Harvey went to work to save the dog's life.After more than an hour of surgery, Harvey and his staff were able to save Bugs, but had to amputate his severely-injured left hind leg.Harvey said Titley's initial work on Bugs' injuries saved his life.“He applied a good tourniquet and prevented a lot of blood loss,” Harvey said of Titley.Bugs understandably had a couple days of depression following the accident, Titley said, but quickly got back to his excitable spirit.Before long, Bugs had the same energy as before.“He kept getting stronger and stronger every day,” Titley said. “Now he's got the same speed as he had before.”Harvey said dogs do a good job living on three legs.“They adapt pretty well,” he said.The most impressive part of the recovery is that Bugs has been able to do all of his service tasks at the same level he did before the accident.“He's still doing what he was trained to do,” Titley said.Titley said he takes Bugs around to different communitys to give speeches on the importance of service dogs. He said he's excited to now show people just how special the dogs can be.Titley said there's no slowing down Bugs, who will continue to get training at Eljay's PerFECT-a-Pooch training center in Herman.As the bond between the two grow, Titley will never forget the day he was able to save Bugs, and that his years of military service made the difference.“It's the only reason he survived,” he said.
