{"id":5835,"date":"2025-07-23T20:57:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=5835"},"modified":"2025-07-23T20:57:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:57:37","slug":"dog-hugs-dad-who-came-back-to-the-shelter-to-save-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=5835","title":{"rendered":"Dog Hugs Dad Who Came Back To The Shelter To Save Him"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Four months ago, Lewis Jimenez had to do something very hard. He had to take his pit bull, Titus, back to the shelter where he\u2019d originally adopted him. But unlike many people who\u00a0surrender their pets<\/a>\u00a0and never return for them, Jimenez came back for Titus as soon as he could \u2014 and he\u2019s determined never to part with him again.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Jimenez adopted Titus when he was 2 years old at the\u00a0Austin Animal Center<\/a>, the only municipal animal shelter in Austin, Texas. He hadn\u2019t planned on\u00a0getting a pit bull<\/a>, but when he saw shelter volunteers walking Titus out in the yard, he fell for him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Pit<\/picture>
Austin Animal Center<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cHe was jumping and happy, and I thought, \u2018Man, that\u2019s the one I want,\u2019\u201d Jimenez told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

For the next five years, Lewis and Titus were inseparable, and Lewis couldn\u2019t imagine his life without Titus. \u201cHe\u2019s like my big old kid,\u201d Jimenez said. \u201cHe\u2019s part of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But last year, something happened to drive them apart. Lewis was told he couldn\u2019t keep Titus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Man<\/picture>
Jimenez hugging Titus at the shelter\u00a0|\u00a0Sarah Jurgensen Throop<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cThe management company told him that he had to get rid of Titus, or he was going to be evicted,\u201dJennifer Olohan, communications and media manager at Austin Animal Center, told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

Jimenez didn\u2019t have another place to move to, and he didn\u2019t know anyone who would look after Titus while he found another place \u2014 so he had no choice but to take him back to the shelter.<\/p>\n

At first, the shelter staff weren\u2019t sure if Jimenez would come back for Titus. \u201cFrom our point of view, we\u2019re not able to hold dogs, because we hear owners say this all the time \u2014 that they\u2019re going to come back, but\u00a0then they don\u2019t<\/a>,\u201d Olohan said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Pit<\/picture>
Titus sitting inside his kennel at the shelter\u00a0|\u00a0Austin Animal Center<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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