11/13/2022
Run with all fours in paradise buddy. It was an honor to have met you in our younger years.
Another one of the good ones gone before their time.
For those requesting a means to show support/help carry on his legacy....
https://steadfastservicedogs.networkforgood.com/projects/176132-in-loving-memory-of-snouticus-the-massive-german-Snouticus the Massive German Shepherd
And for those who were not able to follow the story through the video... the text is copied below:
To the puppy that nobody wanted:
You were the wrong color, had a crooked tail, and your head was really big. One by one, puppies were taken home until only you and another puppy remained.
I had chosen that other puppy based on pictures…but that puppy had zero interest in me, or my son. When I didn’t choose that puppy, you were mentioned like some sort of consolation. “Nobody wants him.”
You came directly to me, as well as my son. You were confident, inquisitive, affectionate, and very personable. I took you home, because temperament, intelligence, and the ability to work matter far more to me than appearances.
You fell asleep in my son’s lap within 5 minutes. No whining or crying. You continually sought me out to be near me.
You were supposed to be the new “farm dog”, as well as a family companion. Within the first few months, I began to notice that you were different from any dog that I had trained over the 30 years prior. You learned at an amazing pace…almost as quickly as you grew physically. My wife and children also noticed something unusual…if you were with me during the day, my PTSD symptoms were far less severe when I got home.
You mastered basic and advanced obedience so quickly that I wanted to challenge you. I started asking LE K9 handlers locally who would be the best person to train with on advanced concepts. I managed to get the most respected LE K9 trainer and handler in the area to “evaluate” you…because the senior Trooper in his office told him that he “needed to meet that dog”…with a weird grin and a refusal to detail why.
Unbeknownst to me, that trainer was absolutely uncompromising. Highly respected. His philosophy is that there is zero room for weakness or failure…because the dogs he trains mean the difference between life and death. The “evaluation” was 15 minutes of him barking orders at me…trying to make you fail.
You knocked it out of the park.
Afterwards, he told me that you were “squared away and on point”.
You then became the only civilian dog to ever train with that agency. Word got around about the “huge white K9”, and we were invited to train with other agencies. You impressed every handler that you met. Fearless, rock solid, focused, ridiculously fast, able to withstand any pressure put on you…yet able to be incredibly gentle and calm afterwards.
By that time, you were full grown. 130 pounds of solid muscle. 4 feet tall at the top of your head. 6 feet long from the tip of your snout to the tip of your tail.
Around that time, I read an article about veterans who were using service dogs to handle their PTSD. So, I decided to see if you could be task trained to do that for me. Once again, you knocked it out of the park. The training was almost effortless. Public access, which is difficult for many dogs, was easy for you. You ignored everything but me, and were perfectly behaved anywhere we went. And during that, something amazing happened…
We developed a truly symbiotic relationship.
When I had knee surgery, you almost immediately picked up how to do mobility work. You almost instinctively began to pick up when my blood sugar levels fluctuated.
You also began to be drawn to people in crisis, so I trained you up to also function as a therapy dog on command.
Because of your traits and temperament, I decided to breed you…after extensive health testing to ensure that we would only produce puppies with no health issues. I hoped that what you had would carry forward into your offspring…and it worked. Not only were your puppies amazing…but you did something that I didn’t expect. Once the puppies were weaned, you took over raising them. You groomed them. Played with them (and let them win). You taught them things. You, as always, surprised me with your depth.
And then, an absolutely horrible event changed many lives, to include ours.
A truly evil, subhuman loser murdered 17 students and teachers, and injured 17 others at Marjorie Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland Florida.
Because I was a Police Officer and have stayed active within the Law Enforcement community, I quickly made contact with the first officer that went into the school…an off duty Coral Springs PD SGT. He went in unarmed while cowards with the Sheriff’s Office hid behind trees and cars. He and I began to identify survivors who needed service dogs…and we started to donate our dogs.
Very quickly, it became obvious that we would need to not only donate dogs…but train them up, as well. As a result, we started a 501c3 non profit called Steadfast Service Dogs to do exactly that. As part of that, my oldest son completed an extremely challenging internship, and became the youngest K9 Master Trainer in the nation. I shut down my lucrative business, worked my ass off, and received the same credentials. Today, Steadfast Service Dogs breeds, raises, trains, and places life altering (and in some cases, life saving) service dogs to veterans and LE with PTSD, survivors of extreme violence, human trafficking survivors, diabetics, and children with autism.
We produce life altering dogs.
All of that happened because of the amazing temperament, focus, working ability, and empathy that you innately displayed.
Along the way, you have won over some of the most exacting and demanding trainers in the country. Jeff Schettler. Jesse Lewis. Rob Johnson. Damien Chichoki. Sinead Imbaro. All of them sang your praises. At seven years old, your certified to LE and Military standards for tracking and trailing…a kilometer long, hour and 15 minute old, double blind track…in a South Carolina swamp. You went at it so hard that I didn’t think I would be able to keep up with you. You even dragged me across the ground (much to everyone else’s amusement) when I tripped and fell. Your enthusiasm and focus were that strong…at an age when most dogs are content to lie around on the couch.
Three months ago, you were diagnosed with aggressive cancer (non genetic) in your elbow. We had to amputate your entire leg. Within two weeks, you were hopping around like nothing had happened.
Then, last weekend, you stopped eating, and couldn’t even keep water down. Our Vet diagnosed you with an obstructed bowel, and we rushed you into surgery. He removed the obstruction…but you kept going downhill. We brought you back in, and the surgeon opened you back up, only to discover that your bowel had been perforated in 5 spots…right next to your pancreas. The damage was inoperable.
That day, you were so exhausted. I sat down on the floor with you, while we waited for the vet. You lay your head in my lap…and I could see it in your eyes. As stoic as always, you refused to show any signs that you were in pain. But, I knew. I had never seen you that tired before.
As your handler, I wasn’t going to make you suffer through painful, futile treatment.
So, two days after your ninth birthday, I made the decision that has terrified me for years.
You deserved the rest. I stayed with you, as did my wife and oldest son. I petted your snout, your ears, and the side of that huge head. I told you how much you meant to me. How proud of you I am. How much I loved you…and always will.
Now that you are gone…I feel…alone. Like I am missing a part of me. Somewhat lost, honestly.
For all of you reading this, I need you to know something…
It was an amazing, life altering nine years. I learned so much, and grew a tremendous amount as a person. The bond we had was unmatched and remarkable.
The “puppy no one wanted” dragged me out my darkness. He saved my marriage. Honestly, he probably saved my life. He provided comfort to many people who desperately needed it. As my father was dying, he was by his side…and mine. He helped me train numerous life altering service dogs. Last, and certainly not least, he provided joy and laughter to thousands through this goofy little page.
Snouticus made me a better human, by embodying traits that many humans lack. Unselfish empathy. Courage and focus. Absolute, total, and all encompassing loyalty. A limitless unselfish love and devotion.
Please do not feel sad for me. I was blessed with the most amazing dog that I have ever encountered. The heart that he had was only matched by his size and presence. He touched so many lives, and leaves an amazing legacy. He lives on through his sons and daughters, who are amazing in their own right.
It was my privilege, and an absolute honor to have you by my side for those 9 years. I couldn’t be more proud of you.
(If you would like to donate to Steadfast Service Dogs in honor of Snouticus, you can do so here.
We will be doing a run of sweatshirts/T shirts in remembrance. I will also be finishing up the Snouticus children's book soon.
We will keep this page up and running, in celebration of his life and legacy.
