HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — They say a dog is man’s best friend, but four-legged Titan is more than a friend, or even a good boy; he’s a lifeline for Army veteran Master Sgt. Mike Knotts.
“He said, ‘This is not a pet,’ he said, ‘It’ll be your right-hand man,’” Knotts explained.
Knotts honorably retired from the Army in 2024 as a highly decorated Master Sergeant after serving for 22 years. Some of his accolades include the Bronze Heart, Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal (8 Oak Leaf Clusters), among several others.
But his sacrifice and achievement brought significant physical, mental and emotional pain with it. Knotts was diagnosed with PTSD shortly after retiring, and was considering a hip replacement when his phone rang. That conversation quickly put him in contact with Rebuilding Warriors.
“And I was like, ‘Well, what is a service dog?’ And he said it’s there to be your companion as you need it,” Knotts said.
The rest is history. Titan’s leash was officially placed into Knotts’ hands on August 16, solidifying a new journey for the pair.
“We look at it as giving a veteran an instrument to help them kind of achieve their new normal of life,” Rebuilding Warriors President and CEO Jeff Mullins said.
Mullins has volunteered with Rebuilding Warriors for over a decade and recently stepped into the new leadership role. As a veteran with a service dog of his own, he understands how pawprints impact lives.
“If I didn’t have her, the demons in your head are just unbelievable,” Mullins said about his service dog, Zoey. “There are times that I have cried with the recipient, and it’s just amazing to know that their life is going to change. And that’s what it’s all about. We take care of our own.”
Taking care of their own is Rebuilding Warriors’ specialty. Mullins and his organization have helped over 100 veterans across the country by providing service dogs.
Each dog is uniquely trained to meet the receiving veteran’s specific needs, whether that involves learning to recognize certain PTSD behaviors or to walk beside a wheelchair. Kevin Williams does that training from the day the dogs are born.
You try to introduce them to as many different situations as you can, and, you know, different situations, different people, other animals,” Williams said. “So it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of time involved in it, but it’s very rewarding.”
Williams even helped in training Titan to be around Knotts’ daughter, Elizabeth, who was born with a rare genetic disorder.
“I was like, ‘This is Elizabeth’. And, immediately, without any command, just laid down right next to her, put his head down right next to her,” Knotts said when speaking about Titan and Elizabeth’s first interaction. “And they just sat there like they were buddies from that point on. And he’s been like that ever since, without a blink.”
The U.S. Army even recognized Titan as a Command Sergeant Major, a rank above what Mike retired as.
Knotts and Titan are now attached at the hip while they learn to navigate life together.
Titan is a four-legged right-hand man who doesn’t just walk by Knotts’ side, but helps carry the weight of the road ahead.
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