GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Police Department said goodbye to a four-legged member of the force this week and plans to continue his legacy.  

 

K-9 Titan, the partner of Officer Tim Ullrich, was euthanized on Wednesday because an untreatable mass discovered on his chest.

 

"It is with profound sadness that the Great Barrington Police Department announces the untimely passing of K9 officer Titan," the department wrote in a Facebook post. "A few days ago K-9 Titan fell ill and a mass was discovered in his chest. It was determined to not be treatable and the difficult decision was made to end his suffering. K-9 Titan faithfully served his partner, Officer Ullrich, the GBPD, and his community since 2017."

 

Since Titan lived at home with Ullrich and his family when he was off duty, Ullrich said they spent most of their time together and reflected fondly on their "tight bond."  

 

"It's been tough, it was it was very unexpected," he said on Friday. "[Titan] was a special guy, he was almost the perfect blend between the sociability and the high drive to do the job."

 

Titan, German shepherd, arrived at the department from Hungary at just 15 months old. He was cross-trained in patrol — which consists of obedience, tracking, area searches, building searches, article searches, criminal apprehension, and handler protection — and in detecting and alerting his handler of five different narcotics.

 

During his career, the four-legged officer was credited for potentially saving the life of an individual who was threatening to hurt themself by jumping off a mountain. Titan located the person in their moment of crisis before they were able to complete the act by following their scent.

 

"I would deploy him on a search and he would he would find the human odor," Ullrich explained. "He'll follow the human odor to that person, this person was off the trail, so if you or I were just to walk up the trail looking for them, we wouldn't have found them."

 

In 2018, Titan secured 8th place out of 3,000 entries in an online Instagram photo competition sponsored by a company called Aftermath. This resulted in a $500 check from the company and Ullrich said it shows that a "little town" such as Great Barrington can be recognized nationally.

 

"Over the course of 30 days, he was most popular in the country," Ullrich added.

 

In his off time, Titan enjoyed playing with his tug toy and swimming.

 

Titan will be cremated and rest in Ullrich's home office with the ashes of his previous K-9 partner, Jori, also German shepherd. Some 1,300 people have interacted with the department's Facebook post announcing Titan's passing and more than 360 people have commented with their condolences.

 

Ullrich said the force has had discussions with the town and is going to continue its K-9 program. It will be accepting donations for the purchase of a new pup.

 

"The community has been behind this program since day one," Ullrich said. "And we want to continue it."