Chapter 1 - THE DOG THAT BROKE COMMAND
The first scream came from the little girl.
The second came from fifty people watching my police dog pin her to the ground.
And the third came from a man raising a tree branch over Titan’s skull.
“GET THAT DOG OFF HER!”
I ran harder.
“Titan! OFF!”
Nothing.
For the first time in five years, my K9 partner ignored me.
Seven-year-old Lucy Harper lay flat on the frozen grass, kicking beneath ninety pounds of Belgian Malinois. Her pink coat was smeared with dirt. Tears streaked her face.
“Mommy!”
Her mother shoved through the crowd.
“My baby! Somebody help my baby!”
I reached Titan and grabbed his tactical collar.
“Titan! Release!”
He didn’t move.
My heart dropped.
I had spent eight years as a K9 handler with the Seattle Police Department. Titan had hundreds of successful apprehensions, perfect obedience scores, and a cleaner record than most humans I knew.
He had never bitten the wrong person.
Never chased without cause.
Never broken a direct command.
Until now.
A heavyset man in a flannel shirt pointed at Titan.
“Officer, shoot him!”
Another man raised a branch.
“Move!”
I threw out my arm.
“Back off! I’ve got him!”
Then I finally looked at Titan’s face.
He wasn’t looking at Lucy.
His eyes were fixed six inches from her head.
His ears were flattened.
His lips peeled back.
A low growl rolled from his chest.
I followed his stare.
Dead leaves.
Nothing else.
Then I heard it.
Rattle.
Rattle.
Rattle.
Every muscle in my body locked.
“Everybody stop moving.”
Nobody listened.
Lucy sobbed beneath Titan.
Her mother grabbed my shoulder.
“What are you doing? Get him off her!”
“Ma’am, don’t move.”
“What?”
“Do. Not. Move.”
The leaves shifted.
A thick body slid beneath them.
Brown diamonds.
Heavy coils.
A triangular head slowly rose from the ground.
Lucy’s mother stopped breathing.
Someone behind me whispered, “Oh my God.”
The rattlesnake was close enough to touch Lucy’s hair.
Titan lowered his head and growled harder.
The snake coiled tighter.
Its tail buzzed violently.
Lucy whimpered.
“Officer…”
I looked directly into her terrified blue eyes.
“Lucy, I need you to stay completely still.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Your mom yelled it.”
Her lower lip trembled.
“I’m scared.”
“I know.”
“Is Titan hurting me?”
I looked at my dog.
“No, sweetheart.”
The snake lifted its head higher.
May you like
“Titan is saving your life.”
Then the rattlesnake struck.
