Wolf House

Prelude

It’s late in summer and the typical season transition that has always given me a nostalgic feeling of the passing of time, of getting older, right before my birthday. For almost 12 years I shared this with a beautiful animal who lived alongside me through the thick and thin of life in the most transformational period, a handsome Siberian Husky named Titan, whom I nicknamed Wolf of Texas for his wolf-like appearance and coloring, as he was born in Texas and lived there for the first 8 years. His birthday was around the same as mine and that makes this season even tougher to bear.

This year, though, this transition is unique in the way that he’s not there anymore, and it is happening as I come out of a very tough period of my life. Within a few short weeks I left my job after over 9 years, started a vastly different new job, lost Titan in a rapid sequence of events, sold a house, bought a new house, moved between these houses, had to undergo a crippling surgery on my ankle, all while living anxiously monitoring a war between Iran and Israel that affected our families, where my father had a heart attack due to the stress.

As life has it, I didn’t expect any of this, especially the way Titan left. I knew he was getting older, but I was hoping he would stick around a bit longer so he could enjoy the new house in a comfortable setting, in a climate and nature more aligned to him. But cancer has no mercy. At the end of the first week at my new job, as we returned home from dinner celebrating, I found him deteriorating quickly, and in almost 24 hours a sequence of events forced us to help him out of his agonizing pain, as cancer had metastasized in his abdomen and the tumor ruptured inside him.

At only 6 weeks old, I held him in my arms and stared into his eyes, and that was the beginning of a beautiful, eventful, and unique friendship that took us between houses, cities, and states. That early Monday morning of a hot late Spring day, I had to stare into the same eyes as they faded away forever, telling me goodbye.

They say highlights of your life will blink before your eyes right before death, and I’m almost certain that moment will be among the major highlights when my time comes. I’ve tried to mask his loss, but the pain still cuts very deep in my soul, and I miss him a lot. He had become an integral part of my life, routines, personality, and identity. He went above being a pet or a friend, and taught me many lessons I was unable to learn before, lessons that helped me survive the brutal journey of a first-generation immigrant from Iran with no roots, all without speaking a single word to me. He was the only family I had here for a long time.

So as I am slowly stepping out of this long, dark tunnel and literally stand up to walk again, and as we work to set up our new home, we are working to make it a tribute to him. Because with his entrance, he made my houses a home, and was there for all the homes that I called Wolf House. This is the first house I bought without him present. In fact, I bought my very first house in Texas mostly for him. He was there at the beginning of our relationship and was an integral part of our bonding and something central to our relationship to share. He passed away only a few weeks before moving into this house, but we picked it with him in mind, and it’s extremely painful to know he couldn’t live in it and experience it.

So here is Wolf House, a tribute to Titan, lovely Wolf of Texas, my best friend, whom I hope I can see again on the other side of the bridge sooner rather than later.

I ask you two things as a fellow human being, just for your own well-being and happiness, and the world around you. First, for you to please be kind to animals. Among many reasons I’ve learned in life, one common pattern that has emerged from successful, prosperous, and happy nations, cultures, and communities is how they treat animals. I was fortunate enough to volunteer at a government animal shelter in North Texas and witness the depth of pain and suffering animals go through in our world, while also witnessing the extent of kindness and character humans express to outweigh the negative impact of others on these innocent creatures. Second, to take a moment in life to appreciate those you love and enjoy every moment you have with them. Life is a beautiful yet fragile phenomenon and loss can leave all of us with permanent regrets about moments we may have missed. When put in perspective, we realize the best part of our lives are the short moments we enjoy with love, with little things, even if we don’t have many things. Among the best periods of my life is the short few months when we had our families here with Titan in 2023, when I finally experienced what I had worked and dreamed for years, something I can never have again.

The House

We picked Wolf House and designed it with our character and stories in mind, using our very own style and backgrounds coming from technology and architecture. Wolf House has a modern northwestern architecture, and is situated in the heart of nature between a jungle and water on a hill, representing our love for all these elements in nature as well as our modern and minimalistic style.

Inside, Wolf House is decorated and styled with objects, artwork, plants, and colorings combining our Persian heritage, American patriotic identity, and love for Japanese culture. We have tried to combine these elements in a seamless way so you can transition between them smoothly as you navigate around the house, while also taking a peek into photos of our family and Titan himself.

If you happen to be here and are interested in the history of any of these objects, decorations, plants, or artwork, please let us know so we can happily provide you with our own unique story about them.

Wolf House is also technologically advanced, powered by constant electricity and very high-speed internet with backup tools. It has several modern home automation mechanisms and, of course, applies modern technology with cutting-edge safety and security. We have built most of these elements carefully with our own choices and style to reflect our needs and vision for the house.

Tributes

In addition to having his photos and name fingerprinted around the house, there are a couple of tributes explicitly dedicated to Titan inside Wolf House.

Titan’s Bonsai

At the main entrance, you will find a bonsai on the console welcoming you. During the first week after moving in, as we were driving back to the house and I was burning in pain from Titan’s loss, we stumbled upon a bonsai expert selling these elegant and exquisite plants in our town. We stopped by and immediately connected to this specific bonsai and its shape, and decided to bring it home and raise it in memory of our old friend. The translation of the writing on the planter to English is “Sail On.” Titan is still sailing on in our souls, in this house, through this bonsai, and many other things he touched throughout his seemingly predetermined and basic yet impactful life, a reminder that you don’t need to be a billionaire, entrepreneur, celebrity, or doctor to change the world and impact it for the better. We look at and care for this bonsai everyday to remember Titan and have him live on in physical world and our minds, and it is sitting by the door every time we leave, and right there every time we arrive, just like our beautiful boy did when he was alive.

Titan’s Memorial

At the first-floor entrance to the house from the outdoor deck, you will find a console with Titan’s picture hanging on the wall and his urn sitting on the console. We had many hopes for him to live in this house and were considering that area to be his primary place where he could easily access the big outdoor space to enjoy. But sadly, the cruelty of time and cancer took him away from us. Inside the console, you will find a few things we have kept from him, including his toys, clothes, leash, collar, and paw print.

Gone, but never forgotten.