CHANCE'S STORY
By Briana Fugitt
I remember the day Chance came to us. It was a spring day in 2007. I was still just a new kennel worker learning the ropes of the dog rescue world. Fresh from the East Valley shelter, our then kennel manager had been talked into pulling this older dog because he had pretty much given up on life. He needed someone to care about him again, he needed to be happy, and he ended up getting a second chance, the reason for his namesake. There wasn't anything better than chasing squirrels or running after birds for Chance. If he could just catch one! The staff immediately bonded with him and and quickly learned what each of his different barks meant. One urgent bark was for going outside. Relentless barks were cries for attention, and he just wouldn't let up! He became quite the escape artist and eventually his pen had be enclosed with clips, zip ties, other crates holding the pen wall up and even then sometimes he would still escape! Where was he going? To be with his people.
After a couple of months, Chance started to get a little dominant and people who he had let pet him and kiss him, he was beginning to snap at. He became unpredictable as one minute you could be rubbing his tummy and the next he'd snap at your face. Because of the odd behavior, Chance was not able to attend adoption events, limiting his chances of adoption. We were told by our then veterinarian that Chance had cancer and had only months left. After fattening him up and spoiling him to no end, we noticed that although time was passing by, Chance wasn't seeming to decline in health. Actually, he was gaining weight and becoming quite the brat! We took him in for a second opinion, and found out that it wasn't cancer he had, it was a badly healed fracture in his front left leg. And now we were get all the extra weight off of him! A few years passed and Chance, like our lovable Beau, became a part of our rescue like a fixture we could never imagine having been without. He was there in those dark and unsure days when we were so close to closing our doors due to lack of funding. He was there during the big fire right behind our facility and for the unexpected snow falls only months following.
Chance always knew how to get what he wanted whether it was by begging or stealing, he would find a way to get those treats. Although he was a senior dog, he loved to play with toys! He would throw his favorite bunny up in the air (especially when he was being ignored) and pull it apart like a puppy. He definitely had some strange behaviors as well. For example, it was obvious he wanted to come lay in the office with his people, but looked at the bare floor with such sadness as if to say "I don't even get a bed?" A large, cushy bed was brought in just for him, but instead of running to it excitedly, he found a bed underneath a desk that had been used by one of our chihuahuas, curled up in the smallest ball he could at 70 pounds and with his back end hanging off the edge of it, fell asleep while the large bed next to him remained untouched.
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The last year with us, Chance's bad leg began to really bother him. It was swelling and was very warm and no matter what we did, it continued to grow. Eventually, it became to be nearly the size of a football. The x-rays showed a very large tumor. Our options were to either remove his leg or let him go. At that time, Chance was just not ready to leave us. He was still very spirited, gulped down his food, and sometimes would even play with his bunny. Though we knew the surgery to be thousands of dollars, we decided he deserved to live out his days happy. The leg was taken off and we couldn't have been happier with the decision. Chance was acting like his old self again despite having only 3 legs, he still wanted to go on walks and bark for attention. We thought we'd at least have a couple more years with him.
Chance was always a rather needy dog who wanted things when he wanted them and would absolutely let us know it. He began really taking to following some of the staff members around the house. He wanted to be close to us at all times. One day he let out some coughs that sounded much like he was trying to cough up phlegm. His breathing seemed labored as well and when you put his ear to this abdomen, you could hear raspy sounds. We took him into the vet right away. After only a few months following his leg amputation, Chance was diagnosed with lung cancer and had likely had it long before the amputation and had just hadn't had any major symptoms. Just a month later, we had to let Chance go. He was in pain, not eating, and could barely walk. It was a shock to all of us and happened so suddenly.
There are always stories of shelter and rescue workers who just become so attached to certain animals they care for. You can't help it. When you're looking after an animal for years, it's not possible to attach yourself and vice versa. We were Chance's family. When he came to us, he came home. We looked over his flaws just as he did ours. It's only been a few days since his passing, but I still look for him lying next to me in the office or digging through the trash to find leftover food treasures. I still expect to hear his bark and then hear the clanging of the pen as he tries to push himself out of it. I keep thinking I need to go and clean his ears or check his water bucket to be sure it's full. Or I keep thinking he'll come limping around the corner and peer his head into the office hoping it's empty so he can come lay inside. We take for granted what's always been there and not until it's gone are we aware just how much we needed it in our lives. I miss Chance so much and I sure do hope there really is a Heaven for dogs to be healthy and happy and when we get there that they'll be waiting for us.
I love you Bubba, and miss you every day.
Please consider making a donation in Chance's honor.
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