Chance’s Story September 2021
Not long ago in early April, a tired and dirty dog slowly walked into Gina’s backyard. He was a fairly big boy, white and brown. A Pit Bull/Boxer mix. He was very skinny. He had grass stains on his white fur and he was covered in fleas. His long, pink tongue hung out of the side of his mouth, giving him the illusion of a giant smile. He looked up at Gina, squinting his eyes in the bright morning sun.
“Hey big boy….” she tentatively said. She waited and saw a tail wag.
“Wait right here, I’ll get you some water.”
When she returned, the dog had walked a few steps closer to her back door. He sat patiently, waiting for Gina to bring him water. He drank it all, tail thumping the whole time.
Gina let him hang out in her yard in the shade, replenishing his water throughout the day. The big dog was content to just sit and stay. By 5:00, after Gina fed all her dogs, she approached the dog with a dish of food. He gratefully accepted it and ate it all. By 9:00 pm, Gina wondered what to do with the gentle giant. She decided that she’d set up a doggie bed on her covered back patio, place a bowl of water there and then she went to bed.
The next morning, the dog was sound asleep on the bed. He sat up when her heard Gina approaching, thumped his tail and ate his breakfast. Gina went to her vet and bought some Cap Star flea meds. She gave them to the dog. He hung around all that day and the next. Days went by and the dog seemed content to stay. Gina named him Chance. She posted on social media, hung posters and asked around about the big, calm and happy dog. No one responded and days turned into weeks.
Gina named the dog Chance. He got along with her other dogs and was friendly towards everyone. She managed to bathe him and fatten him up. Eventually, Chance moved from the back patio to a large kennel in the family room. From there, he joined the family. Gina’s vet informed her that Chance had ear infections and was heart worm positive. X-Port Paws agreed to take him on and Gina agreed to foster him.
For four months, Chance went through heart worm treatment, cleaned up his ears and learned what is meant to be part of a loving family. When XPP got the call that Chance had finished treatment and was heart worm negative, Nikki posted on social media that it was time that Chance had a home of his own.
Michelle and I thought that while we knew how amazing Chance was, it would take awhile before anyone else knew. you see, big, bully breeds, especially older ones, are hard to place. It’s ridiculous because dogs like Chance make incredible family dogs. We were prepared to wait a long time for the perfect application. And then, right away, the perfect family applied.
Katie and Jeff had just lost one of their three dogs and were looking for another rescue. They wanted a dog similar to their bull terriers. They were scrolling through social media and found the post about Chance.
Chance is now living his best life with his two buddies, Katie and Jeff. Chance has joined the family’s two bull terrier rescues, Butch and Luna. To be honest, it seemed that Chance had been with Gina for so long, that we at XPP thought that he would become Gina’s dog….but the Universe lined up and now he has the best life ever.
Gina has since taken in a little senior rescue named Rusty and she’ll work on getting him his Happily Ever After. This is how we in rescue work it, we are able to love a dog as if he’s our own, let him break our hearts a little when he leaves for his forever home, celebrate his victory, then make room for another dog in need.
Thank you to Michelle, Nikki, Gina, Katie and Jeff, Butch and Luna.
#thruthefrontdoor
#rescuedogsrock
#liveyrbestlifechance