We met Chance the Black Lab yesterday, so named because he was given a second chance at life, a second chance dog. His story is sad and sweet. Chance himself? All sweet.
Chance’s dad went through four years of veterinary school years ago, but his life took a different path. That was no reason to give up on animals, though, so he and his family have always had pets, Chance being the more recent addition. A few years back, the dog loving mom and dad were strolling near the Arkansas River, here in Tulsa, and there was an adoption fair set up. The first dog they came upon was a young, handsome Black Lab, about a year old, Chance.
Chance, for second chance, was found on the road as a puppy. It’s believed that he was bred to be a show dog, but had aesthetic defects which made him less than show quality, so he was dumped in Claremore, OK. I can hear you hissing and booing. Believe me, I did the same thing. Fortunately for Chance, he was fostered by a young teenage girl who was excellent with dogs. She had this second chance Black Lab trained to do anything and everything a dog would need to do.
My friend says that they were lucky to come upon the second chance dog when they did. First, their own Lab had recently passed and they were still grieving the loss. Second, a line formed behind them with people wanting to adopt Chance. But this second chance dog went home with my friend, the young girl crying to see her baby dog go. Fostering is hard, whether it’s human children or fur children. But it freed her heart and home to give another dog a second chance.
So, like I told you yesterday, Chance is trained to not receive a treat until given permission. His training fell apart when he met a Jones Beef Shank Bone – he grabbed it. Not only did it fall apart, but here’s what his dad had to say a couple of days after I left him the bone, when I asked if his second chance dog was gnawing the bone or had managed to break it:
He gnaws on it. Funny thing. In the middle of the night I kept hearing a repetitive clunking sound coming from the Living Room. I got up to see what was going on and Chance was laying on the LR floor and he was playing with his bone and tossing it up in the air and letting it clunk on the wood floor, then tossing it up again and again. Never seen anything like it. And if I move towards his bone he runs over and grabs it and keeps it in his mouth until it’s safe to lay it down again. Hilarious.
He sent a photo along.
I’d like to thank my friends for letting me drop by their home on a weekend and bother their second chance dog. Weekends are precious in this busy life. I appreciate the opportunity to make dogs smile with all natural, all USA grown and produced dog treats from Jones Natural Chews. And if I’m ever in your neck of the woods, I hope you let me drop in and make your dog smile.
Until I write again …
Flea
