"Chance"..

Because he got a 2nd Chance at Life.

The Story starts on Friday July 31st 2009 in Laurens County South Carolina, which is in the "Upstate" area near Greenville. My Stepson Travis and friend just happen to notice something in a drainage ditch as they were leaving a residence.. it had moved. When Travis stops the truck and gets out to investigate he is absolutely shocked by what he see's .. a small blond puppy writhing in pain and yelping as it was being bitten by fireants. Weak from the loss of blood due to a massive number of fleas (over 150-200) he could barely even stand up or move to get away. The ants were attacking his bum and his tail and would have killed him before the day was out if not found.

Travis quickly picked up the puppy and was immediately bitten all over his arms by the ants. He brushed them off himself and the dog and got on the phone to his mother (my wife). I just happended to be on my way home when she called me to stop and get puppy flea shampoo and described what was going on. When I got home we worked for over 1 1/2 hours bathing and picking fleas off the puppy. We also slowly gave him some high protein puppy food to start getting him some energy.

The next day (Saturday) he was taken to a local Vet (Holmes Vet on Hwy 14 in Laurens) who was FANTASTIC! She only charged us $35.00 to check him out and give him the medications he needed and sent some stuff home with him too. Over the next few days the treatment for worms would give him the runny poops but he would get through it. His little personality would start coming through too. He LOVES to play, loves to run after the kitties in the house - but doesnt like getting "tagged" by them though. He will follow myself or my wife now everywhere we go and then just stop and sit and look up at us. We have now went ahead and allowed him in our room and let him sleep with us like we have done all of our new puppies. He aparently likes to curl up around my shoulder and head and sleep...then I get paws across my face in the middle of the night....but we are working that out. Whether or not we can keep him or if a member of our family is going to keep him - he will NEVER, EVER be abandonded again.

You never know when YOU will be in this or a similar situation to help an abandonded animal. Just because you stop and render assistance doesnt mean you're stuck with it or are liable for it. I would suggest reading your state's laws on pet owners rights and responsibilities and also County/City ordinances that might affect what you have to do.

BUT - Always remember, SAFETY FIRST! Especially an injured animal. You can be bitten which could easily give you rabies or a horrible infection. If you have any doubts or if there are warning signs - call 911 or Animal Control (if you cant find the owner). Recently I watched a Beagle crossing back and forth on a busy rural highway. I stopped and turned around, went back. Sure enough, she got hit as I pulled over and waited for her to come back around. I ended up taking her to the Emergency Vet Hospital because I couldnt find her owners. They were 1/4 mile away we found out later on. She was lucky, she had only broken her jaw, it could have been worse if I hadnt stopped traffic after she was hit... But.. I was also prepared too.

A little preparation will go a LONG way when you need it. Put the items below in the trunk of your car to help you in in case you need to assist an animal, this is by no means a complete list, but its better than nothing. You can put this stuff in a small cardboard box in your trunk and just forget about it - until you NEED it!

• A Large Clean Towel (or two) in a sealed plastic bag (to keep them clean). This will help if you have to wrap up a hurt animal and or keep it from bleeding on you or also nipping you too. Towels are cheap at Dollar General if you need to buy one or two.
• A 2 liter bottle (old Soda Bottle) of water
• An old Pillow case - for putting cats, kitten into .. calms them down and keeps them from going crazy and hurting you if you absolutely have to.
• Can of Cat food, Dog Food to entice or get an animal to come to you. Get one that has an easy open Tab. Often animals are scared and hungry - this helps to get them to come to you and start to establish a very basic trust. Treats go bad in the heat of a trunk, as does food after awhile. Replace after 6 to 8 months etc.
• A small two compartment bowl (food & water), you can pick these up at Walmart for about three bucks.
• A cheap leash/collar from the store (again, Dollar stores have them cheap) may help if you need it.

At home there are quite a few things you REALLY should have if you have pets. But thats a discussion for another page!

Now.. Enjoy some pictures of our Buddy Chance! The Beagador! ..




dd