Chance the old, deaf dog
Chance
owes his life to another sanctuary dog, blind Kenai. We were
working with a rescue group to get Kenai out of the rural California animal control facility where
she faced euthanasia. We had called the shelter director with
a question about Kenai, and during the conversation she suddenly
said, "You know, we have another one just like her."
We asked, what do you mean? She said there was another old,
blind Lab mix who had been dumped off about the same time
as Kenai.
"His name is Chance," she said, "and I have to tell you, he isn't going to get another one here." She asked if we could take him, too. Not wanting to leave him behind, we sighed and said 'yes.'
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So our rescue friends pulled Chance out of the facility when they took Kenai. Chance and Kenai met for the first time in a rescuer's home that night, and then together they boarded a flight the next day for Salt Lake City and on to Missoula.
When we let them out of their crates at the Missoula airport, we noticed right away that this old guy didn't seem very blind. In fact, he seemed to get around remarkably well for a dog with no vision. Odd, we thought. The other odd thing: He didn't seem to know his name, because he didn't respond to it at all. We thought maybe the shelter made a mistake when they gave us his name.
By the second day, we realized there was indeed something wrong with Chance … but it wasn't his eyes. It was his ears. He was deaf. Very deaf. That's why he didn't respond when we called him. He just couldn't hear us.
This is one adorable old boy. He loves nothing more than to be held and cuddled. He will actually do a little dance when he thinks it's cookie time. He doesn't like to compete with the other dogs to be noticed. Befitting his advanced years (10-12, we think) and dignified bearing, Chance prefers to sit quietly and offer up his paw to you for attention.
We wondered about the people who could dump an old, deaf dog at an animal control facility a few days before Christmas and just drive off. But we are so glad that one blind dog led us to this deaf, elderly fellow, and that Chance will be able to live out his remaining years here at the ranch.
