From A Body Score Of 1 To A Loving Home: Chance Got The Life His Name Promised

When Chance was found dumped on a desolate road, his body score was a 1, the lowest it can be. At just 8 weeks old, he was emaciated, covered in demodex mange, and his raw, crusted skin stretched over a tiny, skinny frame. He had an abscess on his face, he was struggling to breathe through an upper respiratory infection, and his body temperature had dropped to just 91°F. Today, he is warm, healthy, growing a full coat of hair, and settled in with his new family in New Jersey.

When we first stood Chance up for his exam, his little legs still tried to hold him, and when we bundled him in warm blankets, he settled right in. Bringing him back had to happen slowly. We warmed him carefully, offered tiny meals only as his body could handle them, and began treating his skin, his infections, and the abscess on his face. Within days, he was holding a normal body temperature, eating his small, careful meals, and starting medicated mousse on his damaged skin. He wore a little rescue shirt that hung off his frame and curled up beside a tiny green frog that became his constant companion.

Then came the moment we had been waiting for: Chance was up, slowly walking, and exploring. He was strong enough to leave the shelter for one of our trusted foster homes, where he got the one-on-one care a puppy like him needed. There was one more bump along the way when he developed tummy troubles. His fecal tests came back normal, and a special diet helped settle his sensitive stomach while the rest of his body kept healing.

Week by week, Chance kept going. He ate, he grew, and his skin slowly healed. Then his hair started growing back over the skin that had once been raw and crusted, and he began to look like a completely different dog. We named him Chance because, at the start, that was all we could promise him: warm blankets, careful feeding, medicine, and gentle hands. His little body did the rest.

Now, Chance has left for his new home in New Jersey, where he finally gets to be the puppy he was always meant to be. None of this would have been possible without you. To everyone who donated, shared his story, and cheered him on, and to the foster who opened their home to him, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You carried Chance through every step of his recovery and all the way to his happily ever after.