Me and Chance: Our Story
Home Together
I did not hesitate to rescue him from that house, nor did I know what to expect of him. When I got there, he was just lying on the floor, didn’t even get up to greet me. His person bent down and started boo-hooing over him but Chance turned and gave him a sharp warning to back off. Telling, I thought. I hooked my boy to his lead, he jumped right up and out the door we went. We never looked back and I never walked him down that street again.
Dakota was 15 by the time Chance came to be with us. He came into the house wanting to play and horse around with her but she was not having any of it. He quickly learned to give her space and was respectful of her age. He also arrived with a UTI and was infested with fleas. Dakota never had fleas. I’ve never had to deal with them. But here was this poor sick dog, infested to the point that he couldn’t sleep. I learned that he hadn’t visited the vet on a regular basis. Chance would not allow anyone to handle him. Our vet experience was stressful and I could tell he was frightened. He was hand shy and didn’t quite trust those attempting to handle or pet him.
Those early months with Chance were not always easy but I was determined to give him a better life. He grew healthy and we began our new, more settled, life together. It took me a couple of years to gain his absolute trust. In the end, our bond was intense. I knew he wouldn’t bite me and he knew I would do him no harm.
Dakota passed about a year after Chance’s arrival. His presence was consoling and made her loss tolerable.
It didn’t take long to figure out that Chance’s entire world revolved around me. He followed me everywhere. If I went upstairs to get something, he was at my heels. If I got up to use the bathroom, he followed me and stood at the doorway!
When I put him in the backyard for the first time, he didn’t realize that he was free to run around. He thought he was tethered…I ran around (like a nut) to try to get him to chase me, to show him what he could do. When he finally realized he was free, he jumped straight up into the air on all fours! Then he ran circles the width of the yard. I could feel his exhilaration and joy. I will never forget that moment. He made me cry. I was so happy for him.
While Chance was a master at entertaining himself with a tennis ball, I had to teach him how to play with a human. Dakota and I spent many years playing Frisbee and kickball in the yard. I loved to play with her. I even had floodlights installed in my NJ backyard so we could play when I got home from work after dark. When we moved to Maine we would go to a beach and I threw sticks into the water, she’d swim out and bring them back for more.
He did eventually learn to play but would engage like he was playing with a dog. I was startled at first because he is very tall when on his hind legs and he was strong. I was cracking up, though. I’m sure we were quite the sight. Eventually, he did learn to be gentle. He knew just how hard he could bite down on my hand.
Water St., Lubec. Always time to stop and smell the Lupines!
But his all-time favorite activity was to walk. He loved it. And he had a strut about him; like he knew he was Top Dog! After all, by now he was pretty famous. Everyone in Lubec knew who he was. He had his “people” all around town; those that were good to him. He never forgot them and would give them his best greet which was usually accompanied by a little Husky talk. Some even got a nibble on the nose! He also knew who the bad boys were and would not give them the time of day. Walking with Chance at times was like the parting of the seas, he always walked straight down the middle of the road – his tail raised high like a flag. During tourist season, when the town is filled with new people and their furry friends, some would cross to the other side of the street – if they only knew just how gentle he was. Some would stop us and ask if he was a wolf, could they pet him, and comment on how beautiful he was. He was a very handsome man. Handsome man, handsome man. You’re my handsome man…I would sing to him. Sometimes I could get him howling to his song!
His other joy was “going to work”. That meant going to the pizzeria. When I first opened the pizzeria, he was not happy that I went there without him. He didn’t care when I went to work at my computer job on the Island. It was as if he knew he couldn’t go to the office but why can’t he go to the pizzeria? So of course, he came. He loved it…just wanted to be with his people. He had a pretty good set up there and we settled into our routine. He made lots of people and doggie friends there too.