Posted on 11/01/2011 3:15:05 AM PDT by Evil Slayer
The animal-control officer loaded the dogs, one by one, into the death chamber. Four or five were facing their final moments of life as Cody Berry did what he had to do.
'It’s the toughest part of the job,' said Berry, who has spent the last five months working for the Animal Control Department in Florence, Alabama.
Berry turned the key and pressed a button. A light came on, and carbon monoxide seeped into the chamber.
Unnamed and unwanted, the young beagle mix was left anonymously in a drop box outside an Alabama pound. His life was supposed to end in a gas chamber.
Instead, the young stray emerged frightened but unscathed, wagging his tail. Now, he's being hailed as a miracle dog, given the name Daniel after the biblical figure who survived the lion's den.
And he has a fresh start in New Jersey, where a rescue group hopes to find him a good home.
Only three animals have survived the gas chamber at the Animal Control facility in Florence in the past 12 years.
'Maybe God just had a better plan for this one,' said city spokesman Phil Stevenson.
Daniel's tail never stopped wagging as he stepped off a plane at a New Jersey airport, where he was flown on Wednesday by the nonprofit Eleventh Hour Rescue group and placed with volunteer Jill Pavlik until he can be adopted.
'He's absolutely fabulous,' Ms Pavlik, a hairdresser who works and lives in northern New Jersey, said on Friday.
'He walked in the house like he had always lived there. He's very sweet, happy and outgoing.'
Linda Schiller, the shelter's founder and president, said the facility has already received about 100 applications from people around the country seeking to adopt Daniel.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Full title. Shortened to meet word requirements.
Good dog!
I know what the owners of this dog did by dropping him off is better (not by much)then dumping him out on the side of a road 50 miles away, but I am dumbfounded that anyone could abandon there dog at all unless it is vicious or destructive.
This one appears to be neither. To me my dog is the one constant and 100% dependable friend I have. They never have bad days, never take ut their moods on you, necver ask for anything save to go out and a look around dinner time which says, “It’s time to eat”
The term “The only love money can by” is apt since they do provide us with unquestioned loyalty and love without end. Live with them in a mansion with prime rib for their dinner one day and in a cardboard box under a bridge the next and they will stay, uncomplaining by your side.
In a world which increasingly really sucks they are the one positive constant.
As I get older... I love my dogs more. LOL! A dog doesn’t judge you if you are too thin or too heavy. Mine have been by my side when I have had the flu or a migraine. They are sad when I leave the house and over-joyed when I return. They are the most forgiving creature that God has made IMHO. I currently have three.. but I could see myself in 20 years (after the kids have grown and gone) to be the crazy lady on the street with ten of them.
Joe... Doggie ping list possibility.
Scroll down to see video of Daniel’s arrival in New Jersey.
Why Some Men Have a Dog And No Wife:
1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.
2. Dogs don’t notice if you call them by another dog’s name.
3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
4. A dog’s parents never visit.
5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.
6. Dogs find you amusing when you’re drunk..
7. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.
8. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, “If I died, would you get another dog?”
9. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.
10. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.
11. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don’t get mad. They just think it’s interesting.
And last, but not least:
12. If a dog leaves, it won’t take half of your stuff.
To test this theory:
Lock your wife and your dog in the garage for an hour.
Then open it and see who’s happy to see you.
Reminds me of the joke:
Who loves you more, your wife or your dog?
Lock them both in the trunk of your car for a couple hours. When you open the trunk, the dog wags his tail and is glad to see you!!
I agree, unconditional love.
We have just one but have in the past had three along with a cat. Dogs were all German Shepherds and the cat was of the ally variety and ruled with an iron claw.
I agree with age making one closer to their pets. Perhaps as we get older we tend to relive the past and in doing so revisit the imagined injustices done us and the slights and hurtful actions directed towards us (whether caused by our own actions or not) and the just plain deceit all of us have been subjected to at some point in our lives. Opening your heart to another person is fraught with risks and the great possibility of emotional devastation. All of us have been involved in the end of a relationship and no matter where the fault lies there is great pain.
With our pets none of this happen and so we can allow our hearts to be fully open and our love for them to be expressed as unconditionally as their love is for us.
I believe all creatures are God’s creatures and are put here by Him for the purposes of man for sustenance, ecological balance and as in our domesticated pets, our emotional and even physical well being.
Did I mention I love my dog?
Can I add one, Mercat? If you leave the toilet seat up, a dog will be overjoyed. Easier access to that cold bowl water. ((( giggle )))
I hate to say it, but our pets are dependent on human lives. When human lives go to hell, the pets’ lives suffer as well.
Take grandma to an assisted living facility, and you’ve got to find a place for her cat. Grandpa dies suddenly and nobody wants his dog. Families have to relocate suddenly and can’t find a home for their pets. People loose their jobs and can’t afford to feed themselves and a pet.
It’s especially hard with older pets. Next year, hubby and I have to move from our farm to an apartment. We’d thought our moving days were over years ago, so we got a large dog and a couple of cats.
Now the dog is almost 16, one cat will be 11 and the other one will be almost 10. At the moment, it looks like my daughter will be taking them, but she’s young and her life is shifting. Who knows where she’ll be in a year?
Finding a home for a 16 year old dog is impossible.
I watched the video of these little pooch, algernonpj... and he is just a joy. He looks so happy playing with the other dogs and getting pets from humans. He showed absolutely no aggression at all! He is going to make a person/family very happy!
The perfect lifetime best buddie for some little boy.
You know... I was thinking that this little pooch just looks like the type to love kids and be a great buddy. He just looks like the type that would be by a child’s side all the time! I’m not saying that all dogs should go to families with kids only... but in this case, he just looks like he would do very well with children.
Pets are not allowed?
A large dog with incontinence would not be welcome in an apartment rental. None of the places that aren’t horrible welcome dogs over a certain size.
It’s just hard to say why someone would drop a dog off. It may have been a stray that someone picked up and took to the shelter rather than leave on the street. It may have been a situation where someone got a puppy and simply wasn’t able to care for it as it grew older. People make bad decisions and later realize they are bad decisions. I don’t believe in guilting someone who makes the decision to drop a dog off at a shelter because I don’t want them to decide to keep a dog in a worse situation (their home may be a worse situation—maybe they have an abusive family member who is mistreating the pet or they really cannot afford to feed the dog or get it vet care) or maybe they will simply drop the dog off in the country to fend for itself hoping it will find a nice country home. It won’t.
Better to say we are glad they availed themselves of the legal and available method rather than other options that may have been worse.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.