Chance was adopted on Thursday, July 7th.  We thought that Chance had found his forever home.  Unfortunately, on Friday morning, I received and email that Chance had ran away from home!  My boyfriend and I immediately left work to head 3+ hours into VA to where he was last seen at his adopted home.

We consulted with a tracker who does search and rescue work and followed her advice.  As soon as we got there, Steve took off his undershirt and we cut it into lots of small pieces.  Steve, Iry, and I started I trail in the direction his adopters saw him run off in.  We walked 1.5 miles out into the muddy, tick-infested brush making a scent trail and leaving bits of t-shirt along the way.  We finished the scent trail and driving around a few hours later.  We were exhausted and covered in sweat and ticks (I must have literally pulled 15 ticks off of me and Iry).  Sadly, we drove home without any sign of Chance.  On the 3+ hour drive home, we planned to return the next day to check the local pound and put up posters. 

The next morning, I awoke to an email from the adopters that they had found him running close to where we left our scent trail and they were able to catch him!  With the stress of everything that had happened, his adopters decided they were not ready to have a dog, and we happily arranged to pick him up that day.  We drove 2.5 hours through traffic to pick him up in the parking lot of a Wegmans.  We immediately took him to PetSmart where I had a tag made for him.

Chance is a very loyal, sweet boy, but it will take TIME for him to build up trust in you.  After just over two months with him, he will come to me when I call him even off leash and will follow me anywhere, but it will most likely take a few weeks for him to even acknowledge you when you talk to him.  I have done a lot of work with him, but this is still a dog from a traumatic situation and it will take time for him to form a bond with you.  His new owners will need patience, commitment, and understanding to earn his trust and gain a loyal dog for life.  Until then, it is crucial that he wear a fitted ID collar (you should only be able to fit 2 fingers underneath) at all times and a Freedom harness on walks (we can give one to you).  His new owners should also understand that he loves to be outside and will try to bolt out of an open door. 

I am just happy that he is back in my care safe and sound!  We're just going to take it easy for this next week or two and let him enjoy foster life.  This morning, we went on his favorite trail in Rock Creek and his tail went up and was wagging the whole time - I am so glad he is safe!