Shelter Dog at Death's Door Set to Get Life He 'Deserved From the Start'

An animal shelter in York, Pennsylvania, has melted hearts online after announcing that one of their puppies who came to them at death's door has finally found his forever home with a couple who couldn't stop thinking about the dog since they first met him.

In a post shared on Facebook earlier on Tuesday, York County SPCA in Pennsylvania wrote that a German shepherd puppy called Chance who was brought to the shelter in August has finally found a loving family all for himself. Chance has gone with a couple who have pledged to give him the kind of life he deserves.

York County SPCA told Newsweek: "We all love Chance here at the shelter and the resilience he showed, despite the horrible trauma he endured. He has life in his eyes again and was so excited to go to his forever home yesterday."

The Humane Society of the United States says that 80 percent of pet owners believe their animals to be family members, while 17 percent consider them to be pets or companions, and about 3 percent see them as property.

A caption along with the post reads: "Words cannot express how happy we are to announce that Chance, the resilient German Shepherd pup who came to us on death's door one month ago, was adopted today!! Chance will share his forever home with Officer Tamanosky of the York City Police Department and his family."

The post adds that Tamanosky was on the scene when Chance was found beaten nearly to death in August. After seeing him, both Tamanosky and his fiancée could not stop thinking about Chance and began inquiring about him, until they were finally able to take their beloved pup home.

The caption reads: "Officer Tamanosky said, 'I just want to give him a good home and a nice, easy-going life he's deserved from the start. Seeing how low of a point he was and helpless, I just wanted to be part of his recovery and give him the right home and a nice, fun life to make him forget about all the trauma he's been through.'

"We are so grateful to this wonderful family for giving Chance his happy ending. We know he is in good, loving hands and will live a fulfilling life with his new family," the post reads. "Thank you to Officer Tamanosky and Sabrina for adopting this wonderful, rambunctious boy.

"[Thank you to] the team at Mason Dixon Animal Emergency Hospital for stabilizing him so our team had the opportunity to care for him; the police officers who responded and those working to bring him justice; our amazing veterinary team who love him and supported his daily care; and to our community who donated to save this dog's life through our Second Chance fund."

Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet 'Shelter Watch Report' found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

One user, Dotty Jones, commented on the viral video: "So grateful he's with someone who will never hurt this poor baby again."

And Vicki Bullock-Diven posted: "Such great news that Chance has heeled! Such a good-looking boy! Congratulations to him for being adopted. Thx to all who took great care of Chance!! Did the Police find the evil human that did this??"

Angie Baker added: "I'm so happy they were chosen to be Chance's forever family! God Bless them for loving him and giving him the love and family he deserves!! Forever Grateful!!"

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