Back in June, Sergeant Gary Carter went to check out a report of a vicious dog on North East Street in Arlington.
When he got there, he saw a pit bull wandering near the road, but quickly realized he was a friendly dog that was simply lost.
“He was, I think, more trying to make friends than hurt anybody,” Carter told NBC 5 back then.
A picture of the two from that day was posted to the Arlington police department’s Facebook page, and within hours, it went viral.
The post has now been seen more than 12 million times, has more than 177,000 likes and more than 71,000 shares.
The dog, whose name is Jeffrey, was taken to Arlington Animal Services and was ultimately reunited with his owner.
Carter assumed that was the last time he’d see his new four-legged friend.
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He assumed wrong.
“Sometimes things don’t work out the way you think they’re gonna,” said Carter.
Last week, Jeffrey escaped through his fence again and ended up back at Arlington Animal Services. His owner decided things weren’t working out with him and he didn’t want to pay the fee to get him out, so he gave Jeffrey up to the shelter.
Because the shelter has been inundated with dogs in recent weeks, it’s quickly running out of room. That meant Jeffrey only had a short time to find a new home, or be euthanized.
Carter learned about his predicament Wednesday night.
“I just thought it was a terrible shame,” said Carter. “I mean, he’s obviously a kindhearted dog.”
Thursday morning, he went to the shelter to see what he could do to help Jeffrey get adopted, thinking he’d snap some pictures the police department could post online.
That’s when it hit him.
“He keeps getting in my way,” said Carter. “I keep running into him like this. So I think I maybe ought to just listen and go ahead and take him home.”
After he got the OK from his wife, he signed the papers and adopted Jeffrey – changing his name to Chance.
“Chance just seems like an awfully good name,” said Carter. “It’s like his second chance. He is getting a second chance.”
Carter said he never thought this story would take an even wilder turn like this. But as he looks down at his new companion, he says he’s the one who feels like the lucky dog.
The owners of a Weatherford-based company called K-9 International heard about Chance’s story. They were so moved, they offered to give Carter and Chance free obedience classes.
