09/10/2025
I was there to check cattle, but it was the dog chained to the fence that broke me. It was 2003, a late August morning at the county auction. Dust rose in clouds, boots stomped through the dirt, and the auctioneerâs chant rolled like thunder through the tin roof.
Iâd been called to look over a couple calves before the bidding â routine work, nothing more.
But as I walked the pens, I noticed him.
A hound, ribs showing, coat dull, chained to a rusted fence post near the back. No water, no shade. Just a pair of tired eyes that followed every man who passed like he was still waiting for the one whoâd come back.
I asked one of the handlers, âWhose dog?â
He shrugged. âSome fella dropped him off with the goats. Said he didnât want him no more. Nobodyâs bid yet.â
The words sat heavy. Didnât want him no more.
I walked closer. The hound didnât growl. Didnât wag. He just sat there, as if conserving the little dignity he had left.
When I reached my hand out, he leaned into it â slow, careful, like it might be a trick. His ear was torn. His paws cracked. But when I scratched under his jaw, he closed his eyes like it was the first kindness heâd felt in years.
âWhatâs his name?â I asked.
The handler spat to***co into the dirt. âDonât know. Donât care. Heâs yours if you want him.â
So I unhooked the chain.
Carried him to the truck, past the pens of bawling calves, past the men shouting bids, past all the noise of a world that measured worth in dollars and pounds of flesh.
I set him gently on the seat beside me. He curled in, bones pressing through fur, and let out a sigh so deep it felt like he was emptying every hurt all at once.
Back at the clinic, I gave him water, food, a clean blanket. He ate slow, like he wasnât sure it wouldnât be taken away. I patched his ear, washed the dust from his coat.
When the staff asked what to call him, I said, âChance.â
Because thatâs what I figured we were giving each other.
Chance stayed with me a long while. Too old for hunting, too slow for guarding, but he had one gift left â loyalty.
Every morning, he followed me from room to room, nails clicking on the linoleum. When I sat with grieving owners saying goodbye, heâd curl up at their feet. Sometimes heâd press his head against a childâs leg, steadying them without a sound.
He wasnât flashy. Wasnât special in the way most folks use the word. But he was. And that was enough.
One night, years later, I found him lying on the porch. Still as the boards beneath him. His eyes half-closed, as if sleep had carried him farther than either of us expected.
I buried him under the oak behind the clinic. No headstone. Just a collar nailed to the trunk and a prayer whispered into the dirt.
ENDING TRUTH:
Iâve spent forty years patching wounds, fixing breaks, pulling life back from the edge. But sometimes the most important thing you can do is unhook the chain, open the truck door, and let someone know they were wanted after all.
Because every living soul deserves at least one chance.