A second chance.
That's the story of Chance the dog.
Chance, a 3-year-old chocolate lab, was rescued from a Jan. 3 house fire on Walsh Street in Jefferson City. One of his owners died from smoke inhalation, and his other owner suffered serious injuries and is no longer able to care for him.
His new owner, Jefferson City Assistant Fire Chief Tim Grace, was not on duty when the fire occurred, but he worked the cleanup and rescue effort after the fire was extinguished.
"Chance was brought out by two firefighters and was only breathing five times per minute when they got him out," Grace said. "He truly is getting a second chance because he should not have survived the fire."
Chance was taken to the Jefferson City Animal Shelter. Grace checked in on the dog a few hours after he was brought in.
"We had hoped the surviving owner would be able to care for him, but it just didn't work out," Grace said. "I had told the folks there that if the dog needed a foster home or if they needed someone to adopt him, then they should call me."
Grace said the volunteers at the shelter are the unsung heroes for walking Chance and all the other "unnoticed acts" they did to get him in a condition to be adopted.
"I got attached to him pretty quickly," Grace said. "We had a lab who was 13 that we had to put down because of health issues. I missed having that companion, so now I have Chance."
Grace picked Chance up Tuesday. He should weigh around 85 pounds, but he's at 114 right now, and he's still recovering from smoke inhalation.
"We've been to the dog park walking and running, and we're getting his diet straightened out," Grace said.
Grace said his wife, Pam, and sons, Zac and Tyler, considered about a dozen names, which they had narrowed down to Smokey, Walsh and finally Chance, which stuck.
"Everybody just loves him," Grace said. "We're happy, and I've got a new fishing partner."