After an extremely competitive selecting process, a dog found shot on the side of a East County road finally met his new family.
Chance, a golden retriever mix, was adopted by the Cavenaugh family Wednesday. The four-member family fell in love with Chance after reading about his journey on the internet.
Click here for a photo gallery of Chance's path to his new family.
Chance had a bullet wound on his torso, which appeared to have pierced his lungs. X-Rays of Chance showed that the bullet was just half-an-inch away from puncturing his heart and killing him almost instantly.
Chance was nursed back to health over the past month. His owner did come forward, but did not wish to keep Chance. Authorities still do not know who shot him.
The Cavenaughs met chance on St. Patricks Day, along with four other finalists.
"When we got the call, we were excited," said Sean Cavenaugh next to his wife and two kids. "We've been excited all week."
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Chance's story reached many potential families. He was the subject of his own TV show, in which he wreaked havoc in the Animal Shelter officers by escaping his kennel and going on Facebook. In a Facebook message on the County's website, Chance told his fans he was "feeling better every day."
The Cavenaugh family plans on making Chance the poster dog for animal adoption, they said.
"He's gonna be a star in the community," Sean said. "So we'll be happy to share him, maybe keep a web page so people can watch him grow up and see how he adapts to our neighborhood."
He added that Chance and other adopted animals have a lot to offer families.
"There's something about an adopted dog that's different," "He knows he had another life before that wasn't as good."
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