Bill & Chance (Life With Dogs)
Over the summer, Bill Collins, a Vietnam veteran, took a tumble, seriously injuring himself and knocking himself unconscious. While this could usually spell disaster, Bill’s best friend, a boxer mix named Chance suffering from a painful disability, wasn’t about to let that happen.
Bill Collins and Chance were alone in Bill’s Oneida, Tennessee home when he slipped and fell.
“I saw the floor coming, but that’s the last thing I remember,” he said. The fall not only knocked him out, but Bill had also managed to badly cut open his forehead.
Blood on Chance’s nose suggested that the senior dog tried to wake his owner, but he was out cold. Chance then headed to the screen door and opened it, a trick taught to him by Bill, and went to find help.
In order to reach a neighbor’s house, Chance would need to jump the fence surrounding Bill’s yard; a feat for a 10 year old dog suffering from painful hip dysplasia. “I’ve never seen him jump that fence,” said Bill.
Bill’s neighbor, Dusty, found Chance at his front door with blood on his nose, legs and back. Chance escorted him back to Bill’s house where he found Bill lying on the floor.
“I remember Dusty picking me up,” said Bill, who credits Chance with saving his life. “I don’t know how long I would have laid there. I could have laid there and bled out.”