Woman Saves Abandoned Dog Next Door—Then Another One Shows Up
Stephanie Garcia first noticed Chance a few days after her neighbors in the trailer next door had moved out. Alarmed that Chance wouldn’t be able to be fend for himself, she knew she had to act. She brought him food and water, leaving it on the other side of the gate, not wanting to trespass. But Chance wanted nothing to do with her or her husband and stayed away from them as far as possible.
She contacted the Texas SPCA, who came out to assess the situation—but ultimately they didn’t follow up. “They abandoned the abandonment case,” Stephanie said. Stephanie knew she needed to find another solution.
With four dogs and children of her own, she knew she had to proceed safely and legally. When she eventually saw the property owner, she explained the situation. The owner contacted the former tenants, who claimed they’d never had a dog, and gave Stephanie permission to go onto the property: “You’re more than welcome to get the dog,” she said.
Stephanie and her husband began by putting food and a dog bed under the trailer each night, establishing a routine. One day, Stephanie was able to get a little closer. Her husband encouraged her to try petting Chance—and to their surprise, he allowed it. Over the next few days, Stephanie continued gently petting him in different places. Slowly, the tail wags started. Chance began to look forward to seeing them.
Then one day, he followed Stephanie home and walked right into their garage. She stayed with him there for several hours to make him comfortable.
After a couple of days she heard Chance whining but when she opened the garage door she was surprised to see another dog!
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She posted online and learned that the dog, Nova, had been a stray living near a local dollar store for months.
They took Nova in, telling themselves, “We’ll figure it out.” Now they were caring for two extra dogs—on top of their four. Stephanie admits that six dogs is a lot, but she also knows how overwhelmed shelters and rescues are. And Chance and Nova already feel like family.
They’ve begun carefully introducing Chance and Nova to their other four dogs and plan to take things slowly as the pack adjusts.
In a big step forward, Chance and Nova recently got to sleep inside with the rest of the pack for the first time. They’re now receiving vaccinations, and Chance will begin heartworm treatment soon.
Stephanie’s neighborhood has become a dumping ground for stray animals, but she says she plans to keep helping however she can—though any future rescues will be adopted out.