A stray beagle mix that cheated death in the gas chamber of an Alabama dog pound is up for adoption in New Jersey.
Volunteers began looking for a new home for the 20-pound canine known as Daniel after he walked out unscathed and wagging his tail from the carbon-monoxide chamber of the Animal Control Department in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3.
The nonprofit Eleventh Hour Rescue group in Rockaway, NJ, arranged to have the plucky survivor flown to its shelter, where he’s awaiting adoption.
Meeting him at the airport was Jill Pavlik, who with husband Mark has been a foster mom to dozens of pooches awaiting permanent adoption.
Eleventh Hour volunteer Roger Keyser told New Jersey’s Star-Ledger that the dog “has got to have some destiny.”
Pilots N Paws, a network of more than 200 registered pilots nationwide who donate their time, money and aircraft, helped give Daniel a second chance at life.
Phil Stevenson, a Florence city spokesman, said yesterday that no one is sure why Daniel was the lone survivor.
“It may be that his breathing was shallow because of a cold or something,” he said. “Or maybe God just had a better plan for this one.”
Stevenson said the gas chamber is a stainless-steel box roughly the size of a pickup-truck bed. A pump slowly feeds carbon monoxide into the chamber.
“It sort of rocks them to sleep slowly. It’s like the cases you hear about where people are overcome by carbon monoxide in their home and just never wake up,” Stevenson said.
Anyone interested in adopting Daniel or any of the many other rescued pups can go online to http://www.ehrdogs.org.