On a Saturday in late July Chance Patterson’s life was forever changed by a drunk driver. He had finished working a double shift at Larkburger, a restaurant chain located in Chance’s home state, Colorado. After his shift Chance immediately went to pick up his best friends, his two dogs Carlitos, a German shepherd, and Izzy, a pit bull, from the doggy daycare they had been at while he worked. It was then, on the way home from the doggie daycare, on a mountainous pass on Colorado’s Interstate 70, that a drunk driver collided with Chance’s vehicle.
The first thing Chance remembers after the accident is asking about his dogs. A truck driver had come to his aid, and as he was drifting in and out of consciousness, he asked the man if his dogs were okay. Sadly, Carlitos was killed in the accident, but there was a sliver of hope for Izzy because he was nowhere to be seen. Chance immediately, through a haze of pain and confusion, asked the man to please look for Izzy.
When rescue workers arrived, they had to physically cut Chance out of his car, and he was left with a broken leg, broken ribs, a broken elbow, and a lacerated lung. His biggest concern though was always Izzy and finding him. Luckily, the community where Chance lives and works sprung into action, and there was an all-out search for the pit bull.
People started seeing Izzy around town by Monday, but after the accident, she was skittish, and wouldn’t let anyone get close to her. By that Thursday the search party had narrowed down where she was staying and came up with a plan – to have an employee from the doggie daycare who knows Izzy well draw her out. The plan went off without a hitch, as soon as Izzy saw a familiar face she came out of hiding. The search party called chance as soon as the dog was safe.
“I had no words,” said Chance, “I was so happy. I thought I’d lost both my dogs.”
Izzy could not immediately be reunited with Chance, however, as Chance had a lot of recovering to do, and would not be able to see his pup for another two weeks. When they finally were reunited, it was extremely emotional. An onlooker is quoted as saying, “She was so excited to see her dad. Chance has a long road ahead of him to heal both physically and emotionally. We are just grateful that he has Izzy by his side.”
Chance and Izzy are now staying with friends until they can live on their own again, and Chance no longer needs a wheelchair. In the end, Chance says he has no hard feelings with the drunk driver but would like his story to inspire others to think before they drive drunk, and make better choices, so no one else ends up in the same situation.
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Source: Today Show
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