Miracle Dog: Daniel the Beagle Up for Adoption after Surviving Gas Chamber

It's a happy ending that wasn't supposed to happen for a big eared, doe-eyed beagle.

Now, the dog that was found as a stray in Alabama and defied death, is searching for a new home.

Three weeks ago, the beagle was euthanized along with 18 other dogs at an overcrowded animal shelter in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3.

But to the shock of everyone he somehow survived.

When the animal control officer in charge of the operation returned to the locked chamber he found the dog waiting at the door, wagging its tail. The other dogs were dead.

His amazing survival has attracted several charitable groups to come to his aid to make sure he isn't sent back into the gas chamber. He found a temporary home in Tennessee with Karen Rudolph, who runs Schnauzer Savers Rescue of West Tennessee with her husband Michael.

Rudolph dubbed him Daniel, inspired by the biblical story of Daniel, who walked out of a lion's den unscathed. Eleventh Hour Rescue, which brought Daniel to New Jersey with the help of Pilots and Paws, gave the dog the last name "Milagro," meaning miracle in Spanish.

When Rudolph took Daniel Milagro to see her veterinarian, he received a clean bill of health.

"Amazingly, not only did he survive the gas chamber which is very rare … he was not sick," Rudolph said. "It was almost as though angels pulled him out of there and he didn't even breathe the gas."

At 20 pounds, Daniel is underweight and his immune system is slightly compromised, but otherwise he is in good health, Eleventh Hour Rescue president Linda Schiller said. Schiller's group is trying to find a home for Daniel.

The beagle is now staying with Eleventh Hour volunteer Jill Pavlik until the organization finds an appropriate home for him.

She's his new foster mom while they search for the perfect home.

"He's very fun loving , he's very sweet," said Pavlik.

Schiller isn't worried about finding a new home for Daniel, who is highly adoptable due to his celebrity status. In fact, just an hour after the Star Ledger newspaper first covered the story, Schiller had received over 200 emails from readers interested in Daniel, and the attention hasn't slowed down since.

But she hopes at least some of the applicants will be interested in adopting other dogs.

"We have dogs that are just as wonderful as him that were on death row, but didn't walk out of a gas chamber," Schiller said. "They're happy and they're wagging their tales and ready to be adopted."

Other Miracle Dogs

Daniel isn't the first pup to be called a miracle dog.

Back in March, a little puppy from Oklahoma came back to life after being put down not once, but twice.

After becoming a Facebook phenomenon, Wall-E made it to New York and "Good Morning America."

He has since been adopted by a family in Pennsylvania.

Adopt a pet today. Get him/her a good ID Tag. A good ID Tag with up to date info is a vital safety net for keeping you and your companion together. ... In the event if your pet is ever separated with you, an identification tag is his safe ticket home.

Family Pets Get Trained to Become Service Dogs

We all like to think of our family pets just as that, part of the family. But for local veteran Kimberly Cunningham, her "man's best friend" goes even further than that.

Cunningham and her 5-year-old daughter rescued the Pitbull mix Beans two years ago. Their bond might initially seem just like any other four legged and two legged friendship. On a typically Sunday afternoon Beans is hanging out on Kim's lap, just enjoying being petted by her owner.
"She's a lap dog. She's a snuggler. And she has to just be with you all the time," Kim says.

The bond between Beans and Cunningham reaches far beyond the realm of just a lap dog, though. Kimberly has severe post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.

"It's inside and it's a very terrifying thing for me it's traumatizing on a daily basis. I want to be so normal and it's just not there," Kim explains.

That's where the 2-year-old rescued pit bull comes in. About a month ago, Kim read about Canine Angels, a local group that adopts dogs and then trains them for PTSD veterans. Rather than give Kim another dog, she thought maybe Beans could undergo training.

For about the past month, the family dog has been training to become Kimberly's service dog. She says the strong bond between human and pet is what makes the training so easy.

"She picked up on it right away, and it was pretty incredible to watch him work with her and then deal with me," she says.

Rick Kaplan, the owner of Canine Angels says this is the first time he has ever trained a pet that was already in the family, but Beans took to training very quickly. Already the dog's presence is already a calming force to Kim's symptoms like anxiety and panic attacks.

Kim says even though she rescued Beans as a nine week old puppy, Beans is the one giving her a one of the greatest gifts of all.

"Beans will be able to give me my life back. I realize that there's a light at the end of the tunnel and with her I know I will eventually have a life again."

Source : WPDE news