Thanks to two local Gold Star mothers, a veteran got his Chance … and Chance — a mixed-breed dog — got a second chance.
Elizabeth Johnson and Wendy Campbell were part of the network that flew the service animal last week from Boston to Portland International Airport, where James Allensworth was waiting to meet him.
Johnson’s son, Army Cpl. Jeremiah Johnson, died in 2007 as a result of injuries suffered while serving in Iraq. Johnson works for Horizon Air in their cargo freight facility at PDX.
Campbell’s son, Army Pfc. Andrew Shields, was killed by a suicide car bomber in Afghanistan in 2008. The Battle Ground Gold Star mother also is part of a couple of animal-welfare networks. Campbell, an Army veteran herself, also is affiliated with the Patriot Guard Riders; so is Allensworth.
After Allensworth put something up on a Patriot Guard Rider site, “one of them contacted me about finding Jimmy a service dog,” Campbell said.
“I was on Facebook, talking about (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression,” said Allensworth, a Tigard, Ore., resident who was in the Navy from 1978 to 1984. “The next thing, a Gold Star mom reaches out.”
Campbell said she looked for a dog locally but heard about a dog that was being donated. That led to another sequence of links.
“The gal with Chance was in touch with Wendy,” Johnson said. “Wendy knew I work for an airline. She forwarded a post and asked, ‘Any ideas?’ “
The typical rate for shipping a dog like Chance is $600 to $700, Johnson said. Allensworth’s friends raised some money through a fundraising website, but Johnson was able to reach out to some colleagues in the industry.
“We do the cargo for Alaska Airlines,” she said.
Alaska Airlines flies out of Boston, “which is not too far from where they were,” Johnson said.
After Johnson talked with a couple of people up the ladder, Chance was able to fly for $130, Johnson said, “which is a great price.”
Allensworth isn’t sure about his new companion’s pedigree.
“He is a probably a retriever of some sort,” Allensworth said, plus another breed or two. Whatever the blood line, he was too much dog for his previous owner.
“She couldn’t handle him. He’s a very active dog,” Allensworth said. “He needed a chance.”
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