ST. LOUIS - Cast into a city gas chamber to be euthanized with other unwanted or unclaimed dogs, it appeared the roughly year-old Basenji mix had simply run out of luck — and time.
But this canine had other ideas.
When the death chamber's door swung open Monday, the dog now dubbed Quentin — for California's forbidding San Quentin State Prison — stood very much alive, his tail and tongue wagging.
Animal-control supervisor Rosemary Ficken had never seen such a survivor, and she didn't have the nerve to slam the door shut again.
This 30-pound animal, she believed, beat the odds and should live on.
"She told me, 'Please, take him. I don't have the heart to put him back in there and re-gas him,'" said Randy Grim, founder and head of Stray Rescue of St. Louis, the charitable shelter that took in the dog before taking the animal's story public.
Quentin's ordeal was played and replayed Wednesday on local TV stations, drawing people looking to adopt him.
"To me, it's a miracle or divine intervention," Grim said. "I can't help but think he's here to serve a higher purpose. This case blew me away. This is amazing."
On Wednesday, Quentin was a little malnourished but "in very good condition," Grim said. He was being checked for heartworm and other maladies by a veterinarian.
"You can tell he's really digging it," Grim said. "He has a bed, love, food and water."
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