The Story Behind 648 Hours and Chance’s Adventure

Some stories are planned. Others begin in a moment you would give anything to undo.

Chance’s story began when he escaped from the home where he was staying in January 2026. What followed became 27 days—648 hours—of searching, hoping, praying, organizing, grieving, and refusing to give up.

Those 648 hours changed me. They also revealed the extraordinary strength of a community and eventually inspired two very different books: 648 Hours and Chance’s Adventure.

When Chance Disappeared

Chance was not simply a missing dog. He was a deeply loved member of our family, a cherished part of My Little Dachshund Heaven, and a little cream dachshund completely unprepared for the brutal winter conditions he faced.

During the search, two snowstorms moved through the area. Temperatures dropped, wind chills became dangerous, and every passing hour carried new fear.

The search required strategy, patience, property access, cameras, sightings, drone flights, feeding stations, and the help of people who were willing to keep showing up.

One of the hardest lessons was that finding a frightened dog is very different from calling a family pet in from the yard.

A dog in survival mode may run even from the people they love. Chasing, calling, approaching, or creating too much activity can unintentionally push them farther away.

We had to learn to quiet our instincts and follow the strategy most likely to bring Chance home safely.

A Community Refused to Give Up

People searched roads, fields, woods, properties, and camera footage.

They shared posts, reported sightings, offered access to their land, checked locations, brought equipment, provided food, and supported us emotionally.

There were moments of hope followed by disappointment. There were possible sightings that led nowhere and long stretches when we heard nothing.

Still, the search continued.

After 27 days, Chance was finally captured and brought home.

He was thin, dehydrated, injured, and exhausted—but he was alive.

His recovery required patience, careful refeeding, veterinary care, rest, reassurance, and time. Bringing him home did not erase the trauma of the experience, but it gave us the ending we had prayed for.

Writing 648 Hours

After Chance returned, I began processing everything that had happened.

There were practical details to remember, but there were also emotions that needed somewhere to go: fear, helplessness, gratitude, exhaustion, courage, and the complicated experience of continuing to function while part of your heart is missing.

648 Hours became the true account of Chance’s disappearance, the search, the people who helped, and the lessons that emerged from those 27 days.

It is a story about a missing dog, but it is also about community, perseverance, and what courage can look like when there are no guarantees.

The book later received a Booky Award for Best Treatment of Courage—an honor that means so much because courage was present in many forms throughout Chance’s journey.

Creating Chance’s Adventure

Chance’s story also needed a version for children. That became Chance’s Adventure.

The children’s book allows young readers to follow Chance through a gentler retelling filled with hope, bravery, imagination, and love.

Throughout the illustrations, children can search for hidden dragonflies. The dragonfly has become a meaningful symbol within my work—a reminder of transformation, resilience, and the signs of hope that sometimes appear when we need them most.

While the adult book shares the reality and emotional weight of the search, the children’s book focuses on courage and the comfort of finding the way home.

Turning Pain into Purpose

I would never have chosen the experience that led to these books. However, I could choose what to do with the story afterward.

By sharing Chance’s journey, I hope to help people understand how to respond when a frightened dog is lost. I hope the books remind readers that support matters, that communities can accomplish extraordinary things, and that courage does not always mean feeling fearless.

Sometimes courage simply means continuing through the next hour.

Chance’s story began with fear, but it did not end there.

It became a story of survival, love, transformation, and homecoming.

And now, through 648 Hours and Chance’s Adventure, his journey can continue touching both adults and children—one reader at a time.