SOUTHERN MAINE – For a dog named Gambler, it was a sure bet that the agency that adopted him out would do right by him when his family could no longer care for him.

Lucky Pup Rescue, a foster-based program that takes in and places homeless dogs, adopted out Gambler in 2014.

“We were contacted by the owners to say they could not keep him, but had no way of getting him back to us since they now lived in Chicago,” said Lucky Pup volunteer Sue Richardson of Kennebunk. “We set to work to get him back to use and in the meantime, they surrendered him to a local shelter.”

Enter Ericka Willard of Eliot.

Willard’s husband, Danny Grant, owns a hauling company with his family, D&M Hauling out of Galivants Ferry, South Carolina, and travels the U.S. for work.

“I am the dispatcher for the company and keep the drivers on the road and send them where they need to go,” Willard said. “I said to Sue, ‘I can work Danny to Chicago and get (Gambler), but he had to stop at home in South Carolina after picking him up to switch trucks before he heads north to Maine.”

Willard said her husband was skeptical at first.

“’I know you’re messing with me,’ he said,” according to Willard. “I told him I was serious. It took him a minute to realize I was serious. He just said, ‘Get me cars into Chicago and I’ll go get (Gambler).”

Richardson said a member of Gambler’s family developed allergies, thus his surrender.

“It’s important to understand the policies of a rescue or shelter,” Richardson said. “Most of them have you sign a contract that says you will return the dog to them should things not work out. This contract should go both ways and the rescue or shelter should honor that contract, as we do every time. If we can retrieve a dog from Illinois to Maine, then it is possible.”

Richardson also said every family who adopts a dog should have a back up plan.

“No matter the age or the current health of the adopter(s), anything can happen,” she said. “It seems like many organizations do not necessarily take them back, and even if they can, it can’t always happen right away. In our case, we are a foster-based rescue only, so we need to have an open and appropriate foster home for any dog we take in.”

She also encourages people not to wait until a health, behavior or family issue prevents them from keeping a dog.

“A trainer, your veterinarian or the rescue/shelter may be able to help with advice to help you keep your dog,” Richardson added.

Gambler was picked up from the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago on March 13.

“Gambler was so excited to see my husband (who he’s never met),” Willard said. “He jumped right into my husband’s truck and gave him kisses. He was such a great co-pilot. He rode alongside Danny and when he was tired, he curled up on Danny’s pillow and blankets and went to sleep. He was such a good boy.”

Grant got to South Carolina, stayed the night at his parent’s house with Gambler, where there were two other dogs, and all got along with one another. The next day, they got into another trailer truck and headed north. Gambler arrived in Maine on the evening of March 16.

“I had Gambler in my home with me, my husband and my black Labrador mix that I adopted from Lucky Pup in 2015,” Willard said. “He was with my 2-year-old granddaughter and gave her so many kisses. He loves his humans and loved Danny and I so much.”

“He just loved being loved,” she added. “He gives you bear hugs, wraps his paws around you and just kisses you.”

Gambler is with another foster now, but Willard and Grant visited him at York Bark and Play recently.

“As soon as he saw us, he let out the biggest squeal and run up to us, his tail wagging like crazy,” Willard said. “We missed this sweet boy. We love him very much.”

Gambler is up for adoption with Lucky Pup Rescue. To learn more about him and to fill out a form for his adoption, visit www.luckypuprescue.org.

Molly Lovell-Keely can be reached at editor@inthecourier.com.