The devastating injuries received by a Redmond-area dog this summer caused an outpouring of concern and donations, culminating in a $25,000 award this week for BrightSide Animal Center from the Petco Foundation’s Holiday Wishes grant campaign.

In July, a pit bull mix was found along a Terrebonne roadside after jumping out of a moving vehicle and possibly being dragged. BrightSide staff named him Chance.

He was surrendered by his owners and began an expensive rehabilitation process, aided by donations from all over the world.

“Our publicity (regarding Chance) was in response to all the inquiries we were receiving,” said Jan Even, BrightSide vice president. “People wanted to know. They wanted updates on his condition.”

Chance was originally expected to be available for adoption by Christmas, but a slow-healing wound has delayed that.

“His medical condition will drive his release,” Even said. “And that progresses how it progresses.”

According to Chris Bauersfeld, BrightSide executive director, no decision has been made as to how the grant money will be spent.

“Usually, we identify a project or something we need, then go looking for grant to help fund it — and there are typically restrictions on how we spend those funds and reporting required. This grant opportunity came out of the blue. They announced it on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show,’ asking for stories.”

According to contest sponsors Petco Foundation and the Halo pet food company, winners were selected based on the overall work of their individual animal organizations, with the impact of their biggest success stories carrying weight.

“We were overwhelmed with the response to this campaign and brought to tears by the incredible success stories and tireless work being done around the country to help animals,” Petco Foundation Executive Director Susanne Kogut stated in a news release.

BrightSide, formerly known as the Humane Society of Redmond, has been fighting to remain solvent since it asked Deschutes County for a $1.5 million loan in 2008 to keep its doors open. BrightSide has paid back slightly more than half of the loan over the last five years, keeping it a bit ahead of where it expected to be at this time, Even said.

The nonprofit expects to pay another $150,000 off the loan soon, Bauersfeld said, and then pay a similar amount again within the next two years. As for its operating budget, BrightSide is ending 2012 in the black, she said.

This was the first year for the Holiday Wishes campaign, which was originally announced as a $250,000 contest and increased to $500,000 due to overwhelming response from more than 4,500 applicants. Thirty-three organizations shared the grant money, with the largest grant being $100,000.

Chance may have had one of the more dramatic stories, Bauersfeld said, but BrightSide staff and volunteers know that every animal they deal with has a story.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, lpugmire@bendbulletin.com