Mutt Goes From Gas Chamber to Rose Parade

Two years after he was put in a steel box and gassed with carbon monoxide, a beagle mix with a knack for survival will be proudly riding a float in Pasadena's Rose Parade. Daniel was six months old when he was placed with 17 other dogs in a gas chamber at an animal control center in Alabama. Workers were amazed with he survived—scared but unscathed—and they reached out to animal rescue groups, finding a home for him with New Jersey motivational speaker Joe Dwyer, the AP reports.

Dwyer says Daniel's story of survival has helped bring laws against the use of gas chambers in animal euthanasia in 31 states, reports the Star-Ledger. The pooch will be riding the Lucy Pet Foundation's float with seven other shelter dogs in the New Year's Day parade. The foundation, which runs mobile adoption and neutering clinics across America, chose Daniel as its spokesdog. '"He's definitely one of the most joyous, happy dogs I've ever met in my life," Dwyer says. "I think his positive attitude is why he's survived." (More Rose Parade stories.)