Chester

Born December 10, 2003, Chester and I first laid eyes on each other 65 days thereafter. It was total love at first glance. We met in Paso Robles, CA about half way between his birthplace, waay to the south, and his lifelong home to-be in South Lake Tahoe, 6.5 hours to the northeast. He arrived at our pre-determined introduction site un-kenneled, on the floorboard of a pickup truck. I was assured that he would be perfectly happy in a similar place on the passenger’s side of my SUV. After a short walk and lots of hugs, we took our assigned spots in the vehicle, with yours truly behind the wheel and Chester on the floorboard to my right. Apparently this arrangement was unsuitable, for within a mile Chester pulled himself up onto the passenger’s seat; hopped over the center counsel; crawled into my lap; turned to face the road, and settled down for the long haul home. Nothing has come between us since. For nearly nine incredible years, Chester has been at my side 24/7. He is stunningly handsome, totally loyal, calculatingly protective and unbelievably intelligent. He accepts that I am not always right, passing my poor judgment off I’m sure, with the understanding that I am still “in training”. Everything that I do; everywhere that I go, Chester is with me. Typically he is the first recipient of greetings from others, each of which is joyfully and properly returned. He has his place in the car, shotgun of course; his place at the office (beneath my desk with his head on my feet); his place by my bed, etc. Hiking, swimming and x-country skiing are his favorite pastime activities, which works out just fine, as they are my favorites as well. The Lake Tahoe Basin is virtually surrounded by wilderness areas, and a problem that I encountered in pre-Chester years is related to the fact that I prefer to hike and ski off-trail. This far-too-often culminated in me being semi-lost, struggling to find my way back before darkness attacked. Not so with Chester by my side. He is equipped with God-given GPS that never fails and has extended our outings by miles all culminating well within daylight hours, thanks to his innate ability to return us, upon my request, directly to our parked car. I could go on and on about his joys and those that he brings me (swimming, diving for sunken treasures, etc.); however his greatest asset, and purpose in life I believe, is to keep me safe and alive! My “Applicant’s Profile” attached, explains how Chester’s monitors my nighttime breathing hampered by a tumor, and awakens me when it becomes problematic. Well, he monitors all that I do, and protecting me is simply his self-assigned duty. A prime example of this occurred just three days ago. Chester and I were on our morning walk down the road to the meadow. I slipped on ice veiled is a light dusting of snow, and saw my feet fly above my head. Landing right hip first on a pinnacle of ice formed by crisscrossing tire tracks, I hurt, really hurt. I was down on the road just shy of the precipice of a knoll. I scrambled to rise, only to slip again; this time hitting head-first just as an oncoming car crested the knoll. Unbelievably, Chester got between me and the car, pressing his body against mine while facing the car barking. It stopped, and Chet grabbed my jacket sleeve in an effort to get me upright. I am fine. Sore, but fine. Please help me save him.