Chester

Chester came to us as a stray when he was about 8 weeks old. He was one of a litter of about 9 that came trotting by the house one summer morning. He made such a fuss standing up in the back of the Animal Control Officer's truck and howling as he was driving away, that I felt bad and went to the Animal Shelter and got him back.

$5000 Dog

When Chester was about 2 years old he contracted a fatal disease called blastomycosis. The disease attacks the lungs and is usually fatal. Chester went from 55lbs down to about 30lbs in a very short time.

When the disease was finally diagnosed correctly a 6 month treatment was instigated and a hefty vet bill of about $5000 was the result. Chester survived and is now boasting about 60lbs of body weight.

Shy boy

Chester has always been very shy. Even at eight weeks he had the habit of showing his teeth as if to snarl when he got nervous. He was also a howler for a very long time.

Chester can talk. Just the other day, I overheard my my wife ask him where his little sis was. Chester replied, "I ron't row!"

Chester's sickness got us into the habit of feeding him from a spoon. The habit for some reason passed to the other dogs and for a while our whole clan was fed each meal using a tablespoon. 'How spooled can you get?'