I guess if I’m gonna tell this, I need to pick up with where I left off.

So I got all Chester’s (at that time still Andre the Giant’s) paperwork signed and paid his bail, and we busted out of that joint, everybody all smiles but none bigger than Chester’s. I decided to take the interstate home because those curvy roads might make him sick. He was pretty excited and paced some, looking at all the things that he’d never seen before. He acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to be riding 75 mph with someone he’d never before laid eyes on. I guess that’s a good thing. Ever so often he’d stick his head through the gap between my headrest and window and lay his muzzle on my shoulder. It was the sweetest thing. And if he could catch my elbow far enough back on the armrest, he’d put his head on top of it. He eventually circled and curled up to sleep. Bless his little bones. If I had been him, I wouldn’t have been nearly so accepting of this fate. I guess he knew my intentions and that everything was going to be okay. I kept thinking about what the director told me: picked up as a stray in June, and had been at the shelter ever since.
Once he settled down, I began calling all my good friends that have been in suspense waiting to hear if I found The One. They were all so happy for me, I even heard tears a couple of times.
I have such sweet, caring friends. They are incredibly dear to me. I knew they were all hurting right along with me when I had to make the decision on LB. That was a gut-wrenching time and I felt pretty low the whole month of October. And I’m so freaking picky about another dog, I guess they were all beginning to wonder if I’d ever find another that suited me.

We finally pulled through the gates at home and I grabbed hold of his leash before he could pop out the back door and be a stray dog again. Can’t y’all just see that happening to me? I took him for a tour of the outside, hoping he was noting the perimeters closely. He is a very strong puller with a lot of weight behind it. He sort of drug me around until we came to a truce. Then I let him come inside with me. I was on high alert for a raised leg although it seemed he’d exhausted his resources outside. You can never be too careful.
As I led him around, it appeared he’d not spent much, if any, time in a house before. Everything seemed brand new to him, not just merely something new to sniff. He tilted his head at every object, it seemed like. The only place he offered to mark was in the writing room, and all I can figure is he smelled LB. So I jerked him up and led him straight back outside. Then, because I hadn’t had but one little breakfast wrap all day, I made myself lunch. And my new dog made himself comfortable at my feet.
He didn’t beg for scraps, I can only assume because he didn’t know what he was missing. Allow me to introduce you to your first bad habit, Chester. Of course, at this time, I was thinking of him as Rhett. I kept his harness on him, for a few reasons: I wasn’t sure if he would come to me easily, I didn’t know how accepting he would be of putting it back on again, and let’s get real: I didn’t know this dog. He was in a completely new place with a completely new human. Sure, he seemed sweet but…..I know dogs. And you gotta give them time.
He went straight to his water bowl and lapped some up, and even got a few bites of food. I took this as a good sign that he was already comfortable enough to eat in his new surroundings.
I moved to the living room. Instead of him going to investigate more, he came with me and laid on top of my feet. Not near my feet, but as much as his body he could get on top of me, he did.
I have never felt more loved in my life.
Of course, he had his new Sealy bed that I had introduced him to, and all his new toys, but he just wanted to be as close to me as possible. I’m not sure who was protecting who at this point, but it didn’t matter. 
After a while, I tried to get him to go downstairs so he could learn about that, but he was very unsure about the steps. They’re the open style, and I can respect that they’re a little disconcerting. Plus, there’s a mirror on the far wall, and that would be off-putting, as well. I didn’t push the issue. Instead, I led him next door to meet Uncle Dale and Aunt Brenda. I had been hearing somebody shooting, and my money was on Uncle Dale. Andre/Rhett/Chester, to his credit, barely flinched. I kept thinking of how I’d be peeling that psycho dog Holden off the ceiling…or perhaps off my face. He did great with them, just sniffed and moved on. Aunt Bren took a few pictures to capture adoption day. I had forgotten to get any at the shelter. Here is my favorite; it pretty much sums up how we feel about each other. I’m not sure who’s happier.

My friend Connie messaged me that Kevin, the director, had told her that no one had looked at him in at least three months. That made me love him so much more and melt any residual ice I was harboring around my guilt of getting another dog so soon after the passing of Lightning Bug. Lots of people missed out on a great dog, and I’m only slightly ashamed to say I’m glad!
Chester laid no further than six feet from me all evening. I made sure he got plenty of potty breaks before bedtime. I wasn’t sure what the night would bring, but I remember falling asleep with a smile on my face as I listened to him snoring from his bed.
The dog had settled right in, no problem.

The next morning I put his harness back on for our jaunt–too much can go wrong with a strange dog that doesn’t know his name and is getting the first taste of freedom in a while. He investigated everything thoroughly again, did his business, and I fixed us a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast. Chester took his bites oh so gently.
I felt that he was ready for his first field trip.
My friend Angela, that lives just over the hill, couldn’t wait to meet him, so we picked her up because she’s obviously a glutton for punishment. First, Andre/ Rhett/ Chester barked at her very menacingly. Then he pooped in her yard. Then when we all piled in the car he licked her ear, so I guess all was forgiven on both sides.
I’m ashamed to say our first adventure was Tractor Supply, but it was Sunday so Co-op wasn’t open. He pulled me around while I attempted to look at beds and flea meds for him. We found a rope bone he liked, so I purchased that. There was a lady who fell in love with him and suggested the name Hoss, I guess due to his size. It just reminded me of our Sherriff. I wanted something that fit his personality. I was sweating by the time we got to the cashier. We ran into my cousin, Mike, who gave him a rubbing and complimented me on my choice. His dad was the one who gave me Crockett all those years ago.
When we made it home (after an escapee incident at Angela’s- boy, is he FAST) we settled back in. I kept looking at him and thinking that Rhett didn’t suit him just exactly right. Rhett is a name for a distinguished, reserved canine, particularly one with black fur.
I started fishing.
After close friends suggested several good ones (Reeder, Booker–dismissed ’cause it sounds like booger when said aloud–Finn, Hank, Hawk, Chester) I put a vote out on Facebook and got a great many more to choose from, including Redford, Toby, Jasper, Moose, Huck, and Oliver to name just a few.

CHESTER’S DIARY, Day TWO (11/1/2020)
EVERYTHING HERE IS SO SOFT. AND THAT WAS A FUN TRIP TO THE GADGET STORE. I HOPE I GET TO GO BACK.

Monday came, and so did his first trip to the big city. We hung at the office all day and he got to meet Sam and David. They were both heavily invested in LB’s final days and my ongoing search for a furry friend in the weeks following. David and my new boy made fast friends over a few games of tug of war and fetch. Sam preferred to admire him from afar.
After work, we stopped by the Co-op for food and maybe a few toys and treats. You know, the necessities. He got to meet another cousin (Tammy, of course- sister of Mike he met at TSC), and a few former co-workers and momma Robin. It was an adventure for sure. He had a great big time. He also exhibited some great big barks, but everybody just wrote it off as excitement, because it was. Word to the wise: never go to the pet department at Co-op without having a very clear idea of what you want. Tammy could sell saltwater to the sea. A good friend gifted me some money to put on some fun stuff, so that saved me from having to get a part-time job to cover my bill.
We got back home and I had finally settled on (the least popular choice) Chester. Several people that I tend to think know me well agreed. He just LOOKS like a Chester. I only liked Rhett because it’s obviously southern and I’m a nut over Rhett Butler. So, on November 2nd, after three full days in residence, he became Chester Johnson.

Chester’s Diary, Day Three (11/2/2020)
The place we were today for an eternity was not as fun as where I sleep but I like the action. Too bad Princess Glitter and Sparkle doesn’t let me chase squirrels. I could really make a dent in the population. It appears that they are overrun. I REALLY REALLY liked the gadget store we were in today. LOTS OF NICE PEOPLE AND THEY ALL KNEW ME!!!! I felt like a CELEBRITY. I hope I don’t need to get plastic surgery for my jowls. I think they make me look dignified, when I feel like such a dork. There were so many things to play with. A WHOLE WALL TALLER THAN PRINCESS SPARKLES!!!! AND THE FOOD. MY GOSH. IT WAS LIKE DOGGY HEAVEN. Maybe that is doggy heaven??? Am I dead??? I don’t remember dying….Oh well. I’m having a good time, no matter.

Tuesday, another trip back to work. All was well. I decided to risk it through a drive-thru. I’m all about testing boundaries. I called in some wings. Their drive-thru is low-key, unlike, say, Chickalay.
He raised immortal hell. But the girl was undeterred and still gave him a great big doggie biscuit (well, technically, she gave it to me to give to him).
After we ate I decided it was time he spent some time in the basement so he wouldn’t be all freaked out when I had to leave him down there sometimes. He still wouldn’t go down the stairs, but he seemed perfectly at ease being down there and laid at my feet after an initial perusal. I remembered that LB learned about the stairs by first going up them a few times. So I decided we’d work on that. Chester isn’t dumb, he’s just goofy. And after all, he’d been doing nothing but learning and adapting the last few days. Who was I to rush stairs? But after less than five minutes of coaxing, he came right on up. And I made a HUGE deal out of it and he was so pleased with himself, prancing around and twisting his body as his tail wagged furiously. But he still wouldn’t go down. No matter.

Chester’s Diary, Day Four (11/3/2020)
Back to the other place today. It was pretty boring today, other than when we walked out to the street. But then we went on a mission for chicken on the way home and I barked and barked because this hole slid open in a wall that wasn’t there when we pulled up and a lady popped her head out like a Jack-in-the-Box. Those things are frightening!! Ask any three year old. She did give me a bone for startling me. I think she thought I was cute. I may be nicer next time. Princess Sparkle Pants will not give up on me walking the planks to get to the tall level so I finally gave in and DID IT today. She was so excited, you would have thought I swam the English Channel. So that was no big deal. I’ll probably do it again tomorrow. I’m curled up tight in my bed now with my soft blankie.

The big milestone on Wednesday was I let him off-leash in the yard. The frosty mornings don’t agree with me, and besides, he’s going to have to learn to come to me and how to behave when not tethered. So I let him go and I felt like I was a mother at a playground as I watched him with an eagle eye. He trotted tentatively at first, I guess expecting me to have an invisible cord to keep him in his boundaries. Once he figured out he had the whole yard, the serious sniffing commenced. I knew he was hot on the trail of a rabbit by the brushpile and as I thought of all the things that could go wrong, I called him back to me. He looked up momentarily, then back to the business at hand while my heart hammered. I squatted down and tried again in my “fun” voice.
And here. He. Came.
It was like a furry missile, headed straight for me. I just knew he wasn’t gonna get stopped.
Miraculously, he did, and stuck right by my side up the steps and into the house. He was rewarded with treats, of course.
What a good boy.

Chester’s Diary, Day Five (11/4/2020)
It seems that there is a general unease surrounding the humans today. I was just my charming self and tried not to let my hairs come out more profusely than usual. That tends to add to Princess Sparkle Britches stress, I have noticed. But otherwise things are GREAT. I didn’t have to be tethered on my walk this evening, and I got to push through some brambles at the fence. I had a good time. I bet, since I was so good, that I will get to do this more now. I sure do like it here. Everything I do I get a treat and a rub for doing. It’s the easiest job ever.

Thursday was library board and I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave him alone at work after hours like that, especially since we hadn’t been apart at all so far. So I put him in the basement when I left. I missed him desperately all day, and all I could think about was what was going through his mind. It isn’t very cozy down there; only one part has carpet. Of course, I had put some blankies in his crate, but would he think it was just a very quiet, very large shelter? That’s why I had been trying to get him used to it.
I got home and immediately went around to the back door so he could go outside as soon as I opened the door. He might be one of those dogs that accidently pees when excited.
He started barking as soon as I came into view. It was dark, and I would expect no different after he’s watched the door all day with no change in scenery.
“Chester, it’s me. It’s me, Chester,” I said as I reached to slide open the door.
Never in my life have I been greeted with such exuberance. The dog was over the moon. I was legitimately concerned that he was going to have a stroke. He jumped, he wiggled, he circled me a thousand times. And then the short zoomies commenced. He was going so fast and doubling back on himself he turned a flip. It was something to behold. I should have filmed it.
So I guessed that the time we had spent together in the basement didn’t have much effect on him and he thought this was it. Just when he’d gotten a home of his own, he gets left again. The only thing worse than constant racket of other dogs and cats would be complete and total silence. BUT HERE I WAS, RETURNED FROM THE ABYSS.
Poor Chester. I wonder if he didn’t tear something from all that excited movement. What a reunion. He didn’t let me out of his sight the rest of the evening. And, it bears mention, that he did not have one accident downstairs all day. He tore up the corner of a cardboard box I had been saving (don’t ask me why, I don’t KNOW why I keep boxes). I couldn’t believe he didn’t mark his territory at all. What a good boy.

Chester’s Diary, Day Six (11/4/2020)
Oh, woe is me!!!! Today has been terrible. I am so depressed. I have been abandoned down here in the dungeon all day. First the sun woke up. And I watched the birds out the door. I barked at them but they didn’t even fly off. Then I sniffed everything down here twice. Then my nose was tired so I lay on the blankets that smell like the lady I love so much that has left me because I’m not perfect. I don’t know what will become of me. I am definitely dead. I guess I only got a few days in heaven and now what? Do I have to try out the other place? What if I’ve just been asleep and when I wake up I’ll be back at the place with all the other dogs that never shut up barking and I have to wait my turn to go out on the grass and WAIT. WHO IS THAT?!!?! WOOF WOOF WOOF WO——-OH MY STARS AND PLANETS IT’S MY MOM!!!!!!! SHE CAME BACK FOR ME!!!!!!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!!!! I AM NEVER LETTING HER OUT OF MY SIGHT AGAIN, EVER EVER EVER

****It is worth noting this is the ONLY day I haven’t taken a single picture of him.

The next day, Friday, I had taken the day off work for the groundbreaking on the Seymour library. And I had scheduled him his first appointment with my vet.
How does one dress for a political event such as a groundbreaking, as well as a trip to the vet with their 70# dog, you ask?
Well. It wasn’t easy. And this is when I found out that he doesn’t like hairdryers. He barked the entire time. I tried to show him all about it, but he wasn’t having it. No matter, I don’t use one very often, and besides that, I bet he would change his tune this winter when it’s cold and wet outside.
But back to the vet. Chester is not a very patient dog. The entirety of the time we sat in the car he barked at all the comings and goings. It did no good to scold him. I also thought he might have believed he was at yet another shelter. It was annoying, sure, but he eventually settled down. And one of the techs comes out to get him and he just GOES WITH HER and never gives me a second look. What the heck, Chess??? Thanks a LOT. At this point, I had to run back home because I’m a flake and forgot to bring his papers the animal shelter gave me that showed his vaccination and worming schedule. The tech asked me for them and I was like, “Yeah, I’ve got them right h—-” and frantically start digging around in the passenger seat, where they clearly were not. But it was fine. I’m less than ten minutes down the road.
When the vet comes out to speak with me, the first words out of her mouth were, “What a big, STRONG, happy boy you have!! Thank you for adopting him and allowing us to treat him!” And of course I’m like, “What did he break? Whose arm did he jerk out of place? What is my bill now???”
And it was then she delivered the best news possible: Chester tested heartworm free. Hallelujah!!! That was an enormous weight off my shoulders because y’all know what an ordeal that was with Lightning Bug and how they ultimately killed him prematurely by weakening his heart way back when. I was so relieved tears welled in my eyes as I thanked God. She goes on to give me more good news, the clinic waives the office visit for shelter pets. ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL???? That’s their appreciation for you not adding to the population. So she thanked me again for adopting him and made sure to say they all thought I’d got a great dog, and sorry again about my sweet boy LB. They all loved him.
I choked back a sob and managed to thank her back. She wasn’t even LB’s vet. They are all so incredibly kind and empathetic there. I know I could have had him treated elsewhere that would be less expensive, but the staff is really the best. And every time I talked to Dr. Bixler during LB’s procedures, she acted like she had all the time in the world. You really can’t put a price on that kind of service.
And so they brought me my enormous, strong, exuberant boy out. He was very glad to see me; I think he must’ve just gotten carried away in the moment “MY TURN!!!! MY TURN!!!!” and didn’t realize till later I didn’t come in with him. We drove home, the pair of us smiling from ear to ear.
Then I had my gig at the library, and I debated on leaving him upstairs since I would only be gone for a few hours, and he had done perfectly the day before. But I didn’t, just in case. And good thing! He must have decided to spite me, because he certainly didn’t bother holding anything in. And obviously it’s achievable, since he had for 12+ hours the day before. It is hard to stay mad at him, though. I scolded him, but not too much because that poor dog has flawlessly coasted right into this new life. Just imagine leaving the only home you’ve known, the only place you ever got your belly full and people to talk to you and rub your noggin, and your very own, brand new cozy bed, to get in a car (for only the second time EVER). You then ride 80+ mph for two hours and you’re in a completely new place with no other dogs or anybody you’ve ever seen before, nothing you’ve ever smelled before, nothing familiar at all. And you have to learn about toilets and lights and stairs and ice makers and coffee pots plus new sounds for stuff you can’t see. But otherwise it’s pretty quiet- there aren’t any other dogs here baying or causing a ruckus, nobody in and out, no train right outside the door. It would be an adjustment, to say the least. But he settled right in and has done every thing I have asked of him. So when he climbed up on the couch and laid his head in my lap and promptly went to sleep, who was I to make him go back to his bed on the floor?    

Chester’s Diary, Day Six (11/5/2020)
I don’t know what that thing was attacking Princess Glitterpants but she almost looked like she didn’t mind. She certainly didn’t push it away like she does me when I’m trying to lick her face in appreciation. And I’m not even loud when I go about it.
Hmph.
Then she takes me to this place with all these other dogs about; they’re everywhere. And there seems to be two humans for every dog. Then it’s dum-DUM MY TURN. If that’s the way she’s gonna be, then I’m just gonna go with them…WOW LOOK AT ALL THIS COOL STUFF!!!! Come on, lady!!! I need to smell this!! And this!!! AND OOOOO WHAT’S THAT?!?!?! And then there was a crowd of people around me all rubbing me and cooing at me like I was a KING, and they were discussing who I was, and I heard them talk about Lightning, who was my human’s last dog, and then I got to looking around and realized she wasn’t even in there! Why did these strangers have me but not my human??? What was next??? I got to sniff some more new stuff, and then I went back outside and THERE SHE WAS!!! And we went back home, and we ate breakfast and it looked like it was shaping up to be a really awesome day when she locks me back in the dungeon. And is gone and gone and gone.
So I left her a little treat to clean up. Actually, two little treats. And I sulked in my crate until I fell asleep. And when she came home and got situated and saw what I had done, I felt sorry that I had done it. I shouldn’t have. The Princess has shown me more love than anybody else so far and that’s how I thank her? Not very gracious of me. So I climbed into her lap on the couch (where I’m not supposed to be but I really just wanted to be so close and WOW no wonder she sits on it, it is so squishy) and before I knew what happened, I was sound asleep, dreaming of rope bones and soft blankets and all the little treats one pit bull could ever hope to eat. I yawned and stretched and barely opened my eyes but I felt her gentle hand stroking my head and I knew it wasn’t a dream.

And that concludes Chester’s first week.