Watch: Dog that spent nearly 600 days at Euclid shelter takes limo to new home
EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) – A dog with an abusive start in life has sat in a local shelter for nearly 600 days, hoping someone would give him a forever home.
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Now, Chester finally went home to a family he can call his own and he did it in style.
After 587 days living in a kennel, Chester the pit bull finally walked out of the Euclid Animal Shelter Monday morning to cheers and tears.
It has been a tough road for Chester before and during his time here, but he now has a new “leash” on life.
“Chester was completely skin and bones, the dog couldn’t even lay down. He had his paw stuck in a prong collar and he was a mess. He had to be carried out after a little bit because he could not stand,” said Kyrie Brickman, kennel manager for the shelter.
In August 2022, Chester, who was chained to a window, and three other dogs were found in a vacant house, where they had been for more than a week.
“He absolutely was so relieved to see people and to be honest, I don’t know how much longer he would have lasted,” Brickman said.
For about 10 months, shelter workers treated him for heartworm and mange and helped him gain weight.
A year and a half went by and no one adopted him until a special woman came along and now Chester is on the way to his forever home in a limousine, donated by Lake Erie Limo.
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Minutes later, Chester, about 4 or 5 years old, pulled up to his new home and his new family in North Royalton like a VIP.
“Oh my goodness, did you ride in a limo to get here? Did you ride all the way in a limo,” said Chester’s new owner.
It was love at first sight for Lauren Reitsman when a friend sent her an online post of Chester.
“He has all these people around him and he’s just bopping around just to see who he can get love from, so I think I won the lottery,” Reitsman said.
Chester seems to be right at home, playing with toys, getting belly rubs and of course the doggie kisses.
Shelter workers say he needed a home without other dogs or small children and someone who understands his past.
“I think adoption is so important, especially when an animal, now I’m getting emotional, an animal has had a rough start in life because they deserve it even more,” said Reitsman.
Lauren says she will leave Chester’s name the same, sort of.
“His government name, if you will, is going to be Chester William Reitsman the First, of Royalton,” she said as people in the home laughed.
Reitsman says she also plans to make Chester meatballs, his favorite meal.
All three of the other dogs discovered in the vacant house with Chester have been adopted.
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