Photo principale de la collecte de fonds

We Love You Chester and Are Here to Help You!

Laurie Chester's Mom Strickland organise cette collecte de fonds.

Don protégé

To know Chester is to love him.

A beacon of love, an old soul, a kind heart, a natural healer, pure love in fur, my soulmate son.

It’s very hard to put into words all the magical things about Chester and I am so deeply fortunate to have known him since he was 4 weeks old- so I have layers and layers of stories and miracles.

I cannot count the lives he has touched over the years, all the people who have loved him, pet him, yelled out to him in traffic, talked with him, cuddled with him, felt comforted and inspired by him, played with him- it’s such a joy to carry all of that in my heart.

Part1 : "In case you are in a hurry":

Out of respect for your time- I will get right to it here ( but if you want to learn more about sweet Chester scroll to the heading "The Longer Mom Version" and the numbers will be detailed below about what this will be used for) :

What is happening, why this Go Fund me Laurie?

Chester was recently diagnosed with the “C” of the bone ( I don’t like to use the word but okay- Osteosarcoma) out of literally nowhere. It's been shocking. He recently had a yearly exam that was wonderful and is only 5 1/2 years old.

At the encouragement of dear friends and family I am here eventhough this is not easy for me at all to ask for help but for his sake, I am .

All his life I have always kept a prudent reserve savings account for him and his care, have always always done my best to be and stay prepared- Chester being my top priority always.

That being said, we have already depleted his savings this month with his biopsy surgery, tests for a diagnosis, pain meds, pain management visits, special equipment, seeing oncology specialists out of state in Tennessee we don't have here in the area.

While I am so grateful for his savings we have had, this has been a whirlwind the past few weeks and while we have been making it happen, it has been a lot of navigate.

We also will now be unexpectedly moving last minute due to his diagnosis to a ground floor apartment in our complex as we are on a second floor ( 20 stairs each way to potty, about 120 steps a day with a 75 pint fur kid) and as his wrist is the biopsy site , the stairs are too much too be safe for him ( or me- solo dog mom life). He cannot put weight on his front left hock.

The reason we had to leave til we can move - these stairs - for his safety- they were too painful for him- so we left asap.

We have also been at a local ground floor motor court / hotel for few weeks and have weeks to go until we can move to our new ground floor unit June 14th- the soonest they could switch us to our new apartment for his safety

To keep him safe, this has been and is crucial.

This unexpected move to keep him safe on June 14th and month long motor court/hotel stay on a ground floor are the bulk of why we are here asking for help.

He is my whole heart and soul. He is my family, my son. There is nothing I would not do for him. Nothing.

The greatest honor of my life is being his mom and while I am not good at asking for help, better at giving it, I am doing it for his sake now.

If you cannot give just knowing Chester's story, sharing this and carrying some of him in your heart, thoughts and prayers is a true gift and blessing to us. You are more important than your money and your love and care matters the most to us.

I realize there are so many many worthy things /dogs in need/people/organizations to give to- I myself do all the time.

That said, if you can- it would be a blessing for us as we find our way forward with his treatments, equipment, meds, moving for his safety and his care.

He is currently in great spirits, bravely facing changes including a limp in his left biopsy site. and my inspiration now and always.

Thank you for your time and care.

Keep Chester in your prayers with us.

Part 2: "The Longer Mom Version" emotional section, numbers breakout, more photos below:

More about Chester, his life, his journey as a therapy dog:

You may not know that Chester is a local hero and AKC registered service dog who trained with Joey Romer of Smart Paws, who has worked as a comfort dog in his community all through Covid- 19 with children out of school, the elderly, folks on the spectrum, kids learning to read, and especially veterans with PTSD.

He has also worked with rescue dogs to help them feel at ease with other dogs- a true "pawl" to all.

Chester during Covid in Saint Augustine working with children

Local volunteers in Saint Augustine

Chester with Uncle K

Recently during the Helene flood recovery here in Weaverville North Carolina with Red Cross, Weaverville Baptist Church, Law Enforcement, Animal Rescue and so many other relief centers. It's his own special gift he has always had along the way and I have done my best to nuture.

Chester with his Red Cross Pawls volunteers during Helene Recovery

I have so many amazing stories about Chester during Helene recovery - here is one::

Every day we would go to the Red Cross care station in Weaverville and one day a young Iraqi vet was there volunteering with Red Cross from Los Angeles. He had been very triggered by the destruction in WNC and Chester gout of the car and sat next to him on a hill all day. I have no clue what they spoke of but when we left the young vet was smiling and we spoke. He asked me how Chester knew he was struggling and I told him what I am not sharing here with you all- he just knows. It's his own special gift ( amongst many) he came into the world with.

He has the gift.

I certainly know he has been of huge service to me, my family, helped us all heal on many levels and my personal journey with recovery from severe CPTSD- in ways I could never express fully.

As usual, he is my great teacher even now- teaching me to ask for help, not isolate, not be shy- he is the extrovert in the family.... so for him I am here. In Hawaii they call a dog parent "KAHU" it means protector.

As his KAHU I am dedicated to protecting him and his journey home to God. And as he is a young guy, thankfully, he is not ready to go home.

Part 3: "The Numbers" Hey Laurie, how will you use this to help Chester?

The numbers we have listed here are an estimate- I really do not yet know how all of this will unfold but my only aim is to do all I can for Chester to enjoy his time- as pain free as possible- and full of joy, ease and life.

Anything is a blessing and goes directly to his care and well being.

I consider this time in his life just as precious and sacred as when I met him at 4 weeks old and to joyously bring him home at 8 weeks It's a sacred time and the best I can do is make it comfortable, safe and easy for him.

He deserves it.

My hero always

Details:

We will utilize this for pain meds, palliative care, doctors appointments, X-rays, blood work, relocating to a ground floor unit, renting a ground floor motor court/ hotel for a month til we can move June 14th to a goring unit that's safer for him, equipment for his leg safety like ramps, carts, etc

And of course a puppy cup or two :)

We will send regular "pupdates", photos as we are all on this journey together as team Chester :)

Sharing his story with you all means the world to me. This is only a brief corner of the quilt of his life and what makes him so special to me and so many.

Thank you.

You are all team Chester and we thank you with all our hearts!

Log Cabin Motor Court who have been great us while we wait to move

A special thanks to Terri our beloved, animal communicator, Ms. Sarah the healer, Jeremy, Dr. John Canine Chiropractor, Dr. Kristie Canine Acupuncture, Ms. Connie, Atlanta Animal Rehab, Ms. Kim, Dr. Amy, Palencia Pet Clinic , Jess, Jade, Jess, Amber, Retreat at Weaverville, Joey Romer and family, Smart Paws, J.T., Larry, Cody, Aunt V., Matt, JoAnne, Bourbon, Dr. King the best vet ever and our always vet, Log Cabin Motor Court , Crystal , Ms. C, Ms. V, Ms. J , Ms. Connie , Ms. E , Ms. Chey, Ms. Betty, Ms. R , All Pets Vets , Dr. J, Ms. Terri , Ms. , All our neighbors at Retreat at Weaverville , Steve, Julie , Tom, Suzzane , Ms. Kim , Rhonda, Larry, Cody, Bree, Betty and Mike, Bruno ,Mitch and Jo, and so many other angels helping us a day at a time in numerous ways to many to count .

Example Numbers ( this is not everything we have done or will do, just an idea of our current situation).

The hotel/motor court we are in is an average of $160.00 a night plus taxes, we are here for over 30 days until we can move/ switch into a ground unit apartment = $ 5,760 give or take. We are so grateful we have had some donated nights so it's likely about $2,700 left.

His insurance will not cover this lodging even though we have a vet note about the risk of stairs to him.