studio Good Dog Blog

I’ve been photographing animals at Five Acres Animal Shelter for several years.  I’ve heard many sad stories about how the animals came to be there.  Often, the animals are now in a better place than wherever they came from because the people at Five Acres give so much support and love to the animals that enter their facility – so I try to focus on the positives and do what I can to help.  But last week, I heard Chester’s story.  And I cried.  I came home in tears – not just for Chester, but for the family that had to place him there.

One of the greatest blessings we receive from our pets is their gift of comfort.  Whether they hug you, snuggle with you, bring you their favorite toy or just tilt their head in that silly manner – there presence gives pleasure, comfort and joy.  Even more so when we’re feeling down or ill.   There are many scientific studies on the healing benefits of having a pet present in ones life, but what happens when you become too sick to care for your pet and there’s no place else for him to go?  That is what happened to Chester.

I think the reason Chester’s story touched me so, is because his connection to cancer made it personal.  Almost thirteen years ago my Mom was diagnosed with this dreaded disease.  And when she was able to come home for her final days, Quincy, her loyal Australian Shepherd, was by her side.  Quincy not only provided comfort to her as a companion, but it was also comforting for her to know that Quincy would be there for my Dad, when she no longer could.  I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been for my Mom if, during her battle, she had had to worry about where Quincy was going to go or who would take care of him.   Sadly, Chester’s human, fighting her own battle with cancer, didn’t have that luxury.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Chester and his former family, so I asked Brenda, the Canine Coordinator at Five Acres, if she would share more information about Chester with me.  I appreciate that she shared some of the details of the email she received when she initially heard about Chester.   In Chester’s Moms final days she was “beside herself with grief, thinking Chester will be all on his own out there in this world, and even worse put to death.”  Thankfully, the people in this woman’s life cared enough to work diligently to find Chester a safe place and to give her some token of comfort in her remaining time.

Luckily they found Five Acres and this is what Brenda had to say “This was the hardest email I had to read.  All I could think about was this poor lady dying and she’s more worried about her dogs possible being euthanized because her family wasn’t able to care for them.  I wanted to make sure that she would be able to rest in the last few days she had knowing that Chester was going to be cared for and she had nothing to worry about.”

Brenda’s response is the essence of what Five Acres does and why I love to work with them.  They all have such heart and care so much.

If it was possible for me to adopt Chester, I would.  He is a sweet, moose of a dog!  He’s large and so loving.   He’s only four, house broken, good with kids and well behaved.   I can only imagine how confused he must be; having had a loving home and a loving human and now he’s in a shelter.  Yes, Five Acres is the best shelter he could be in – but a home would just be better.