“Is that a Chessie?” A man called from across the park.
“Indeed it is.”
The man made his way closer to where I was tossing the frisbee for Chester.
“Don’t see many of them around these parts,” he said while Chester made short work of retrieving his toy.
“No, you don’t.” I agreed. “They’re hunting dogs, very popular on the prairies. Did you used to have one?” I asked, a little fearful I was in for another story about why owning a Chesapeake is such a challenge.
“Nah,” he said with a look that seemed to ask if I thought he was nuts. “But I recognized that one from 50 yards.”
“You sure did.”
He smiled a knowing smile, this time with a look that suggested he thought I was the one who was nuts, and continued walking across the park.
Chester garners a lot of attention when he is playing at the park. He is focused and quick, intent and aloof. He has no time for usual dog shenanigans- he is not interested in sniffing bums, he has no desire to snag a pat from a stranger – he is focused on his frisbee and me.
He is an interesting dog.
After Chester grew out of his irresistible puppy phase he moved directly into a challenging one. He has remained there ever since. This is not to say he isn’t a darling, he’s just a challenging darling.
My loving of Chester seemed to sneak up on me – I didn’t see it coming. In fact, there were days I was sure I was never going to like him. I was not in the market for a hunting dog – the only things I hunt are bargains and I don’t need a dog to help me sniff them out. Chester is strong and strong-willed. He is a lot of dog.
I sort of inherited Chester’s loyalty when my husband’s plan to take him to work with him changed. Ches was about a year and a half old at the time – still a puppy in many ways and very set in a lot of those ways. He was 100 pounds of crazy. But he was cute (lucky for him). I used to threaten to have him made into slippers or a bath mat on a regular basis. He has settled down somewhat – he will be 5 in the fall – he’s had a long learning curve.
It wasn’t until Chester developed health problems that I realized he had wormed his way into my heart. You only have to fight for something to realize what it’s worth. Chester has more than one condition- epilepsy and irritable bowel disease the most serious – he takes medication twice a day (and will, for the rest of his life).
I had to lobby strongly on behalf of Chester, and take a lot of trips to the vet. He had tests and examinations I didn’t know were available to dogs. I was shown several portraits of him taken from the inside out. Chester has become somewhat of a poster puppy at the vet’s office – they have a vested interest in him. It was rough getting this dog sorted out – he is their success story too.
Last year at this time I was rehabbing Chester from major gut surgery. He was on a bag load of medications. He had upped his game – now he was challenging fate. My goal back then was to be able to walk him to the park again – I was reluctant to hope he would have the opportunity to grow grey in the face.
Today I not only play frisbee games with this medical rock star, I’m beginning to see a grey face in his future. I hope he’s around for a really long time. He challenged me to fall in love with him – and I did; hook, line and frisbee.
I have a lot of fun with this dog. His exuberance has become legendary. He is a force to be reckoned with — a quality that’s apparently evident from 50 yards.

Comments (2)
Elva, you, like fine wine, get better with age. Love your stuff more every time I read it. There is a book there full of all your lovely essays.
Pam, you make me feel SO good! I am so thankful to have you in my life. We may not of gotten rich in the monetary sense with our writing adventure but we are wealthy in all the things that really matter. Thank you friend!