Dad adoringly called him "Chesta tha Molesta!" And he will molest you - that is, once you pet his head he will inch closer and closer, nudge your hand and put his head in your lap, staring you in the eyes, begging you to keep rubbing. Doooooonnn't stttoooop, he seems to say.
We lost him more than once. He is notorious for jumping out of the truck and disappearing. Sad to say, a few times Dad got to where he was going, got out the truck and walked around to let Chester out, but the dog was gone. After retracing his route, and stopping in every gas station along the way to see if anyone had spotted a happy yellow lab, he always found him. You would think Dad would not take him on any more truck rides but ohhhh no. Chester wouldn't have it that way, and Dad wanted to do about anything to keep Chester happy. Dad had a saying "When the tailgate drops, the bull$#!t stops." If Dad even went near his truck while Chester was in the yard, the dog was immediately by his side, ready to bound into the back. And anytime Dad dropped the tailgate, Chester would fly up into the bed of the truck. Every time Dad accidentally left the tailgate down, Chester would stay right in that truckbed - even overnight. He just didn't want to get left.
One time I was visiting Mom at her office for lunch and she got a call from Dad. She sounded aggravated, and when she hung up her face went mushy like she was going to cry. "Dad lost Chester," she said. "The best dog we've ever had." I got up and drove to Mom and Dad's as quickly as I could, printed some fliers and my sister and I posted them all across the three towns Dad had passed through until he realized Chester was missing. Dad, Ashley and I split up and hollered for Chester all around the county. We spent all day in the 100 degree weather looking for him. We were all thinking in the back of our minds it was just too hot for the poor feller, but we never gave up hope. We kept getting leads. Somebody had spotted him at a gas station, another behind the tire store. People kept remembering the wagging tail and neon green collar. Finally, right at dark, my cell phone rang. Dad was on the line saying "I got him! I got him!" Back at the rendezvous point (hehe), I found Dad at his truck all smiles and laughter with a relieved but thirsty Chester. He had wandered up onto the porch of an elderly man, who had walked outside and enjoyed Chester's company by his rocking chair all afternoon. A trip to town and the man got wind of a family out looking for a big yellow lab. The man tracked down Dad's phone number and soon Chester was home.
That night, Chester stretched out on the floor while the four of us - Mom, Dad, Ashley and I stretched out with him and took turns rubbing his belly.
Chester lives with me now and brings me a lot of comfort. He is a (large) piece of Mom and Dad I have still living. I still love to lie down and rub his belly in the quiet evenings, to feel those velvet soft ears when he nudges me for a head rub.
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