Our beloved rescue Chesapeake, Nestle, went to "The Bridge" on May 25th, 2002. He was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) on January 2nd, 2002. Although he was originally given only about 2 months , he lived for 5 months, and was pain free during that time due to pain meds. The pain free time ended about two days before he left us. The end came very fast-as we vowed to not let him lose the quality and the dignity of life he had loved. Our vet came to our home, so Nes was able to fall asleep in surroundings that were familiar to him.

Nes came to us from a rescue where he spent 2 years of his life-and before that he was in and out of shelters. He was a dog that was given up by his owner-because he barked when left tied out to a tree 24/7 . To say that Nes had a strong personality is an understatement. He was always in charge-but no dog loved as completely as he did. He became my friend-my heart dog, and my confidant, and my protector. He was always there for me-always by my side.

We had many days when Nes first came that we wondered if he would ever work out with us-he was demanding and dominant and always pushed as far as he could push. He was not tolerant of strangers, so we would put him away when people came-then when let out he would usually be fine. He would defend his property with gusto and although we never had to put it to the test-he would have defended me to the end.

Nes' personality was complex-he would bark and growl at strangers--and most strange dogs-but still had the gentleness with a small puppy we fostered for a few months. The puppy would hang onto his collar, and Nes would walk him around the yard-putting up with play biting without so much as a raised lip. Quite a contrast in behavior-but that was Nestle.

We were very lucky that Nes came to live with us. He taught us that even though a dog has a strong personality and other problems--there are ways to deal with it. He sure taught us what unconditional love was all about. He is the reason we started to do Chessie Rescue-each dog we save is a tribute Nes.

Til we meet again-----

KONA

On October 15, 2002, Kona went to be with her "brother" Nestle. We miss her sweet kisses and her wonderful zest for life. Kona never met a person she didn't like. Her "papa" was her favorite though -she was never far from his side.                                                                                                                                               

Kona came to live with us over four years ago. She was our second rescue Chessie. Kona was our "roooer" She had a wonderful "rooo". It always brought a smile to my face to hear her do that.

She brought some baggage with her, like most second hand dogs do. She loved to devour paper products-she was introduced to a shot glass of peroxide the day after she came-after eating a box of Kleenex. Other goodies included dish rags, paper towels, envelopes, and her favorite-"kitty crunchies"

She was also always scouring the yard for "goodies". When she first came , she was very food possessive-you could hardly be in the same room with her if she was eating-she became a better with that with much work as the years went by.

Kona was our alpha dog as far as other dogs went. She was the boss and the peace keeper. She did become a lot better with that as the years went by, but if another dog got rowdy-she would step in and put a stop to it.

Kona's favorite thing was to get apples from the apple trees. She could stand up and pick them off the lower branches. Then after that her papa would have to shake the branch so one would fall down. Each morning it was her ritual to look for her "appie"

When the tree was bare-she was so disappointed-so we bought a bag of small apples-then the tree would be shaken, and an apple tossed up into the tree to make it look like it had fallen from the tree. This went on for four seasons. She probably caught on-but she was happy to get her appie just the same.

Kona loved people-kids, adults, it didn't matter to Kona. She loved them all. She loved to ride, she loved to swim, and she loved to kiss you awake in the morning. We will miss her-but she is free from pain now-and that is the only thing that makes the heartache bearable.

Run free of pain, sweetie-and give our love to Nestle---

Til we meet again----