EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) – A dog with an abusive start in life has sat in an Ohio animal shelter for nearly 600 days, hoping someone would give him a forever home. 

Chester the pit bull finally went home to a family he can call his own, and he did it in style.

After 587 days living in a kennel, Chester finally walked out of the Euclid Animal Shelter on Monday morning to cheers and tears.

It has been a tough road for Chester, but he now has a new “leash” on life.

“Chester was completely skin and bones. The dog couldn’t even lay down. He had his paw stuck in a prong collar, and he was a mess. He had to be carried out after a little bit because he could not stand,” said Kyrie Brickman, kennel manager for the shelter.

In August 2022, Chester and three other dogs were found in a vacant house, where they had been for more than a week.

“He absolutely was so relieved to see people, and to be honest, I don’t know how much longer he would have lasted,” Brickman said.

For about 10 months, shelter workers treated him for heartworm and mange and helped him gain weight.

A year and a half went by and no one adopted him until a special woman came along. On Monday, Chester took a limousine ride to his forever home — thanks to Lake Erie Limo.

Chester, believed to be about 4 or 5 years old, pulled up to his new home and his new family in North Royalton like a VIP.

“Oh my goodness, did you ride in a limo to get here?  Did you ride all the way in a limo,” said Chester’s new owner, Lauren Reitsman.

It was love at first sight for Reitsman when a friend sent her an online post of Chester.

“He has all these people around him, and he’s just bopping around just to see who he can get love from. So I think I won the lottery,” Reitsman said.

Chester seems to be right at home, playing with toys, getting belly rubs, and of course, plenty of doggie kisses.

Shelter workers said he needed a home without other dogs or small children and someone who understands his past.

“I think adoption is so important, especially when an animal — now, I’m getting emotional — has had a rough start in life because they deserve it even more,” said Reitsman.

Lauren said she will leave Chester’s name the same, sort of.

“His government name, if you will, is going to be Chester William Reitsman the First, of Royalton,” she said as people in the home laughed.

Reitsman said she also plans to make Chester meatballs, his favorite meal.

All three of the other dogs discovered in the vacant house with Chester have also been adopted.