Chester's Voice

16/05/2020

Chester update: he's adjusting well to his new apartment. He's playing with the other young cat, so he seems to be doing just fine. Chester is still the sweet, loving, playful, curious boy I brought home 2 1/2 years ago.
I shall continue to update as progress is made. I hope everyone has a great weekend! 😺😸❤❤

12/05/2020

This is Chester's first day home, he's adjusting very well. We're keeping him in my room, so he's napping for now. I'm sure he's had an eventful day. I'll post pictures as they are taken and keep everyone updated!

11/05/2020

Well it has been quite an eventful day for us. My daughter was contacted this afternoon by the Midwest City Animal Shelter. The family who adopted Chester was unable to keep him and they returned him to the shelter. She was able to take him home today! We sincerely appreciate that MWC Animal Control contacted her so they could be reunited!

I will post more details later. Thank you all for the support you have shown us over these past few months.

19/01/2020

The cat in my previous post is not Chester. He is missing from Midwest City and looks very much like Chester, however his family has had him since he was a kitten, so they are not the family who adopted Chester. But their family needs help finding their fur baby, as well. Please keep your eyes open for Pumpkin, the cat who is currently missing from a Midwest City family. And thank you to everyone who is still looking for Chester.

11/01/2020

Well, after yesterday's melancholy, I'd like to hit a good note. Allow me to share some photos of Chester's brother, Simba. He came up to my youngest niece and allowed her to pick him up, so he came home. Simba loves the kids, loves his brother. He craves attention, but doesn't like to be held. Simba will let me take photos of him, practically posing with confidence. He has been so protective of the house since Chester's been gone, he deserves recognition. Enjoy some pictures of the Pretty Boy, Simba!

10/01/2020

Today, missing this boy has hit me so hard. I still have dreams that he's come home, but waking up from those dreams hurts so much. We love you and miss you, Chester. Please be ok, baby boi. ❤❤

31/12/2019

Hi everyone. Mykal and I did a lot of talking over the weekend, and we both feel that the focus has been diverted from the original goal of Chester's Voice, which is to find the family who adopted Chester from the Midwest City animal shelter on December 3rd, 2019.

This post includes several photos of Chester, including photos of him at MWCAW. He is a long-haired orange tabby and is neutered and up to date on his shots. He was adopted by someone on December 3, the day after Mykal went to the shelter searching for him. There were a series of errors on the part of both parties that created this situation and we are not interested in debating how it happened, whether on Chester's Voice or outside of Chester's Voice. All we want is to find the family who adopted Chester. We can't get this info from the MWCAW due to their policies, and we are not debating that either. We are here for Chester, and that is where our focus needs to be.

IF YOU ARE THE FAMILY WHO ADOPTED CHESTER OR YOU KNOW THEM:

We will cover the expenses for them to adopt another pet, IF they can find it in their hearts to return Chester to Mykal. There have also been offers of PetSmart gift cards for their new pet, if that is the decision they come to.

We want them to know that they can remain anonymous if they wish, no matter what their response is. We don't want them to be hesitant to come forward just because they don't want their names associated with this. There are ways around that. If they do not wish to be known publicly, or even to us, that can be arranged.

If they do hear the story and decide they are not in a position to return Chester, there is no ill will from us. We understand he's a pretty awesome cat. We thank you for loving him and being his caregivers, no matter how this specific situation ends.

Please share this story with your friends and ask them to share with their friends. We are still getting new views and new likes, so we are still holding out hope that Chester's story will reach the right people and we can get an answer. We just want a resolution so we can have closure, either way.

Thank you all so much for your help.

29/12/2019

It has been asked multiple times why Chester wasn't wearing a collar with ID when he was taken to the shelter, so I wanted to post a few pictures of Chester wearing the collars he decided to wrangle out of. Mykal did try to keep him identifiable, however he had other plans.

Mykal has decided that in the future she will not only be microchipping any pet she has, but she will also be investing in vet-approved harnesses if any of her pets are found to be as averse to collars as Chester is. And no more indoor/outdoor pets, no matter what.

"Do the best you can until you know better. When you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou

I think many people are overlooking (or simply don't care to take into account) that Chester was Mykal's first pet as a young adult. It's sad that the "knowing better" part of "doing better" came with such heartbreak and public scrutiny. (Again, the scrutiny that comes with publicity is a chance Mykal feels is worth going through to get Chester back home, just in case this is a point anyone decides to harp on, because some people will harp on anything.) Regardless of the outcome of this story, Mykal will do better in the future.

However, just because there was room for doing better doesn't mean that she was doing bad. She loved Chester and did what she knew to do to keep him safe and happy and healthy. Accusing her of anything otherwise is unfounded and patently false, no matter how much people might think they know about her from a two minute news story.

I'm thankful that I didn't have my every decision dissected and critiqued at age 22, because I certainly didn't know everything there was to know about life at that age. Hell, I'm nearly 47 and I still don't know everything there is to know about life. Seriously, do any of us? Stop and think of what you were doing at 22. Compare what you knew then to what you know now. Think of the people and the experiences you have learned from along the way. I hope that most people showed you kindness and understanding, and I hope that most people will continue to show Mykal kindness and understanding. We thank you for having done so.

It's the people who seem to enjoy being hateful that really stump me. Yes, I've read the comments I wasn't going to read. I have been able to refrain from commenting on most of them (although I have admittedly responded to a few then immediately deleted my comment, just to get it off my chest, because sometimes I'm not so good at being quiet! 😂 I'm kind of a wordy person, in case you haven't been able to tell from my posts!)

But it has taken a toll on me. Between the holidays, Chester's Voice, medical issues, our plumbing disaster (which is thankfully resolved, but it wasn't cheap, so now I'm stressing over paying that bill, the outrageous water bill that is coming soon, and two new hefty medical bills I didn't expect....*ugh*) Needless to say, I've been under quite a bit more stress than my body is used to, and I've found myself in the midst of a monster of an auto-immune flare-up.

I have decided that it is imperative that I take some time for self-care. I'm sure I will still be posting from time to time if the need arises. But for now, Mykal will be taking over most of the admin for Chester's Voice. I am incredibly proud of how she has handled this situation and I am confident in our mutual decision for her to take the reins.

I have been the public face of Chester's Voice for several reasons, but the biggest one was because I could say the things Mykal couldn't express at the beginning of this journey. Unpredictable situations have historically been very difficult for her to handle. However, stretching well beyond her comfort zone for her on-camera interview with KFOR really boosted her confidence, and she feels ready to step forward.

I will never regret standing up for my kids, no matter what age they are, but I will also never stand in the way of them standing up for themselves.

Luckily for you all, she's not as prone to being overly-wordy as I am. 😂

Thank you for the support you have given to us. We are so grateful to you all.

27/12/2019

Hi everyone. This is the link to the news story that aired last night on KFOR. I know this link has already been posted here, but it never hurts to post it again. Some of the comments are fairly hateful and I'm doing my best to not respond, only because I know that it's nearly impossible to clear up misconceptions once a person's mind has been made up. I may have to sit on my hands later, but I'm trying not to respond to much.

I have already addressed some of the misconceptions on this page. If those who are opposing us read Chester's page, great! If not, we know the truth, and we also know that the majority of the comments come from people who know absolutely nothing about us beyond what's available in a 2 minute news story.

The main thing is the date. The news story said Chester went missing on Thanksgiving. This is not correct. When he hadn't come home by Thanksgiving, my daughter knew something was wrong. She couldn't go to the shelter because because she was out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, and the shelter was closed for all but one of those four days between Thanksgiving and the following Monday. There are other members of her extended family (in-laws) who remained in the home for the holiday, and they are the ones who informed her, on Thanksgiving morning, that Chester hadn't come home. She was at the shelter on the first day they were open after the holiday weekend. That was day five of the stray hold, when Chester was there, and my daughter was told he wasn't.

Yes, my daughter's original post about this said he was last seen on Thanksgiving. She mis-remembered the date. It's something that she has a bit of trouble with; numbers just aren't her thing. We know her idiosyncrasies. The general public doesn't, because they don't know her. We have tried to address it as best as we can, but there are still those who delight in constantly repeating that it can't have been Chester in the shelter because of the date "discrepancy." The discrepancy has been addressed. As far as we are concerned, it is cleared up. I would not have taken things this far if I had any doubts of the identity of the cat. We are 100% certain that the cat in the photo taken at the shelter is of Chester. You can compare pictures of him and see for yourself, but I'm sure most of you have already done that.

This is information that you know already, but seems to be a sticking point for some people.

We aren't bashing the shelter employees and volunteers. We haven't ever called for anyone to be fired or even reprimanded. We understand human error. All we ever asked was for them to attempt to correct their error. However, they won't even admit that an error was made.

There are 2 sides to every story. Why was the shelter not given the opportunity to comment? Well, they were. It clearly states in the video that KFOR reached out to the shelter and were simply referred back to "policy," which has never been the question. We understand that there is a 5-day stray hold. We aren't fighting that. THE ONLY ISSUE THAT HAS EVER BEEN IN QUESTION BY US IS WHY THE SHELTER TOLD MY DAUGHTER HER CAT WAS NOT THERE WHEN HE WAS, AND WHY SHE WASN'T GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE CATS ON THE FIRST DAY SHE WAS AT THE SHELTER. SHE WAS THERE BEFORE THE STRAY HOLD WAS UP. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE CATS ON THAT DAY. HAD THEY DONE THAT, CHESTER WOULD BE HOME AND NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

Hopefully that's loud enough for everyone to hear.

Additionally, WE HAVE NEVER BLAMED THE SHELTER OR ITS EMPLOYEES OR VOLUNTEERS FOR CHESTER BEING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. WE HAVE ONLY ASKED THEM TO OWN UP TO THEIR ERROR AND ATTEMPT TO FIX IT. My daughter has owned up to her error. She knows where she went wrong and will take every measure to prevent it from happening again in the future. But the shelter still won't own their part in this, and it's looking like they never will.

Here's a big one. My daughter is not stupid. She is young and inexperienced at the nuances of adulting, just like we all were at 22. She also deals with some mental / emotional / neurological issues that make adulting even more difficult for her. Calling her stupid is like calling someone with autism stupid, or calling someone with attention deficit disorder stupid. It's hateful, it's hurtful, and it's wholly inaccurate. She is doing a WONDERFUL job, given the obstacles she has to cope with. This is something that wasn't covered in the news story because it wasn't relevant, so it's not something that the people commenting are even aware of.

And that brings me to the reason why I try so hard to be kind to others, to refrain from passing judgement on others, and to respond calmly and respectfully to people when they are being rude, whether over the phone, in person, or online. I don't know what they are dealing with to cause them to be irritable or impatient or angry, and I don't want to be just another person who contributes to their state of mind. It doesn't always work, but I have found that oftentimes when I am calm and respectful to someone who is angry or rude, they will also calm their emotions a little. Sometimes it's enough that by the end of the interaction, we are all happy with the outcome. I haven't always held this outlook, though. In my younger years, I know I've made hateful comments or responded with anger instead of respect. I know that I still get impatient and lose my temper. But making a conscious effort to be kind and respectful has made a huge difference in my life.

In short, I feel that everyone deserves kindness and compassion. I wish more people felt that way, and I especially wish that social media reflected this more often.

NOBODY in those comments would want their life to be scrutinized the way my daughter's has been, because EVERYBODY has made mistakes, poor judgments, bad choices, whatever. We aren't perfect because NOBODY IS. However, we knew before going public with Chester's story that this would happen, and my daughter decided it was worth that to have the chance to get her boy back.

I think the main thing I want people to know is, unless it came from this page, it's not official word from us. Anyone who wants the entire story can come here and read it. We can't give you the shelter's side because the only thing they've ever said to anybody who has asked, is that they followed policy. (Which, again, isn't the issue.)

There are many assumptions, misconceptions, and outright lies being bounced around, and I don't have the time or energy to respond to every single person. That's why I address things here. I hope a few can gain a better understanding of this situation, but I honestly don't expect that many of the people on "the other side" will read this. Most have made up their minds about us, and that's okay. What other people think of me is none of my concern. I make these posts because I don't want our supporters to feel as though we've been deceitful or misrepresented anything. Besides, if I were to respond in the comments, it would likely just be an exercise in futility and result in me losing my cool, which is not something I care to do.

Lastly, we haven't heard anything from the family who adopted Chester, which was the entire point of taking this public in the first place. It has occurred to us that it's possible someone associated with the shelter adopted him, in which case we aren't likely to ever see him again. However, there is still a chance that the new family will see it, or someone who knows them will see it, and we can present them with the offer my daughter has made (and the offers from our supporters!) So we ask that you continue to share Chester's story in hopes that the right people will see it.

Thank you to all of our supporters. We could never have gotten this far without you! We appreciate that you understand how heartbroken our family is over this. I wish you all nothing but the very best life has to offer you.

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) - An Oklahoma woman says she is devastated after what she says was a mix-up at a local animal shelter.

“He is just like my first baby, they're like children, you know?” said a crying Mykal Bowan.

Bowan adopted Chester when he was just 8-weeks-old. Since then, they ha...

25/12/2019

Chester's story is going to run on KFOR-TV tonight at ten! We are so grateful to have this opportunity! Thank you so much to the staff at channel 4!

24/12/2019

Do you have a Twitter account? Help make a trending topic! Re-tweet: https://twitter.com/paulalove/status/1209583064847966209

“We need your help! I've started the campaign for my daughter. We are calling for everyone to , her cat that was placed for adoption by the shelter AFTER she went there looking for him and was told he wasn't there! https://t.co/g4Sz02gpdK”

24/12/2019

Good afternoon, all. It's Christmas Eve, and we held out hope that we would have this issue resolved by Christmas. However, having had zero response from the MWCAW and having our story axed from the news lineup, it seems as though that is not going to happen. We are heartbroken, but we still are not giving up on Chester!

We have heard so many gut-wrenching stories of pet owners whose pets were either wrongfully adopted out or euthanized by MWCAW before their owners could claim them, or even after their owners had been to the shelter looking for them. My daughter went to the shelter (yes, she was physically AT the shelter, a total of three times, for those who have assumed that she only called) and was told that Chester was not there when he was! She was there on the fifth hold day, and she should have gone home with her cat! He should never have been placed for adoption in the first place!

We hoped that this was just a one-time error on the part of the shelter, but we have to wonder now if it's far more common.

We do wish that KFOR-TV would reconsider their position and air Chester's story. If they could investigate the other claims and find out if this is a pattern, maybe we could put an end to it. However, if KFOR won't air the story, maybe KOCO Channel 5 News Station or KWTV News 9 would be interested. We don't consider this to be over yet. There is still time to fix the mess that MWCAW created in adopting out a PET whose owner was at the shelter looking for him the day prior.

To the family who adopted Chester: my daughter would like to cover the cost of adopting a new pet for your family if you can find it in your heart to let Chester come home. Additionally, two of our readers have offered $20.00 PetSmart gift cards for your new pet, if you do choose to return Chester to his family. We understand that this is not your fault by any means, and we commend you for adopting a shelter animal. We are sure you love Chester already, because he's an awesome cat! But we hope that you read Chester's story and understand that he wasn't a stray, he wasn't abandoned, and he wasn't feral. His family searched for him and went to the shelter, but they were told he wasn't there. That was the day before you adopted him, and he was there. He should not have been among the selection of cats for you to adopt, because he should have been returned to my daughter. If MWCAW had done the right thing, you could have adopted a cat that really was a stray or abandoned, and they could have opened up one more spot, and given another cat a chance at a happy family life. Unfortunately they refused to fix their error, and we've had to take to social media to try to find you. We hope that you see this and contact us.

We wish everyone a lovely holiday. We hope that you are with family, friends, loved ones, and special fur babies in a joyful atmosphere. Thank you all for your support, your shares, your comments, and your love. Thank you for being Chester's Voice!



Oklahoma Humane Society
ASPCA
Best Friends Animal Society
PetSmart
Matt Dukes, Elected Mayor of MIdwest City
Midwest City Beacon
Ellen DeGeneres
Ian Somerhalder
Ricky Gervais

23/12/2019

Hi everyone! We've been dealing with a plumbing emergency here so I haven't had much time to update. It isn't resolved yet, so between that and the upcoming holiday, "chaos" isn't quite strong enough a word to describe our lives right now!

I have spoken with the KFOR-TV reporter who interviewed us. She is on our side and pushing for the story to air, but the final word isn't her call, and the powers that be aren't feeling it yet. We are disappointed in this setback, but we aren't giving up the fight. Here are some ways you can help us.

We have so many people supporting us that we feel Chester's story still has further to go. We ask that you like, share, comment, post, review, and interact in any way you can. Every interaction counts toward visibility and pushes the story further out there, to people who haven't seen it yet.

If you know of anyone who adopted a cat from MWCAW the first week of December, please share Chester's story with them. Anyone, from anywhere, could have gone into the shelter and adopted him. They don't necessarily have to be from Midwest City or even the Oklahoma City metro area.

Share Chester's story with your Facebook friends and use and as hashtags. If you have a Twitter account, please share there as well, using the same hashtags. Tag anyone you think needs to hear Chester's Voice and ask them to please share as well.

Comment on the post I made on the MWCAW page. To do this, click the link:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10221143912936213&set=p.10221143912936213&type=3
This will take you directly to the post on their page.

We cannot thank you enough for everything you have done. You've shown us love and support and you've shared Chester's story far and wide. We've started getting attention for Chester's Voice, and that's because of you!

We hope you have a lovely week.

21/12/2019

Let's start the weekend on a happy note. Show us your fur babies! 😍

20/12/2019

Whew! That last post was a mess! 😂 My phone's voice-to-text feature must not understand my Okie accent. I have an A.A. degree in English so I had to go back and correct it. That's just my nature.

We have not had any major developments at this time, however we are definitely not giving up! We ask that you please keep sharing, keep commenting, keep liking, and leave our page a review. Our momentum is accelerating, and we expect it to take off like a rocket once the story hits KFOR-TV this weekend. Hopefully the family who adopted Chester will see it, or someone who knows them will see it and share it with them. What happens from there is a decision entirely up to them. This was not by any means their fault or their responsibility, and we do not want them to feel shamed or pressured in any way.

MWCAW has not reached out to us, even after our plea on their page. Their only answer to anyone who actually has spoken to them is that they followed procedure. They don't seem to understand that this is not the issue. We are not questioning whether or not they followed their procedure. We know they did. We are not even questioning their policy. (Some of our supporters have, and we don't have a problem with that, but we officially are not questioning MWCAW policy.) We are questioning why my daughter came home without her cat, who was in MWC animal shelter the first time she was there looking for him, and why they won't even acknowledge their error, let alone attempt to make amends for it.

We have spoken several times to a woman who volunteers for the shelter, named Jana Beller. Jana has been incredibly helpful and forthcoming with the information she has access to. However, she is not a paid employee of MWCAW and she is not speaking on their behalf. Being that she is the only person associated with the shelter who has openly spoken to us, she has fielded a plethora of questions, some of which have been emotionally charged. If you see Jana in the comments and reply to her, we ask that you please be courteous, and keep in mind that her information is limited. She is beginning to feel attacked, and we definitely don't want that. We appreciate the information that she has shared with us, and we want her to not only know that, but feel it as well. She was not the person my daughter spoke with and she had nothing to do with the situation we find ourselves in. She has spoken with us out of the kindness of her heart, and we ask that everyone please show her kindness in return. We appreciate it incredibly.

We are coming up on three weeks since Chester was adopted out to another family. Every day he feels further from our reach. We are hoping that the news story brings the resolution we need. Since posting Chester's story, we've heard from multiple people that they've had similar experiences with MWCAW. It saddens us terribly to hear this. We want you to know that you are not only acting as , you are also acting as a voice for all the other fur babies who have been unjustly euthanized or separated from families who were actively searching for them.

Thank you to you all for your support! We couldn't have gotten this far without you!

Oklahoma Humane Society
ASPCA
Ellen DeGeneres
Ian Somerhalder
Best Friends Animal Society
PetSmart
Matt Dukes, Elected Mayor of MIdwest City
Midwest City, Oklahoma
Midwest City Beacon
KOCO 5 News
KWTV - NEWS 9

20/12/2019

Good morning everyone. I am sorry we have been MIA for a day or two. The Christmas season is very busy, as I'm sure you all know. I have also taken a short break just for my mental health. I did not realize at the onset of this journey how mentally and emotionally taxing it would be. I do want to say that I am incredibly proud of my daughter for the interview she gave with Channel 4. It took a lot for her to put herself out there the way she did, to stand up for herself, and to tell her story.

Once the news story airs, and the post goes up on Facebook, I will have to use all the restraint I have to keep from going there. I'm reminded of why I unfollowed pages of news stations several years ago. I honestly don't think I can watch as people rip my daughter to shreds. I understand our supporters far outnumber our detractors. However the ugliness of haters and trolls is a lot to take when they're talking about your family. So I will not be commenting much, if at all, on the news station's Facebook post.

I am posting through voice to text so if any of this looks strange, that's why.

Thank you all so much for your support! We appreciate every person who has taken the time out of their busy holiday schedule to share Chester's story, to comment and show their support, and to contribute to the effort to get Chester home. We love you all and we wish you nothing but the best. Thank you.

19/12/2019

I would like to address a few things about the screenshots sent to me tonight.

1. Social media may lie, however we have not. There have been some misconceptions in some comments I've seen and I have tried to clear them up. Keep in mind that this story has taken off and I've had trouble keeping up with every single comment made, therefore I have not been able to address every person individually. However, I have addressed every *new* misconception I've seen. So while I may not correct every comment, I have addressed another comment somewhere that contained the same misconception, if I've seen it.

2. We are not questioning animal welfare's policy, nor are we questioning whether or not they followed it properly. They did. The hold time for strays is five business days. Chester arrived at the shelter on 11/25 and was adopted out on 12/3. The hold days are 11/25, 11/26, 11/27, 11/30, and 12/2. Thursday and Friday were not business days due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and Sunday is not a business day. Therefore they did not count toward the hold time. Chester was at the shelter for the required amount of time for them to place him as available for adoption. Policy was followed correctly. But this was never the issue.

3. The issue is that my daughter was at the shelter where Chester was being held on 12/2. This was, according to shelter policy, the 5th hold day. She was there in the time they allow for owners to claim their pets. However, when she inquired about a long-haired orange tabby cat, she was told he was not there. No one denied her the opportunity to look in the cat room, however it was not offered to her at that time, and she was not aware it was even an option. Had she been given that opportunity, Chester would be home, and I would be happily watching the Survivor finale instead of giving an interview to the news station and posting on social media.

4. Martha Springer never went to the animal shelter. She spoke with the lieutenant over animal control on the phone. My daughter went into the shelter, a total of three times.

The shelter followed their policy, but so did my daughter, and she still came home without her cat. That is the issue at hand. That has always been the issue at hand.

19/12/2019

Breaking news! We had a couple of visitors this evening who are very interested in Chester's story. Thank you so much to the wonderful crew at KFOR-TV for helping us make heard!

The story will air this weekend. I will post more details as they become available.