A dog who was living in a shelter for the past five years has finally gone home to a loving family in New York state after his photo was shared on social media . Chester , a 6-year-old Pit Bull mix , had been housed at the North Fork Animal Welfare League on Long Island . The poor pooch had been living in New York state shelters since 2010 and it looked as though things were going to remain that way , until a picture that was shared online garnered sympathy from across the country . Scroll down for video . How could you say no ? This is the picture that secured Chester a loving home . Long-time coming : Chester , a six-year-old pit bull , was found as a stray and had been living in shelters for the past five years . Welcome to the family : On Friday morning , Dana Dor , her husband Adi , and their boys , Aidan and Brandon , headed from their Lake Ronkonkoma home to meet Chester . The shelter , which is based in Riverhead on Long Island posted a picture on Thursday that was hard for dog-lovers to resist . It showed Chester with a sign around his neck . An image that was clearly designed to tug at the heartstrings of dog-lovers . 'Why does n't anybody want me ? I 've been waiting 5 years . Everyone at the shelter tells me what a good boy I am . So why has no one adopted me ? I promised to be good and love my new family . Please maybe you are my new family/ I sit and wait for you to come , ' the message pleaded . The picture was shared more than 6,000 times and inquires about adopting Chester poured in from all over the world . 'It was crazy . I posted the original photo on the League 's Facebook page and by later that day there were over 6000 shares , ' NFAWL manager Gabby Stroup said . 'There were more phone calls then I can count ; the phone just never stopped . People called from Illinois , North Carolina , South Carolina , Mississippi , Michigan , Oregon , New Jersey Wisconsin , Nova Scotia , Australia and more — people were tearing up as they called . ' Tugging at heartstrings : Staring with his sad puppy dog eyes into the camera , Chester sat with a paw draped over a sign which read : 'Why does n't anybody want me ? Saying goodbye : Saturday morning , volunteers came to the shelter to say good-bye to Chester , a longtime favorite among those who 'd come regularly to walk him and give him belly rubs and kisses . Within a couple of days of the posting , Chester was adopted by a family with two sons from New York . They came to take him home on Saturday . ' A woman named Dana called me inquiring about him ; a friend of hers from Michigan had shared Chester 's picture on her page , ' Ms Stroup said . 'Dana and I talked about Chester for a bit ; she wanted to talk it over with her family . ' On Friday morning , Dana Dor , her husband Adi , and their boys , Aidan and Brandon , headed from their Lake Ronkonkoma home to meet Chester . 'They came and met him and it is just a perfect match , ' Stroup said to Southold Local.com . 'It was by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen — the amount of people who shared and called or emailed was amazing . This was one of the happiest days , ' Ms Stroup said . Yesterday morning , volunteers came to the shelter to say good-bye to Chester . After five years , he had become a longtime favorite among those who 'd come regularly to walk him . So happy together : Dana Dor said the family lost two Yorkies , five years ago , the same amount of time that Chester has been waiting for his forever family . 'We think he was waiting for us , ' Mrs Dor said . Part of the family : Adi Dor sets up a cage for Chester to sleep in at his new home . Settling in : Chester had found his perfect match in the Dor family and was soon taken for a new life at their Lake Ronkonkoma home . The Dors arrived and Chester seemed to like the family instantly , covering their faces with licks and kisses . 'We saw him and we felt connected . It was meant to be , ' Adi Dor said ; his wife said her husband had tears in his eyes the first time he met Chester . Their two young boys were delighted with the new addition to their family . They had been asking for a dog for some time . Ms Stroup said it was all down to the power of Facebook and the pleading message that hung around Chester 's neck . The shelter has received a lot of attention as a result of Chester 's plight and intends to use it 's Facebook page to help other long-term residents of the refuge find new homes . Puppy power : Using the power of social media the animal shelter took a picture of the poor pooch and posted it onto a Facebook page where it received 6,000 likes and Chester found a loving home .
A heartbreaking photo of a days Pit mix appeared on an animal shelter 's Facebook page . The rescue center was inundated with calls about the dog . After just a few hours , the photo of Chester had been shared 6,000 times . A family was found to take care of him within six-year-old of the posting .