As time went by, we looked all over for a puppy that we thought best fit our family. Dad wanted a dog that he could take hunting. Mom wanted a dog that was small. Better yet, she wanted a lap dog. Sara wanted dogs that were too expensive. I wanted a golden retriever puppy, but it would get too big for our house. Finding a dog that fulfilled all of these requirements was going to be quite an accomplishment. On December 27, 2000, we traveled to Newburgh to the Warrick County Humane Society as one of our last resorts to finding a new puppy. I can remember going in to the line of pens that were full of dogs. Mom saw this little dog that she thought was cute and we immediately took some alone time with it while dad kept looking. However, it wasn't really the nicest dog to Sara and me. As we were coming out of the room with the first choice, dad had already found a hunting dog that he liked. We had proclaimed before and again told him that neither of us wanted a hunting dog. We wanted a family dog, but to please him, we took some alone time with this puppy that he had found. Little did we know... this dog would prove all of us wrong!
As we entered the room again, we had noticed that though this dog was a “Pointer” in breed, she wasn’t exactly the hunting dog that we were expecting. We saw the good in her. She was playful and loving. She was the first dog that we had seen that had the potential to be our newest family member. So, we sat down with a volunteer to go over some of the details and background information on this dog. The lady at the shelter informed us that she had been found a few days ago on the side of Hwy. 161 in Boonville, IN. She was believed to be 1 to 2 human years in age, and was shy of loud noises. Workers at WHS believed that a scar of overlapping skin was the result of a gun shot wound. She was underweight, and had a tendency to howl rather than to bark when she wanted attention. With a white coat of hair and small black spots around her larger black haired markings, a WHS volunteer named her “Pepper.” Within two hours of being at the shelter, we agreed as a family to adopt Pepper as our newest family member. The worker told us that she still needed shots and the veterinarian had already left for the day so we could come in and pick her up the next day.
Overnight, Evansville was graced with its first ice and snowfall of the season. We anxiously traveled back to WHS the next day to pick up our new puppy. They graciously gave us a sample bag of dog food and a treat bag. As we were leaving WHS, Pepper decided to show mom who was boss. So, she jerked the leash when dad opened the door and made a mad dash towards the parking lot… leaving mom on the other end of the leash sliding her butt on the ice. This moment was true marker that she was going to be the queen of our house. Sara was seemingly the most excited to be able to have a dog that she could call her dog. The funny thing was that she often seemed frightened by Sara for some reason. Instead, she often “clinged” to Mom and I for all of her love and support, even though Sara and Dad both loved her just as much.
The next few years were critical growing stages in both mine and Sara’s lives. Pepper was always with us. Sara insisted that Pepper traveled with us on all soccer tournaments… which meant that she would be spending even more quality time with me while Sara was playing soccer. We frequently would take her over to the park to go chase some birds and squirrels. She also enjoyed chasing tennis balls and playing tug-o-war (with me especially). I think she secretly liked me throwing her around and fighting with her. She would get really into it and I would growl at her, and if I caught her in the right mood, she’d make a soft growl back. It sounds kind of mean on paper, but it was fun times for us.
Like most dogs, Pepper has always been afraid of the rain. I’m not exactly sure why… but she would always wait until it started raining until she needed to go potty… so we would get out the umbrella and go out there with her. If it was storming, I could tell you exactly where she would be. She would be under my covers, shaking, and on the corner of my bed up against the most interior walls. We used to joke and say that if we ever got a tornado, she would be the only one that would live because she had the safest part of the house during a storm. Another quirky thing that she did would be to sit by the heat vents and wait for the heat to turn on. It's almost as if she sensed when it was coming within a few seconds beforehand. Another person that she straightened out was dad. He had in his mind that she would be his next hunting dog. However, that would not be the case. She was deathly afraid of him when he would carry a gun in his hand. Instead of getting excited and running to the door like all of his dogs that he had before her, she would start shaking and either go and hide in my room, or cling to mom or me until he put the gun away. I find it comical that he got a hunting dog that was scared to hunt. Then again though, both Pepper and himself were probably better off that way.
Mom was Pepper’s absolute best friend. That was indefinite. Pepper would lay around all day just waiting for mom to get home from work. As soon as she got home, she would wait by the recliner. As soon as mom would sit down (and sometimes beforehand), she would jump up on the chair in her lap. I guess you could say mom got her lap dog. She may have weighed a little over 50 pounds… but nonetheless, she was mom’s lap dog. Personally, I think that Mom was her best friend because she gave Pepper the most treats, but mom would say that is debatable.
Within her first 10 years of life after being adopted, she showed us many things. She taught Sara and me to love unconditionally. She was there for us through both the happy and the sad times. Words cannot describe how much of an impact that she has made on our family. Today, I’m writing this blog because… well, as much as it pains me to say this, Pepper is nearing the end of her time here with us.
At the beginning of this summer most people would say that she was in good health for her age. However, in just a few months of time, her health has declined dramatically. As with most dogs, cancer has spread throughout her body in the last few years. This has led to arthritis in her legs, which is not allowing her to be able to walk on all 4’s. We recently took her to the vet, who was willing to offer extensive treatment options. We tried using an antibiotic for the arthritis, but it did not help enough to at least take away the pain. We can see that she is in pain… and that is not want we want for her. She never wanted us to be in pain and we feel the same way for her. So, tomorrow afternoon, at 4pm, we are taking our beloved family member to the vet for the last time. You see, she isn’t just a dog to us… she is family. This is going to be extremely hard for me, but I know it needs to be done. I’ve done a lot of praying about this decision and I keep getting little reminders that her time on earth has come. I do believe that dogs go to Heaven. That may sound strange to some people, but it’s a very real justification for me. One day we will see her again… someday.
"Until then, you will always be (this) man's best friend..."
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