Pepper

Since Pepper joined our family, she’s changed my mind about dogs. My husband and I have had our share of bad luck with dogs over the years; pups mostly. I got soured on the idea of having a dog after losing some of our dogs and surviving several puppy bad behavior and destructive stages until Pepper came along and changed all that (I openly admit that training puppies and having patience with them is not a gift I possess).

Our son desperately wanted a dog for Christmas one year and fate brought Pepper to us just in time. She came from a family that lived in town and realized Pepper needed space to run and I happened to be a part of the conversation about the family’s dilemma.

 

We were promised her delivery after Christmas so the family could spend Christmas break with her. We got Pepper on New Year’s Day of 2006 and she was a little over a year old but showed no signs of the behavior puppies are notorious for. She’s been the most ideal dog for our family. She won my heart when I discovered that she only barks when someone drives in the yard or wildlife intruders approach the yard but when strangers pull in the drive she has her hackles up until she’s been given our approval. She is very territorial and doesn’t leave the yard unless she’s with us. Even when we leave her home alone, she mans her territory instead of running off.

 

Pepper is a companion dog that’s loyal to all of us but especially the kids.

She has claimed our kids as her own from day one. She’s an outside dog that loves all the places we take her along to for her to explore.  She’s happiest when she gets to go places with us that she can snoop around or when we’re outside where she can follow us around.

 

Unless of course, she’s getting a well-deserved nap.

Her favorite game is fetching tennis balls and will make it easy for us to throw them for her by bringing them to us,

sometimes to the point that the kids will put Pepper’s ball out of reach.

More than once I’ve found a tennis ball in an odd place or found Pepper staring at her ball out of reach.

This ball traveled all the way to Fairburn for a family reunion on top of my car when the kids put it there after getting tired of seeing it show up at their feet.

Having Pepper as part of our family has been a blessing. She’s definitely made a dog lover out of me.