Tuesday, March 4, 2014

How We Saved Pepper (My First Dog) - Day 22 of 30


 
Pepper was my first dog and my first pet that I actually really cared for. The story, of how we got him, is kind of funny...

My mom's best friend's husband, Sal*, was in a animal care taking job and came across a client who was about to be put in hospice. Sal's client told him that she was planning on having her dog put to sleep with her, because she didn't want her dog to be sad when she wasn't there anymore.

Sal knew that the dog wasn't ready to be put down, and proposed an idea to her. She agreed to his proposal, in that if he kept the dog, that she wouldn't put him down.

That's where we come in. Sal approached our pet-less family asking if we would consider adding a dog to our family. He couldn't keep the dog, but he couldn't bear to watch the dog have it's life ended when it wasn't time.

So we gladly adopted him, my first dog ever, a Lhasa Peeka-Poo mix named Pepper. When Sal first approached us about Pepper, he had the idea that he was around four years old. Then he corrected himself, saying Pepper was 6 years old...finally when we adopted him, we found out Pepper was indeed around 10 years old, not as young as we thought.

I was in 7th grade, and my little sister was in fourth grade. I thought adding a dog to our family would be great, and my sister was beyond ecstatic, printing off pictures of him and bringing them to school, to show him off.

Pepper had big bug eyes that popped out of his head, with long floppy ears and long legs that would prance sometimes when we took him on walks. When mom came home from work, and we were all in the kitchen, he would flop down in this yoga position, with his legs all sprawled out. It was the funniest thing.

He really took a loving to mom. He would stay with her at night, sleeping with her in bed, and laying with her on the couch. He also loved to join me on "rides" if he heard that word, he would start jumping and get really excited. I loved driving with him and taking him on a trip to grandpa and grandma's house.

Within the last year, Pepper's age started really showing. He was 16 years old, and had many health problems that were really sad to watch.

It's been officially six months now that we made the decision to put my beloved doggie, Pepper to rest.

Having Pepper with us for as long as we had him, was such a blessing. He could have been buried with his previous owner, but instead he got to spend it with us. He taught me responsibility and how to take care of something, he brought smiles and laughter into my life and he will always be my first pet.

I love you Pepper and I hope you are getting many pupperonis in doggie heaven.

Talk to you tomorrow,
Marisa

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