My sister organized a little memorial service for the 1 year anniversary of the passing of her young dog, Pepper. He suffered from some serious hip problems that doctors could not find a solution for so she ultimately decided to allow the pain to leave him. Ryan and I were away on vacation during this time. It was nice to have this memorial so that he and I could formally pay our respects to this beloved family member.
Pepper was a hoot! and he LOVED people. You could coax him to stay near when he passed by other dogs but if he saw a human, good luck! He was just too eager to make everyone's day with his infectious smile and piercing blue eyes. He hated birds. The second you gave him enough space to get through the sliding glass door into the backyard, he would bolt!!! and chase every bird he could find off our property. It always made us chuckle. On a good day, his stomach made a great pillow. I was on my mission when Pepper joined the Hawkins family so initially I was a little nervous that he would feel the need to protect them from me when I returned a year later. I was surprised, though, that I was immediately adopted into what he saw as his family and I didn't spend a day feeling like an outsider. He always caught a ball in the air...I thought of it as a great talent! He loved playing in the park. He was the first of any of our family dogs that I ever remember obsessing over his toys. He LOVED to play. There was just so much to be loved about this guy. Our puppy, Cooper, would have had soooo much fun playing with Pepper. I hope they met in heaven before Cooper came down!
The night before his service, Ryan broke down a little and mentioned how much good Pepper did for his opinion of dog ownership. He said Pepper was the first dog he ever felt emotionally connected to. Because of his fondness of Pepper, he became a lot more willing to consider Cooper...so in a way, Pepper is responsible for so much of the joy we feel in our home these days. I'm very grateful to him for that.
Shale was a trooper as we shared our fondest memories of Pepper. I know it was hardest on her. They were best friends and he came into her life at a time she needed him most. He loved her most, as evidenced by every time she walked in the door!! He would drop everything to run to her and maul her down and Shale ate it up every time, but I realized today that I could have probably been considered his mistress, haha. To preface this story I need to mention that Shale has always been the lizard of the family, liking her living spaces to be 1000 degrees hotter than I. My room was known for being cooler than most other rooms in the house...which is just the way I liked it. We are complete opposites in this way, much like the Heat Miser vs. the Cold Miser.
Anyway, Pepper would always start the night sleeping in Shale's room but after an hour or so he would sneak out of her room and upstairs into my bed! This little habit of his was not Shale's favorite thing. I think Shale just kept her room too warm for him so he came up to the cooler space, but it still brought me lots of little smiles. I enjoyed teasing Shale about it from time to time, saying it was her snoring or something goofy like that.
To sum up, Pepper was one in a million. He sincerely loved everyone and brought us lots and lots of joy for the short while he was with us. He is sorely missed but we really enjoyed reflecting on the good he brought to our family today. Love you Pepper!
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