Thanks for the memories.

How I'll always remember him.

Losing a much loved family pet is never easy.
Pepper was a most treasured part of my family growing up. I think he was about 11 or 12 when he passed away the other day (my family has a tradition where we write in a book the name of a new pet, their birthday and then finally the date that they passed on so I’ll have to double check that).

It was a bit of a tough situation. We knew he was sick with a type of debilitating arthritis and he had been on medication for a while. He was fading away physically and because my parents have been overseas he was being spoilt rotten and doted on until his last days by my loving grandparents who could give him all the attention he needed.

My brother and I were called over to realise that Pepper had taken a turn for the worst and it would be best for him to be put to sleep. We spent all the time we could with him, right up to his last moments in the vet.

Even in his last, painful and tiring moments Pepper brought my grandparents, brother, myself and my husband together as we shared the emotion of closing a beautiful chapter of our lives – we even connected with our parents over the phone. He was good like that. Such a loyal, loving soul.

My dad in particular had the most special bond with Pepper. He wouldn’t be able to move without having a snout pressed tight to the back of his knees while he walked. A well placed lick matting his leg hairs and a nudge as if to round him up.

My family’s other dog, who I won’t name right now (she knows who she is) was a funny companion to Pepper. Boisterous, loud and scary looking to strangers (but goofy to us), she has a funny way of dealing with the hubby. No matter what he does (bribery, affection, anything I’ve tried to teach him from the Dog Whisperer), she just can’t figure him out. She’ll bark her head off when he tries to get close and run away! He’s a great person and loves dogs so her radar is a little “off” I’m afraid! Anyway, whenever she did this Pepper would run out quietly and let the hubby know he loves him. He would give a quiet lick and nudge to him as he climbed out of the car to let him know that he wasn’t at all of the same opinion of Miss Thang the girl dog.

I have so many beautiful memories of Pepper. When he was young he was really hyperactive. However, we discovered early on that he suffered from epilepsy. He had to take a sedative every day to help fight the fits. On the first day we had to figure out the right dosage for him by slowly ramping it up. Poor thing got so stoned that while fully grown he tried to curl up in my lap like a little puppy while I flailed around underneath him!

One year he went missing for a few days. It was a really upsetting time and I thought I was dealing with it. It had been rainy and stormy and we were scared because sometimes bad weather freaked him out and gave him fits. We never fully gave up hope, but in the backs of our minds we knew we might have to consider the option that he wouldn’t be coming back. My mum had bought me a bobble headed dog (when they were still cool) for my car – I had just got my license – which she presented to me on Christmas day. It looked like Pepper and she said she was worried that if he hadn’t come back by then she wouldn’t give it to me because she didn’t want it to upset me. It touched me that my mum thought of me so tenderly and obviously knew how much it affected me, moreso than I did.
But Pepper was back before Christmas. My mum is convinced he was found by the family cat who led him home on some sort of Milo and Otis epic journey. I wasn’t so convinced but nevertheless the whole family were thrilled. He was pampered like crazy after that!!

Pepper dabbled in kayaking (no joke), stick fetching (when the younger dogs had done the dirty work they would know to let him pick up the stick and take all the credit – that’s before he got sick of the game and destroyed the stick so no-one else could play), and general organising of all other pets. He was a worry wart and he enjoyed being close to his loved ones. He didn’t like it when you touched his tail or put your head in his mouth (well my dog does did that to him a lot).

In the last few weeks, he didn’t have much of an appetite. My mum devised a way of tricking him into eating: Feed him cat food in a cat bowl so he thought he was being sneaky – the forbidden fruit always tastes better, right?
She bought so many cans of cat food (think for three cats and one dog) that she told me she would do the grocery shopping in installments each week so no-one would think she was a crazy old cat lady!

We’re all going to miss him so much. He was like everyone’s little guardian angel shadow. I don’t doubt he still is.
I know he’s at peace now. He can run and fetch sticks and organise everyone in doggy heaven and his tired, frail old body won’t hold him back anymore.

RIP Pepper. We love you.