I wanted to give you an update on how Pepper (fka Hocus Pocus) is faring. It has been around six weeks since Pepper has become a member of the family.
The first night he was here, he escaped. He was visiting my neighbor with Sophie, my aging older rescue, and her dog Joey. Over the years Sophie and Joey have visited many many times as we watch each other’s dogs while either one of us are away, and there have been no previous escapes. I was going to see Tom Jones that evening and my neighbor had tickets at an ACT show. The neighbor called my neighbor and informed her they had Pepper. So somehow Pepper got out from the yard. Thank Goodness! My neighbor called me and Pepper has never escaped again! Whew…
Pepper has been to the office many times and has numerous friends there. He loves sitting on laps giving hugs and cuddling into you. Oh, the treats he receives don’t hurt! (Although I am constantly reminding them to only give small pieces of that treat.)
He also loves going in the car, looking at me from the passenger seat with those adoring brown eyes and I am sure asking “well, why am I not on your lap”? I just look at him and say “sorry, you do not have your license to drive so you need to be a passenger, not the driver.” I do not think he understands that yet.
As far as how he and Sophie are getting along? He is great, she would still be happy being the only dog. Pepper has much more energy than Sophie. But she accepts him and every now and then I will see her next to him. The only “issue” I am working on is his habit of jumping on to everything. Sophie is rather old, and Pepper has surprised her a few times by jumping on the sofa right onto Sophie. Sophie then kind of screeches. He is getting much better about doing that.
Over the weekend, Sophie had a bit of a scare, screeching a few times like she was in serious pain. When I got up yesterday at 3AM, she was disoriented and confused. We all sat on the sofa, me almost crying, and calmed her down. This is the main reason Pepper has come into my life. With Sophie aging, I could not harbor the prospect of her not being here. So the little episode brought that to the forefront. Pepper sat calmly with us and Sophie seems to be ok. Pepper and I went to the office very early and he helped me finish decorating the office Christmas Tree.
Now I realize I am projecting this, but Pepper freely went under the tree and again looked at my with those amazing eyes. “Well take my picture already”! Hence the Christmas tree picture.
So all is well and so far Pepper has been the PERFECT fit for him as well as myself.
Thank you Muttville for what you do for our friends as well as what you do for people like myself.
Dan Craver
11/25/24
Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.
