Our Pepper, Deb B [online e book reading .txt] 📗

A number of years ago, I had alot going on in my life. I got married, opened a new business and bought a house, all this within a year. This was my second marriage and his third, so all our kids were older and on their own, it was a combined number of five kids and three grandchildren but, that's a story for another time.
With the house gutted inside and out, laying tile thru the whole house and signing papers to contract a in ground pool with cage.
There was this lady that lived on the same street that my parents did. She lost her husband and and her daughter had her own life. One day Betty was watching the tv when one of those spots comes on that just rips your heart out about abused animals. Betty thought what the heck she never had a pet, so she went to the pound and of all the dogs she could have had she saw this one dog all alone Betty asked about this black dog they told her she was to be put down the guy said no one wanted an old dog. She asked to see this dog and it was love at first lick. Betty saved this dog from being destroyed. The pound did not know how old this dog was only that she had an eye problem and some sort of skin problem. But she took her new dog home. Betty found a good vet and made an appointment.The vet told her that pepper was in fact abused which destroyed her right eye and the poor dog's back was scared from being hit with something and when the wounds got infected then was not taken care of.It had turned into a skin decease. He gave Betty eye drops and cream for her back. Betty was a diabetic and afyer having pep for over a few years had both legs amputated, When she came home she was in a wheel chair. Her neighbor Gary took care of pep while she was in the hospital.Gary knew pep never did her business outside he never seen Betty take her out but her house never smelled. Gary tried to get Pep to go outside but she would not even step outside. Betty told him just to lay news paper in the small bathroom and thats where pep would go. As hard as Gary tried to get pep outside she would not go so he had to pick up the wet papers and lay new ones down. When Betty came home the neighbors said that pep would sit in her lap all day long, Betty had my dad build a ramp so pepper could get on the bed without being picked up. My dad said it was something to see pep would get up the ramp and kinda jump into Betty's lap, that ramp was a life saver. Whenever the Betty had a problem after the ramp thing she would call dad.
Gary and his wife would always see Betty get the mail with pep sitting in her lap. One day they didn"t see her they really didn't think much about it til a few days had gone by and they hadn't seen her. Gary knocked at the door no answer he went home and called Betty's cell and no answer she would always let them no if she was gonna be gone longer that a day.Gary then called her daughter and she had not talked to her mom in a few days Gary told her not to worry he had a key and would go and check on her.He found Betty in bed and pep along side her at first he though they both passed away, pep jumped up. He called the police and flaged down my dad as he was passing by the house. Gary told my parents what had happened. My mom went in the house poor pep was so scared, but for some reason came right to my mom. My mom took that as a sign. Thinking this dog should not be brought to the pound.
It was a one of those days where if it could go wrong it did. I home on the phone yelling at the pool guy when my mom and dad came in they came to our house when we were not home so it wasn"t a suprise to see them. I hung up the phone and saw that my dad was holding a beach towel and something was in it. I looked at him as he put the towel on my new tile where the grout was not all the way dried out popps a black head that shook it's head barked and then peed on the floor. They told me the story about the lady and how pep was saved already from the pound. I'm still trying to figure out how I got the dog. And mom didn't. Pep smelled real bad all I had was our shampoo so I gave her a good bath changed the water three times and she now smelled good she just sat there in the big sink. Thank god my mom grabed what food the lady had and also pep's eye drops. After the bath I fed her and took her outside where she did her thing. I found an old pillow where pep got on as soon as I put in on the floor, yes she was here to stay.
The next day I called the vet to find out when pep was last seen and find out about her eye how to use the cream on her skin.
The house was at least done inside and life was good. My husband had to take pills for pain, he would take them the same time every day 4:30. He would take a few pieces of boloney. One day pep came over to him and looked at him, so he gave her a slice of boloney she graped it out of his hand before it hit the floor so he gave her another piece after that she went and layed down, my husband could not get over that. The next day 4:30 he takes his pills and gets the boloney out and there's pep wanting her cut he gave her 2 slices and she again layed down.
This started a new thing my huband now had to buy more boloney for them. She was never late sometimes he was and she would let him know what time it was.When we would take her to the groomer pep had short brissel hair but she would get a small trim her eyes cut and nails cut. You would think Betty funny the groomer's name was the same and pep's old owner we would bring pep home and she would race around the house jumbing up on the couch you would think she was a pup.
This want on over four wonderful years. One day pep came out for her boloney and at 5:30 her dinner she was on a creature of habit. She ate went out side did her thing came in I took care of her eye and she went into the back room where she now slept thats where her pillow how was.
That night my husband called for her to come out so she could do her thing til morning, she did not come out he went to see what was wrong and found her on her pillow. She passed away content and in no pain. The last year she was a bitch from hell, but she was ours.My parents and us still tell funny stories about pep and when we talk about her we still get tears in our eyes.
I know that we did make a difference in her life as she did ours and I'm thankfull that my mom and dad were there at the right time

Publication Date: 11-25-2011

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