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| Pepper - mutt, mongrel, border collie thingy. |
| When we named Pepper we didn't know just how well that name was going to fit her. Pepper, peppermint, pepper spray (Mark is a cop after all!), peperonchini... all those things that are peepy or has a nip to it. She is full of energy and mischief and is always in a good mood, ready to do things and go places. She loves being part of a big family and quickly attached herself to us when we brought her home. She shows a lot of border collie behavior and it is a hoot to see her and Thunder together. She is very smart and responsive but can also be a challenge to train - like all smart dogs - since she gets bored if you are not on your toes moving forward, forward, ever forward. On the other hand you have to slow her down and get her to work more focused or her learning will be superficial. |
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| Besides border collie I really can't figure out what she is made of. Her color hints at something more than a border collie. Most people who see her think she is an Australian shepherd mix but she doesn't show it in her body shape and size. She is smaller than a border collie or an Aussie and with a more narrow head, especially at her nose. She nips our heels a lot (!) and has an almost yappy bark and I sometimes think she may have Sheltie blood in her, but then again, she is more solidly built than a Sheltie. Short of DNA testing, we will probably never know the answer. |
| Pepper was totally unplanned... Mark responded to an obstruction in the roadway on I-75 (a big interstate highway) where a tractor-trailer tire was in lane #1 (the innermost). He had to stop traffic to walk all across the lanes to pull the tire to the side of the road, and as he did that, a puppy ran out to him and "weaseled" her way into his heart. Being the softy he is, he couldn't just leave her at the shelter and we ended up getting her. She looked like she was 3 months old but the vet estimated her to be 5 months after looking at her teeth. The pictures above and to the right were taken a few days after we got her. Besides being filthy and stunted in growth, she was surprisingly healthy, and quickly gained weight and made up for her months of malnutrition. At nine months, she is now as tall as Angel. |
| Naturally, we thought of the name Pepper because of her coloration - beside her obviously lively personality. |
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