Pepper

Sadly, Sammie is gone from our home and reserved for our fond memories. Pepper, however, is very much still with us at the ripe old age of 10.

Pepper is sad. She misses Sammie too. Samantha raised her from the time she was 3 months old. They have always been together. They had vet appts together; slept on overlapping beds; shared water and food bowls; went outside as a team. They fought sometimes, but rarely was it serious and it was ALWAYS about table scraps or the prized doggie bed location.

I think Pepper may be behaving really, really well hoping Sammie will come back or perhaps fearing she could disappear as well. Every time I turn around, Pepper has crated herself again. And she hasn't touched her breakfast. Which is very NOT Pepper.

Sammie never ate more than she needed to maintain her sleek, svelte self at 40-42 lbs... and then there was (and still is, thankfully!) Pepper... We nicknamed Pepper "Chunky Puppy" when she was about 8-9 months old and we realized she really did not need the puppy food anymore since bulking up was clearly not a problem for her. If it's there and Sammie cleared it as edible, Pepper will eat it - all of it - and very quickly if you let her!

We instituted a "Sammie must eat first" rule around here which Pepper obeyed well (okay, occasionally we had to remind her that Sammie hadn't eaten yet and then she'd move away and let Sam eat). This was to enforce some dietary restrictions on Pepper. Part of me thinks she is still waiting for Sammie to eat first before eating. No worries though. Pepper can spare a few pounds. The vet would be delighted for her to lose a few actually.

Sammie trained Pepper and it will be interesting to watch Pepper get a chance to train another pup when we rescue one. Andy told me last night that he sees no point in trying to talk Munchkin and me out of this. There are many dogs in need of good homes and we have one. We also have a dog in need of a new canine companion. Two dogs are easier (not cheaper, but easier) than one.