Getting To Know Pepper

Now that you've come to know Pinky, I will share Pepper with you.

From the day she came to live with us, Pepper was the most adorable and loving little puppy anyone could ever want! Between my siblings and I, we carried Pepper around the house constantly. She never needed to walk any place because she had her own transportation system in us.

As previously mentioned, Pepper came to us as a small puppy. She was easily housebroken and was basically a good dog from the beginning. It is possible she got into a thing or two but nothing significant comes to mind so I will just say she was an all-around good dog!

Pepper seemed to take to my Mom the most and as such, she was glued to her side. This made for a very obedient dog who never left the yard and never tried to run away. She always had to be within eyesight of my Mom and wherever my Mom went, Pepper was right next to her. It was sweet and adorable because after all, isn't this what we would want in a pet?

Pepper had a quirky side though. She didn't like musical instruments. Whenever you played an instrument she would howl. I guess I am assuming she didn't like it but perhaps she loved it and just wanted to sing along! I guess we will never know but it was cute and a fun memory of Pepper.

If Pepper were alive today, this would be the perfect design for her:

Getting To Know Pinky

Now that you've met Pinky and Pepper and I've touched a little bit on their personalities, let's revisit them individually once again.

Today, let's visit Pinky's habits:

She was a runner from day one! Give her an inch in an open door and she will push herself through as if she were shot out of a cannon. Pinky never met a fence she couldn't jump.

She was also a food thief. For a dog who wasn't very large, she could steal anything from the kitchen table when left to her own devices. She once ate an entire pot roast that was meant to feed a family of six! Yup, it was PB and J sandwiches for us that night! She also ate an entire pound of butter. I will leave the resulting details of the aftermath to your imagination. Suffice it to say we spent a lot of time cleaning up after her "mess".

Pinky had many endearing qualities and we loved her very much. She was gentle and very sweet. She also loved everyone in the family equally and she got along well with other animals. She never snapped or attempted to bite any of our guests or anyone in the family and she had no interest in chewing any of our toys.

She did, however, have an interest in one of my baby dolls. She would carry my doll around as if it were her own puppy. She never chewed or destroyed anything in the house. I should backtrack just a bit though. When we would put clothes on Pinky (one of our sweaters or t-shirts) for some reason she became a "different" dog.  She turned into a "Mommy dog" and it was at this time that she would seek out my doll and carry it around the house, snuggling it as she lay on the sofa. I wish we had a photo of this behavior as it would convey to you exactly how sweet Pinky was.

Speaking of dog clothes, we have an array of adorable designs that are perfect for your pampered pooch. Check it out sometime:  Fun Pet Clothing

If Pinky were alive today, this would be the perfect shirt for her!

                                              

The Furry Girls In Our Life

Pinky liked to run and when we moved into our new home, she did just that! And she did it SEVERAL times a week! Once we were able to put a fence up things were a bit more calm, however, Pinky was also a jumper and as such, she could jump the fence. Eventually, my parents gated the back porch and Pinky was only allowed in the yard if she was leashed. Sigh... with all of her running I often wondered where she was headed. It was clear to me she couldn't have found a better home. Oh well, in our family we lived for our dogs and as such, we adjusted our lives to fit our canines.

Pepper, on the other hand, seemed to recognize a good thing and she was not going anywhere! She could be allowed outside alone, even unleashed, and she would never step foot out of the yard. In fact, if my Mom had gone outside to do something and left Pepper in the house with Pinky, Pepper would jump at the screen door until she was able to knock it open. She never ruined the door or the screen, however, there were countless times that she had actually tripped the screen door lock and ended up locking my Mom out of our house! Naturally, us kids found this amusing, much to my Mom's dismay.

Did I mention Pinky doesn't like to have her picture taken?!?

A Bit More About Pepper

Pepper was my Mom's dog.

Pepper worshiped my Mom.

Pepper followed my Mom around the house and was practically glued to her side.  Most nights, she even slept in my Mom and Dad's bed. Eventually, at some point during the course of the evening, my Dad would kick her out and alas, she would come to sleep in my room. Naturally, this made me happy.

Pepper and Pinky had very different personalities. It is understandable, given Pinky's background of having been a street dog. Pepper, although she came to our home as a young puppy, had 2 previous homes before finding her forever home with us. I have no idea why they turned her away but I am happy they did!

Pepper and Pinky got along very well. That is not to say they didn't have their little "dog fights" but they were few and far between and easily broken up.

Eventually my parents purchased a house in the suburbs but by this time my oldest sister was married and we were now a family of 5 with 2 dogs. We moved to an adorable bi-level brand new home with a backyard that was not fenced. Heavens, this would mean trouble for our little Pinky who still had not figured out that she had found her forever home and that we would treat her like a queen. She still liked to run, and run she did!

Before I go into that lonnnny story, let's see another cute photo of Pepper:

Pepper Joins Our Home

Our family of six lived in a very small first floor apartment in the city and as such, it was not conducive to having lots of pets. That didn't stop us from collecting yet another stray when the opportunity presented itself.

The details are sketchy about exactly how we obtained our next dog, Pepper, but suffice it to say poor Pepper had at least 2 previous homes before joining us. She was known as "Speckles" back then, but once she joined our home my Mom decided she looked more like a "Pepper".

Pepper was our first real "puppy" because although Pinky was young when she joined our home, she was fully grown. Pepper was the most adorable ball of fur you ever want to meet (Uhhh, it's probably fair to say I have never met a furry baby I didn't like though!).

Anyway, us kids carried her around the house and tried to spoil her every chance we had. After all, isn't that what you are supposed to do with puppies?! Pepper bonded very closely with my Mom and became "her" dog but Pepper really loved all of us. 

                          Pepper loved to snuggle

                                                             

                                              

A Bit More About Pinky

She was a good dog. In spite of her background of street-living, Pinky adapted to her new home rather quickly. She was a runner though, and as such, she kept us on our toes every time the door or the gate to the porch was opened.

Time and time again we can be seen chasing Pinky down the street, into the neighbor's yards, across Harrison Street heading towards the Eisenhower Expressway, you name it, she went there!  Thank goodness we were always able to corral her and get her back home. Once there, she was excited about her "run" and although we were all frustrated with these incidents, we were always joyful upon finding her.

Pinky was house broken from the day she came to live with us and she was very food-driven. You could get her to do just about anything for a treat.

        She could dance   

I guess to start this journey off right, I will begin waaaaay back when - "Old School" - as my children would call it.

My first dog was named Pinky. (I know, unusual name, isn't it? We called her Pinky because of her big eyes which were surrounded by very pink skin.)

Pinky was my first experience with rescuing an animal and although I was only 5 years old at the time, I seemed to easily adapt to picking up strays which subsequently became a theme in my life.

Pinky lived a very urban ghetto-dog life. She was frequently seen begging for food on Sacramento Boulevard and outside the liquor store my father owned on the west side of Chicago. Of course, my father fed her, which prompted her to follow him home one day. Us kids (4 girls, ages 5-16) were very excited at the prospect of having a dog, even a street dog who was in desperate need of a bath!  Because of her physical condition, Pinky was not allowed to stay in the house just yet (don't worry, it was summertime and we had a great big covered back porch).

As the evening progressed, our parents said we could keep the dog (she didn't have a name yet, of course), providing she was still on our back porch in the morning. This meant us kids would have to do something sly to make sure this dog did not leave our porch as it was not gated and she would be free to leave at any time. After our parents went to bed, we fashioned a "gate" using various available toys, boards and anything else we could find. Yep, we would do anything to keep this dog!

In the morning and to our parent's surprise, she was still there! I will also add that I have no doubt our parents knew what we did and had already made their decision prior to our fashioning a make-shift barricade to keep Pinky on the porch. 

Early the next day, our parents gave this poor stray a much needed bath and as she sat wrapped in a towel, her eyes wide with fright and excitement, it became a family decision to name her Pinky.