RESCUE TAILS / PEPPER FINDS A HOME

By Tammy Fox, Executive Director, Florida Key SPCA

She looked like a four-legged ghost, with her little white face and two big eyes. Pepper, a Rat Terrier mix, was over 12 years old the first time we met her in 2017. Her owner had fallen ill so she and her two housemates were brought to us temporarily under our Faith Program.

Even though she was small, Pepper was mighty! She had NO tolerance for hands coming towards her for any reason and would bite if you tried. Her body was definitely off limits! Not wanting to scare her, we found caring for her a challenge. Because her mouth was so badly infected and prevented her from eating comfortably, she desperately needed dental work.

Thanks to our Oscar’s Fund, earmarked for medical care, we were able to get that dental work done, removing a multitude of “gray rocks” that lined her sore red gums. (Note: Bad teeth and infected gums cause not only pain but other much bigger problems for animals, so dental care is important to the overall health of companion animals.) Pepper’s mouth improved and she and her friends stayed with us until her owner returned from the hospital and was able to take them home.

Then in 2019, Pepper and her two housemates were brought to us again.  But this time, their owner was going into new housing where dogs were not permitted, and Pepper would not be returning home. Seeing Pepper again was bittersweet. As challenging as she was, we still had a big soft spot for this special dog.

But as before, she wasn’t easy and adoption was going to be a real challenge since we still couldn’t touch her — and now she was 14 years old! After weeks of work, she finally let one of our staff leash her and they began walking together. At first, her walks were tentative and vigilant, as though she was expecting something awful to happen.

We took it slowly and then one day we noticed that her tail was up and she had a very tiny spring in her step. After that, she gradually began to show us a whole new dog, one that could be playful and even silly. When out with her trusted human friends, Pepper would get excited and bouncy and even do galloping “zoomies” on her long leash. After all this time, finally seeing a smile on her face was incredibly rewarding! She even allowed those she trusted to pet her and seemed to actually enjoy it, moving into our hands for the contact. But, and it was a big “BUT.” She wasn’t like this with everyone, and with strangers she was still fearful and snappy if they tried to pet her. Not real adoptable! That’s when Lee arrived on the scene.

Lee came looking for a senior girlfriend for his older dog. Pepper caught his attention and he asked to see her. Uh Oh! How to explain to a potential adopter that he can look but can’t touch? To our surprise, he said “That’s ok, we’ll just take our time getting to know each other!”

He made visits to her from his home up the Keys and took walks with us. Pepper showed some happy interest in his nice little dog, and eventually started approaching Lee, allowing him to pet her. Given his attitude, his patience, his common sense, and her growing acceptance of him, we decided this was worth a try and she was adopted.

Recently one of Pepper’s friends from the shelter went to visit. When she walked into the house, Pepper just stood there staring at her, as though she were a stranger. Then suddenly, the little dog must have remembered because her reaction became nothing short of joy. That reunion with Pepper will be a lifelong memory for our staff member. She said that for her, it affirmed the value of our work. But what made it even more rewarding was seeing Pepper then return to stand by Lee as if to say, “Thank you for this good man! You don’t need to worry about me anymore; I’m happy here and home to stay.”

Our staff works hard to help our animals overcome their fears and challenges so that they can find the homes they so rightfully deserve. It can take weeks and sometimes months, but the time and effort spent comes back tenfold in seeing dogs like Pepper walk out the door with a wonderful adopter like Lee.

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