Pepper 6

Original: After being with her original family in Virginia since she was a pup, a divorce and a change in working conditions for her owner meant a move to a townhouse for Pepper and her housemate, Dutchess. They no longer had a yard to run in and their owner was away most of the day leaving Pepper and Dutchess confined to one room and not getting much activity. Their owner realized that both dogs needed more than she was able to provide for them, so Pepper and Dutchess were relinquished to MAESSR.

Pepper is completely housebroken, politely follows her foster parents around, and has a wonderful attitude. Although there are no children in her foster home, Pepper will walk right up to neighbor’s toddlers and wait for petting. She is gentle with them and does not mind them handling her. Pepper is a little shy when meeting strangers, but she quickly warms up to them.

After putting up with the resident terrier’s bullying for two days, Pepper asserted herself and now they are good buddies. She is friendly with other dogs she meets on her walks, too. If given a chance Pepper would probably chase squirrels, deer, rabbits, and chipmunks, all of which she can see from her favorite window in her foster home. She loves to play with her stuffed toys without destroying them and she wags her whole body when happy! Also, Pepper is always ready for a ride in the car and she is a good passenger.

A bit exuberant on leash since she loves to explore, Pepper loves to go out on walks and will encourage her walker to become a runner with her. Her foster mom is working with on this with a basic obedience refresher. Pepper already knows the commands sit and down and is learning stay and off. She loves to go outside and run around which is helping her shed a little weight that she had gained when she was being so sedentary in her original home.

Pepper’s house manners are good. She doesn’t jump up, raid the trash or counter surf, but will occasionally borrow a sock from the laundry. She doesn’t chew it; she just sleeps on it. Her barking is normal, usually when there’s a squirrel raiding the bird feeder ten feet from her window or a herd of deer eating Hosta. Telling her to sit and be quiet will usually change single barks to muttering under her breath at these furry invaders.

Pepper’s positive, outgoing personality will win some lucky family’s heart.

Update 10/18/09: Pepper has been returned to MAESSR by her owner because of a new job and lack of time to spend with her. While with her adopting family, she was a resident dog in a MAESSR foster home and served as a foster sister to over 14 dogs. She has been good with all of them, giving measured and appropriate response to behaviors in other dogs ranging from food aggression through overly eager playfulness. She’s completely housebroken, still loves to chase chipmunks and squirrels, and still likes to procure an item of clothing occasionally to take back to her open crate for company, not harming it. She pulls a bit on leash, so she uses a Gentle Leader. Pepper now tends to be a bit vocal in the car. She loves to go places but gets over-excited unless crated because of all the cool things she thinks will happen when she gets to the destination.

Given her choice Pepper would probably love to have a fenced yard, either hidden or otherwise, so she could explore more. She has free roam of her current foster home and sleeps in her open crate at night. Pepper can run/walk miles without tiring outside or will rest quietly during the day, watching her foster mom or the bird feeders for non-bird activity. She has a summer haircut because she currently enjoys running on leash. With more activity of late, her weight has dropped from 49 to a trim 35 pounds. She enjoys dog company if left alone in the house but could be an only dog if she had human friends around. Around people, she loves to just put her head in your lap and look up at you with warm loving eyes. She likes children, greeting them with more warmth than she does the adults she meets on leash. Pepper is an all-around great girl and will fit in easily with any all-around great Springer lover!!