The Life Of Pepper

Pepper has that classic Minpin look. Mainly black, bits of tan, expressive ears that tell you what kind of mood she’s in. But Pepper is anything but the classic Minpin. Pepper is one in a billion.

I was so fortunate to meet Evelyn and then to move in with her… which was when I became most fortunate. I got to move in with her and the two greatest girls ever, Pepper and Ginger. Two sisters from the same litter, born in March of 2008.

By the time I met Pepper and Ginger, they already had their ways about them. Ways I would learn that were so unique and so hilarious. They love their beds. We make sure roughly every four feet of our place has a little bed for them. Pepper would tell you though, a bed is not complete unless it has a cover for her. A blanket, a sheet, a towel, whatever she can cozy up under. She will give you a look to let you know you need to cover her. And if you don’t, she’ll lift the cover up herself in order to tuck her own self in. A bag of laundry, fresh from the dryer. Mwah! That is beauty in a bag. Pepper would go and do a dry steam in our clean clothes for an hour.

Pepper is so keen on being tucked away in cozy little corners, that we once couldn’t find her for a while. It turns out, she had snuck into the cabinet just below the shelf where our pots and pans are. This was apparently another comfy place to hang out. A blanket was eventually placed in this cabinet next to the toaster oven and it became known as “Pepper’s Condo.” Or just “The Condo” as sometimes Pepper would let Ginger use it. But we all knew whose name was on the lease.

Oh, and if there is an empty paper bag leftover from our grocery shopping, Pepper will start pawing at that endlessly until you turn it over for her so that she can crawl inside. Tiny little Pepper is a perfect fit in your classic Whole Foods bag. She loves a tight squeeze. Sometimes she’ll even crawl out of her bed to squeeze up next to Evelyn just so that she can be near her. She’ll cram herself into a space smaller than herself somehow, just to get in some good cuddles with her mom.

Pepper is her name, but she goes by many nicknames. Pepita, Pepa, Peppies and Pepon (pronounced with a slight French accent.) If I got out of the bed and later returned, I would often find that Pepon had taken over my entire pillow. But what else should I expect when my pillow is perfectly sized to be a body pillow for her? And after I had warmed it up for her, it was too good for her to pass up.

Some of Pepper’s favorites includes carrots, blueberries, bananas, pancakes… she loves a nice splash of olive oil in her bowl. The best way to get a bowl perfectly clean is to pour a little olive oil in it and let Pepper to do her work for ten minutes. And cucumbers! We mustn’t forget cucumbers. Not only have I never seen her go crazier over anything else in my life, I’ve never seen anyone go crazier over anything in my life, than Pepper does with her cucumbers. If she doesn’t get cucumbers, she’ll start yipping, doing her tap dancing, stomping her feet. If she does get cucumbers, she’ll start yipping, doing her tap dancing, stomping her feet… because she wants more cucumbers obviously. Pepper can smell the cucumbers being chopped. You can only get three slices into a cucumber before Pepper knew the sound, knew the smell… and then it was tap dancing time.

Pepper loves her sweaters and jackets when it’s a bit chilly outside. Her main go-to options are the R2-D2 sweater and the red hoodie. Pepper and Ginger have their own playlists too. Their favorite is what became known as “Baby Music.” Soothing, classical music to help babies sleep. And help them sleep, it did. Pepper also loves some soothing jazz, she likes her Dean Martin, her Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and “Beautiful Girl” by INXS.

Some favorite shows of Pepper’s, Frasier, Seinfeld, Friends, Cheers, when the theme songs came on, they were familiar sounds and she will instantly relax. We ended up watching those shows all the way through… several times. That’s what the pandemic will do.

When the pandemic hit, I started working from home. Evelyn couldn’t work for a while, but she was eventually able to start working her way back. And Ginger would spend some time at home, but she would often go to Evelyn’s parent’s place. But Pepper was home with me throughout most of the pandemic. She was my buddy through it all. We kept each other company during my work-time, which aligned with her snack-and-nap-time. She made a few appearances in my Zoom meetings. She was an excellent listener for when I needed to work through a problem out loud. And she was just there with me all the time, my little buddy.

Pepper saw countless games with me, basketball, football, baseball… she witnessed the entire NBA Playoffs in The Bubble, and the subsequent NBA Playoffs out of The Bubble, she watched Super Bowls and World Series… all those Avengers movies… all those Scorsese films… she was there with me for it all.

At one point, Pepper started making these high-pitched noises when she was excited, anxious, ready for food, etc. It was like a loud, bird chirp. I’ve never heard a dog make a noise this high-pitched if they weren’t in pain. It was hilarious. And then sometimes we would say, “Okay Pepper. That’s enough. You’re going to wake the neighbors.”

Almost like clockwork, Pepper would start making her bird noises at 10:30 P.M. As she waited for Evelyn to make dinner for her and Ginger, she let Evelyn know, apparently things weren’t happening quick enough. High-pitched bird squeak after high-pitched bird squeak. We used to worry our neighbors would hear and would try to quiet her down.

Now, I’d give anything to hear those high-pitched noises again. Pepper had to go to the vet recently, we thought just for another small issue. She’s had to go to the vet many times. She has been through a lot. But she has always come out the other side and be happy to return home. Pepper has been diabetic for many years. She lost basically all of her eyesight, other than just a small fraction of what she used to have. She had to have an eye removed. She’s had to go in for so many check-ups, glucose curves, there was the time she got a fracture in her front paw and had to wear a cast for a couple months. This included weekly visits to monitor her progress. She’s had teeth cleanings, teeth removals, surgeries, she has been through a lot. But this little kid is a warrior.

A gentle soul, but strong like a warrior. The vets even told us this because they knew everything she had been through. Pepper was just nine pounds, but she was so strong. And most of the people who worked at the vet’s office knew Pepper because she had been in so many times. They all loved her and would be excited when she came in. This was even to the point when she went in for a visit once and one of the employee’s decided to carry her around in a Baby Bjorn in between her procedures because they loved her so much. This little kid made everyone happy when she arrived, even if she wasn’t happy to be there. But she toughed it through all of her vet visits because she knew if she just made it through it, she would be returning home to see her family and would get cuddles and snacks and have little beds littered all across the floor filled with the best blankets in the land. She just had to tough it through her doctor’s visit.

So, when we brought Pepper in once more, we expected it to be another visit. And that we would be picking her up later that day. And then we found out that she had heart failure. And her lungs were starting to fill with water. The doctors told us they were going to do everything that they could but to prepare for the worst.

But little Pepper is such a warrior. She is going to make it through this, because she always does. And she has to.

Another call we received notified us that she went into cardiac arrest and that they were performing CPR. But they told us that when patients get to this point, they have less than a 0.5% chance of being revived.

But wouldn’t you know it, after several minutes of CPR, Pepper actually came back! This kid is such a fighter, she beat the odds. Less than a one in 200 chance of coming back, and with the help of these doctors, she actually came back! But one in 200 doesn’t begin to describe Pepper. Pepper is one in a billion.

But the issue wasn’t gone, and it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t able to sustain a heartbeat on her own. Without medicine and the assistance of the doctors, she wasn’t able to keep going. And this time, our little girl just couldn’t make it out.

She made it through so much. She was only nine pounds, but she was the toughest nine pounds you’ll ever find. She absolutely had the heart and strength of a warrior and was one of the gentlest souls you’ll ever meet. And she went into the vet and we were all just expecting her to be returning to us later. But that didn’t happen. She passed away on August 12th, 2021. She was 13.

Dealing with the death of a loved one, no matter if it’s your pet, your family, your friend, it is always tough. It is never enough time. But as long as you cherish the time you have with loved ones, that will make it all worth it. I think because we view everything in a linear fashion, we are often so broken up when a loved one dies. Because we keep thinking of the last moments… the worst moments. But someone’s last moments are but a mere blip on the timeline of their life. If you really cherish all the time you have with someone, and you make the absolute best of your time with someone, then that is an amazing life right there.

Cherishing your time with someone isn’t going to make death any easier. Nothing will. But to cherish all the time you have with a loved one means you will not have regrets later on. I can happily say, I cherished as much time as possible with Pepper. This is extremely tough to deal with and it feels awful losing that little kid, but I don’t have any regrets because we spent so many happy days together. And perhaps this is a bit of a tip to others… to cherish time with loved ones. But not just for a couple days, not just for a couple weeks, and not just after you hear someone’s sad story. Cherish as much time with loved ones as possible, always.

That is what Evelyn and I did. And I do not just say this, I absolutely mean it with every fiber of my being… I have never seen anyone love and take care of their pets the way Evelyn does. She taught me that. She taught me how to show true love and give the most phenomenal life to Pepper and Ginger by doing it all the time. And I am glad I learned that because I was able to do the same thing for them.

Pepper was so lucky. She lived the good life. She had a mom that gave her everything and did the most amazing job taking care of her. And she had a mom that taught her dad how to do the same.

We will always want more time. But it will never be enough. It will always be sad at the end of it all. But during the time you have, just make it the best. Pepper had a life full of cuddling and napping and playing with her little rat toys and grabbing your socks and running away to play with them and hide them. She ate like a little queen, all her favorite foods, her favorite vegetables and fruits, olive oil, oh, and we mustn’t forget the cucumbers.

She had her own playlists that helped her to relax and fall asleep. Pepper had beds galore, blankets galore… she even had her own Condo! Pepper was such a good girl and I just hope where ever she may be, they got plenty of cucumbers and olive oil. And we still play your music here, Pepper. Just in case you need some relaxing tunes to listen to.