{"id":13942,"date":"2023-05-22T11:15:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T15:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=13942"},"modified":"2023-05-22T11:20:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T15:20:58","slug":"goodbye-pepper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=13942","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye Pepper!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Since I began publishing this blog in 2010 I have had the sad duty of writing\u00a0 <\/span>a memorial for two of my dogs who crossed the rainbow bridge.\u00a0 <\/span>First was Libbi<\/a> in January of 2013 and most recently was Darby<\/a> in July of 2022.\u00a0 <\/span>It is now my sad duty to write about Pepper who passed away at 10:25 p.m. \u00a0on May \u00a0 21, 2023.\u00a0 <\/span>His death was expected and was no surprise when it happened, but knowing the inevitable is about to happen somehow does not make it any easier.when it happens\u00a0 <\/span>I am no novice at this.\u00a0 <\/span>I did a mental inventory last night while trying to fall asleep and realized that Pepper is just the last in a list of 12 furry friends I have lost over the years.\u00a0 <\/span>One would think I should be used to it by now, but I am not. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pepper was born on May 5th, 2009 of dubious heritage.\u00a0 <\/span>It is believed that one of his parents was a Pomeranian and the other a Jack Russell Terrier.\u00a0 <\/span>I have been told that made him a Jackeranian.\u00a0 <\/span>Any one familiar with those two breeds knows how much they like to bark.\u00a0 <\/span>Combining the two created a super yapper dog.\u00a0 <\/span>Pepper just col not control himself.\u00a0 <\/span>He felt it was his duty to announce every delivery driver, whether they were coming to our home or not, every passing squirrel, and most falling leaves.\u00a0 <\/span>To be honest, the yapping was quite annoying at times but this morning when my son and grandson arrived at my home to assist in the burial I wished with all my heart that Pepper was busy announcing their arrival.\u00a0 <\/span>In stead I was listening to tomb like silence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Pepper was not originally my dog.\u00a0 <\/span>He was originally owned by my Granddaughter who picked him from a litter\u00a0 <\/span>of dogs at a neighbors house.\u00a0 <\/span>Due to a set of unfortunate circumstances, she was unable to keep him and brought him to live with me.\u00a0 <\/span>I guess I could say it was an unfortunate set of circumstances for her, but very fortunate for me as Pepper and I quickly became fast friends.\u00a0 <\/span>When Pepper was not busy barking he \u00a0was always by my side, whether in the yard, sitting on the couch watching T.V., or sleeping at night.\u00a0 <\/span>He was so loyal that even in his final days when it was almost too weak to stand he somehow managed to muster the strength to follow me from one room to the next.\u00a0 <\/span>He was a real trooper. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am sure everyone is familiar with the idea that a dog is \u201cman\u2019s best friend\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span>I cannot speak for all dogs, but I can state with certainty that Pepper was truly my best friend.\u00a0 <\/span>People who do not own a dog, or more appropriately are not owned by a dog do not under stand that the grief and the ache one feels is real.\u00a0 Writing<\/span>\u00a0about Pepper is a catharsis for the ache I feel in my heart.\u00a0 <\/span>I know from experience that it will get better, but until it does, it will be awfully lonely sitting by myself on the couch in the\u00a0 <\/span>evenings. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Goodbye Pepper.\u00a0 \u00a0I r<\/span>eally miss you buddy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since I began publishing this blog in 2010 I have had the sad duty of writing\u00a0 a memorial for two of my dogs who crossed the rainbow bridge.\u00a0 First was Libbi in January of 2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dog-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pepper_now-e1684768813682.jpg?fit=200%2C267&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14061,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=14061","url_meta":{"origin":13942,"position":0},"title":"On Cats","author":"Tom Lind","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As many of you know who have read my dog eulogies, I am , and have been most of my life, a dog person.\u00a0 I have told you the story of Libbi and Darby and Pepper, now all gone from us.\u00a0 At this point I am not sure if there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs and Cats"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs and Cats","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=261"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_0436-150x150.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11761,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11761","url_meta":{"origin":13942,"position":1},"title":"Heroes Don’t Hide","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I probably should know better than to write this article. 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I need to do this because this is how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/in-the-line-of-duty.jpg?fit=920%2C480&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":884,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=884","url_meta":{"origin":13942,"position":2},"title":"National Police Week","author":"Tom Lind","date":"May 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"May 11-17, 2014 is National Police Week. 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These references were somewhat oblique and due to the wording of some, and the fact that many from the Cincinnati Police Department family were changing their Facebook profile pictures to that of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"1426734_10153340798946040_2111141112603358456_n","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1426734_10153340798946040_2111141112603358456_n-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11506,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11506","url_meta":{"origin":13942,"position":5},"title":"For Police Officer Sonny Kim","author":"Tom Lind","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning while sitting at my computer I was considering several possible\u00a0topics for this weeks blog article. 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