Meet Pepper.

Pepper is an approximately two year old Staffordshire mix who was rescued from the county’s euthanasia list with horrible burns down her back and we’re unsure how they got there…

It’s hard to imagine what kind of life Pepper must have endured, to have brought her to this condition. Her physical wounds aren’t the only scars she’ll wear for a long time. She is scared of doors and gates, which begs the question as to WHY. We may never know what’s going on in this sweet girl’s head, but we do know that the dogs we’ve saved to date are extremely resilient and their ability to forgive, forget and ultimately move past these fears is one of the most admirable traits we can think of.

Update from Dr. Katie 6/3: Pepper’s burns are most likely the result of a vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels) induced by what we think is hyperthermia (high body temperature), not chemical burns.

Pepper’s Updates:

Pepper has officially been adopted by her foster mom! We truly couldn’t think of a more perfect home for this sassy, sweet Pittie! Congrats to all!

From Pepper’s foster mom Nov. 2012: She is SASSY now!! Loves to play. ESPECIALLY in the morning when ahem, everyone else is trying to sleep. She is still my shadow and wants to be where I am, but also loves to go outside on her own in the yard now and sun herself or attempt to get the other dogs to play with her where before you had to pull teeth to get her outside and as soon as she did her business she was bolting back to the door. She spends at least an hour of her day making out with Mako (they really need to get a room sometimes). She is just sweet and SO good. The other day she was startled and jumped into a cactus. She sat patiently as I pulled all of the cactus out of her poor face and leg. Such a good girl!

Oct. 31st from Pepper’s foster mom: Pepper is so sweet and she is really coming around! She is stubborn as all get out but more and more trusting every day which is helping her to really be able to learn some manners. She is going to be an awesome dog for the right person as she just wants to be near you at all times. Pepper wakes up in the morning all spunky and just wanting to play and tears around the yard, back and forth trying to get her doggy foster siblings to play with her!

Oct. 20th from Pepper’s foster mom, Heather: Pepper seems to be settling in quite nicely and is acting like a puppy! Big spurts of energy to run and hoard all of the toys on her bed. She has decided that she is now interested in her brother (Mako) and likes to follow him around to see what he is doing but he still startles her when he barks or gets excited. This morning he jumped (read cannon-balled) into the pool. She got so excited and ran over and did the happy dance and put her head down and butt in the air waiting for him to get out trying to play. As soon as he got out, he turned back around and jumped back in and Pepper just followed suit!! I do not believe that she had ever been swimming before and what happened next was quite a shock to her little system! She went under for a second and when she came up her eyes were big as buildings. She started to swim to the edge with pure panic while I coaxed her to the stairs and Mako continued to swim laps around her. She got out and after a few seconds wanted to play with him again! (She just doesn’t seem to be really sure on HOW to do it.) She is doing so well- we all love her!

Update Oct. 17th: Pepper recently required surgery on her scars, as some of the scar tissue on her back was adhesing to the underlying muscle, causing pain. She is well on the road to recovery though- in fact, try to slow this girl down! She loves to go on walks, sniff around the dog park and roll in the grass. She has developed a peppy, silly personality and is a guaranteed smile every time you are around her. She may not be a shy girl anymore, but she IS still sweet and loves to be next to her humans! Pepper is the complete doggy package- personality AND looks!

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M.A.I.N. is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are 100% Volunteer Based, so 100% of your tax deductible donation goes straight the dogs!

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