HERE IN THIS HOUSE . . . Here in this house . . . I will never know the loneliness I hear in the barks of the other dogs 'out there'. I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake my world will not have changed. I will never know hunger, or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat. I will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary from the heat. I will feel the sun's warmth, and the rain's coolness, and be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose. My fur will shine, and never be dirty or matted. Here in this house . . . There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level. I will be talked to and, even if I don't understand, I can enjoy the warmth of the words. I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many. My name will be used in joy, and I will love the sound of it! Here in this house . . . I will never be a substitute for anything I am not. I will never be used to improve people's images of themselves. I will be loved because I am who I am, not someone's idea of who I should be. I will never suffer for someone's anger, impatience, or stupidity. I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all. If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame. Here in this house . . . I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch . . . knowing that, no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me. If I am ill, I will be doctored. If scared, I will be calmed. If sad, I will be cheered. No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and known to be of value. I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough. My life is a responsibility, and not an afterthought. I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind and as fair as dogs. Here in this house . . . I will belong. I will be home. -- Author Unknown

PEPPER IN ALASKA 14 NOVEMBER 2011

Jan writes: Pepper made it through the night really well. She is staying in the chain link kennel (in what used to be the office part of the garage) for now. We don't keep the garage as warm as the house, but I still had to close the door to the main part of the garage so her room would stay cooler. No problem with cooler; it was 0 degrees out last night. She is used to sleeping outside; as cool as it was in her room, it was still a little warm for her. She must be ok with it because when I take her out every couple of hours, she heads straight back for the garage. She whines for a few minutes when I leave, but then is quiet. I peeked in at her and she was curled up asleep on her blankets. She is having no problem with eating what my dogs eat. Last night she had a doggie version of moose stew. This morning she had a mush with salmon. I have been giving her dog cookies I made with moose meat, and she pokes her nose against my coat pocket wanting more. She is willing to do things for cookies & meals. It didn't take long for her to figure out what "kennel" meant when I had a dish of moose stew in my hand.

Good news on Monday evening: I took Pepper to the vet this morning. After consulting with Dr. Judy, I left her there for a couple of hours so they could get a urine sample. The news is good for now. She has a bad infection, but the good part is they didn't see any crystals in the urine. If the antibiotics don't clear it up, we will have to investigate further. Pepper is not fond of going to the vet's office and was quite nervous. She now has a very naked rear. The mats were tight against her skin, so they took it all off. Dr. Judy asked if I wanted them to shave the whole dog. It was nice of her to offer, but I declined. I think that it will be good for Pepper to let me groom her. Even if it takes a few days, it will be good for her to learn to trust me. I did get a muzzle, just in case. Thanks to everyone for all the generous donations and good wishes for Pepper.

PEPPER HAS A SPA DAY HERE