PEPPER

If you are looking for a best friend or family member, someone who will lift you up every time you need it, look no further than Pepper. Pepper has blossomed from a shy, fearful dog into a fun-loving family member who is ready for her forever home. We don’t think she was given much love in a past life, but the love she is now getting she is giving back tenfold.

Pepper doesn’t like to be alone and will need a friend. She quickly bonded with her previous adopter's family dog, and we feel she will need another dog to bond with in her forever home. If not another dog, probably someone who works remote or is retired/home a lot. She gets anxious when alone, but when a companion dog is with her, she is fine for many hours. She loves to be outside but will just sit by the door if the other dog doesn’t go out with her or a human.

Pepper and her current companion dog snuggle, lick, and are always next to each other when their family is gone. They lay in the sun together, chase balls together, and play sometimes. It took a while, but Pepper just started getting the zoomies!!! We thought she didn’t like other dogs at first, but she just takes time to trust and is still learning to socialize with new dogs. The other dog is older with arthritis and doesn’t want to play all the time, so if you have a more youthful dog that needs a play mate, I think Pepper is perfect.

When you are home she will follow you around politely, always wanting to be near mom or dad. If you are working/reading/watching TV, Pepper will want to be in the room with you. If you say “come Pepper” or tap your legs and say “hugs”, she will hop right over for pets, hugs and loves. She can’t get enough of them! She loves to have her ears, neck and belly rubbed. It took a bit to build this trust, but its so rewarding now that lets us all rub her belly.

She isn’t a lap dog but will cuddle with you at night and want to be by your feet or your head. The best part of the morning is when she knows you are getting up. Her tail starts going bonkers, she can’t control the excitement to start the day.

Pepper is smart and needs to get out of the house. She needs multiple walks a day (different routes), and loves to play fetch and go the dog park a couple days a week. That is about the minimum she will require .

Home/Environment: Pepper wouldn’t do well in an apartment or busy household. She has a lot of energy and gets bored so a house with a proper fenced in yard is best so she can easily be let out when she gets restless. She is let out at least 5 times a day, but she won’t go if my other dog isn’t with her or another human (separation anxiety). She would prefer a yard with room to sprint/run. If you don’t have one, she will need other ways to get her exercise.

She also gets nervous in busy situations, so if you have a busy house with people coming/going a lot, that wouldn’t be best for her. When we have a party or BBQ, we always have Pepper upstairs in a quiet bedroom. If it’s an adult only party, she would be fine. All of ours have toddlers/kids so we keep her upstairs for those.

She can’t be off leash, only at the dog park or fenced in areas. If she sees a squirrel or rabbit she will chase after. If she picks up a scent (and she will) she will want to explore it. She is also real fast, so we learned quickly not to have her off leash.

She rarely barks, doesn’t whine, or beg, is housetrained, does well in a kennel (for an hour or two, not all night). She doesn’t need haircuts for her breed, just a good brush and wash once a month or so. She lets us cut her nails with no issues.

Kids: She trusts and loves all adults but is nervous around toddlers and younger kids. Because of this, she can’t be in a home with young children. High school age shouldn’t be a problem, under 12 years old should be avoided. We have toddlers and she is perfect with them 99% of the time. They train her, take her on walks, pet her when they want. She sleeps in their bed, runs up to them when they get home from school. It’s just when they are busy kids she is clearly uncomfortable and nervous and can get nippy. We don’t want anyone to think she doesn’t like kids or tries to bite, it only when they are in her safe space and being very active that she has moments.

She is terrified of fireworks. Doesn’t like loud bangs or sounds. A more peaceful lifestyle is what she needs. She is okay with loud music or surround sound movies, but not loud sudden noises.

Training: Pepper didn’t know any commands when we got her. Now she can sit, stay, come, lay down, heel and a few more. She has been training through Canine Consultants for 60 days, but an owner with a training background or someone who can stick with this a little longer is needed for Pepper;s success. A few more training classes will be covered for her, and the trainer is happy to work with Pepper more. She deserves it and will be much better long term with the training. She graduated from basic training, and we are in group dog class training currently. She needs to stick with this so she can trust new dogs quicker.

Other Dogs: She is great with dogs she gains trust from, but she is protective when meeting some new dogs. She goes to the dog park a couple times a week, but wears a comfort muzzle to be careful. Most the dogs she wags and smells but doesn’t really play with. When she is close to her person, or smothered by multiple dogs, she growls at them, but never attacks or bites. This is likely from her past, more training and dog socialization is needed for Pepper based on conversations with our trainer.

We love Pepper so much and know you will too!

Here are some videos she is starring in, please be sure to take a look to see how fabulous she is!

https://youtube.com/shorts/tUmYOYgNevw?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/LmH2e83DBlw?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/kBtcM4v39Fw?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/lqIh3uAVb0U?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/3es1kcLJaP8?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/kNo-jkZIOL0?feature=share

Pepper (Harper) came from a rural shelter in Texas where she was in grave danger of being euthanized due to limited space at the shelter. Dolly's Legacy came to her rescue and saved her life. Now she is ready for a new chapter with a forever home.

Pepper (Harper) is a female Parson Russell Terrier/Cattle Dog mix who weighs 25 lbs and was born approximately 3-8-19. She is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped, given flea/tick preventative, dewormed, tested negative for heartworm disease & started on heartworm preventative. Adoption fee is $200 to help offset the many expenses we have for vetting costs. We rely strictly on adoption fees and donations to continue to save the lives of orphaned & abandoned pets; 100% goes towards their care. If interested in adopting one of our available dogs or puppies, you must first complete an online adoption application at https://dollyslegacyanimalrescue.org/adopt/ You will be contacted by our adoption coordinator via email after your application has been reviewed & approved to schedule an appointment. Our website is updated daily, pets that are listed are still available.
***If you are serious about adopting, you must first complete and submit an application on our website. Our Adoption Team will respond via email from DollysLegacyAdoptions@gmail.com once you have completed an application. If a pet is still listed, it is not yet adopted as we update daily. All information regarding adoption policies are on our website***