Tennis Balls!

Hey, there, Mom!

I tell you, Lynn and Craig have the nicest neighbors. On one of these warm sunny days we've been having, Lynn put me on the leash and we went out the front door to take a walk to the park. The neighbors across the street saw me and asked to meet me, so we crossed the street (Lynn proudly tells people that I am so smart, I know how to look both ways and cross the street safely!) to say hello.

Pepper on leash and sniffing the outside of the bag of tennis balls.

These neighbors play a LOT of tennis. Every day we see them load up their car with baskets full to the brim of tennis balls and head out to the courts. The parents play for fun while their kids are on club teams and play in tournaments.

Pepper with her nose down inside the bag, sniffing that beautiful tennis ball smell!

Peter, the dad, asked Lynn if I would like to have some tennis balls. She replied that I loved tennis balls and that one or two would be nice. Oh, my goodness, Peter gave us a bag of twenty-six balls! And all of them were for me!

Well, we decided to skip our walk then and there and took my new balls into the house to show Craig.

Pepper off leash and inside, making her choice with her face in the bag and a tennis ball in her mouth.

So many balls to play with! Lynn says she was tempted to just dump the bag and see how I reacted.

 Pepper lying on the carpet with three balls on the floor around her. I am looking up and smiling.

Lisa dropped by to say hello (sadly, without Mille or Molly), and she got down on the floor to play with me.

Pepper and Lisa head to head. Lisa is on her belly with her arms stretched out to the side and a tennis ball in each hand.

 There is a third ball in my  mouth - you can see from this photo that my mouth is full.

Oh, she got it away from me! Which ball to choose?? We are still head to head but Lisa has two balls in one hand and one in the other.

I have been having so much fun with these tennis balls, although Lynn has asked me to stop getting them all out and leaving them all over the living room floor. I don't know why she is complaining - after all, we are down to twenty-three as I gave two to Ian, Mila, and Lukie to play with at their home, and one is over at Millie and Molly's home. What's the big deal about twenty-three tennis balls on the living room floor?

Well, I need to go wake up Craig as it is past time for him to play with me and my rope tug. We do that every morning after he gets up. One of my favorite times of day. I'll write again soon!

Wags,
Pepper

P.S. If the kitties want to have some tennis balls, Lynn says that she will send some to you.

Being Helpful

Dear Mom,

Well, I was a bit surprised today - Lynn slept in until almost 7:00! Our usual routine is to get up at 5:00, head upstairs where she writes for a few hours, then go downstairs for breakfast and getting dressed and ready for the day. But I think I know why.

Yesterday she seemed off all day. She would smile and play with me, but later I could sense she was sad. I did my best to cheer her up, often flipping over and into my legs akimbo pose (always guaranteed to make her smile!)

 Pepper stretched out on her back, legs every which way, antler and pull toy at the ready.

Then, I wormed my way under her desk while she was working and took up all the space where her feet needed to go.

 Pepper under the desk, head on paws, taking up all the space.

That made her smile, too, and say, "Oh, Pepper! You big goofball!" (She says that a lot.)

I stayed with her all day and gave her some extra licks when I thought she seemed sad.

There were a couple of phone calls that came during the day and she always seemed teary after hanging up the phone. She got some texts, too. They were from her Illinois friend Ron, and his son, Randy, about their wife and mom, Pam. 

Pam is Lynn's very best friend and has been for thirty years. Sadly, Pam's breast cancer returned a few months ago, and Pam was in the hospital. I overheard Ron tell Lynn that Pam had been so excited to meet me and had really been hoping to see me later this week. Then he added that we would meet in heaven someday instead instead of in this life.

Not only were Lynn and Pam dearest friends, but Pam loved Lynn's black Lab, Zeus. After Lynn and Craig moved back home to Indiana after twenty-seven years at the University of Illinois, Pam would drive over and visit him. (Well, she visited Lynn, too, but she spent a lot of the time with Zeus while here.)

Pam on the floor and patting Zeus in Lynn's dining room. He, too, was a service dog, just like me, only his job was to sniff out drugs and narcotics.

Lynn and Pam in September, their last visit together.

Last night after dinner Lynn got another text from Ron. It simply stated, "Pam's gone." Lynn was so sad even though she knows where Pam is now and that she is in a better place. (Maybe she's throwing balls to Zeus!) I gave her some extra licks and sat with her while she cried.

Lynn thanked me as she dried her tears and assured me that she was okay. I think she was, but I still kept an eye on her. Then she went to bed and she slept well past our usual rising time. She apologized to me this morning, saying that it was because she hadn't slept well the previous night, knowing that Pam's time was short.

I have been told repeatedly by Lynn and Craig that they are glad I have come to live with them. They say it every single day, sometimes multiple times. I love them and am very happy here. But this is the first time that I have been needed and I am so glad that my licks, cuddles, and sticking close helped Lynn through a tough time. 

Lynn says you would be proud of me and would want to know how much of a comfort I was to her, so I am sharing this story with you.

Always your girl,
Pepper

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Mom!

What is this white Christmas everyone talks about? Lynn said that she was sad that we didn't have one, and I heard a song about it on the radio, too. I can't imagine why one would dream about something so silly when there are walks and stuffies and treats and friends to dream about! (Oh, and Nacho, too, of course! I dream about him a lot!))

Lisa, Millie, and Molly spent the whole of Christmas day with us, and it was so fun to have them to play with. Lynn laughs because I get so happy when she says, "Millie's here!" or "Molly's here!" but they are like sisters to me and I love them very much.

Christmas is a time to be helpful, and I had a wonderful time helping everyone open their gifts, especially those that smelled food-ish. 

Photo of Lisa sitting crossed legged under the tree and unwrapping a gift while Millie and I observe. This was one of those food-ish packages.

One gift had a huge red bow on top, and I laid down next to it to check it out.

 Millie, also on food-ish watch, helped me by smelling it thoroughly as I lay on my back next to it.

Craig really liked the ornament that I gave him. It is flat and round, and has a picture of a black Lab wearing antlers on it. The text reads, "He sees you when you're eating." They thought that that was really funny.

Santa even brought me my own stocking and hung it by the fireplace. It is pretty big and made of green fabric with white paw prints on it and trimmed in red piping.

Inside was a variety of dog treats. In this photo, Lynn is holding them up for me to see while Millie looks on hoping that I will share. (I did, and with Molly, too, who was too shy to come over.)

Photo of me lying on the carpet, head up, with that big red bow between my front paws.

Some extended family came for dinner and more gifts. They played a game after dinner called "Dirty Santa." Everyone brings a wrapped gift worth about $20 and the gifts are placed on a table in the middle of a circle. Names are drawn and that person gets to choose a gift and keep it, or, if they see a gift that someone else has unwrapped already, they can steal it, and then that person has to either steal someone else's or pick another from the table and unwrap it.

It's pretty fun (and they were kind of loud while they played, just saying.) At one point everyone broke into laughter. The gift Lynn had wrapped and set on the table for the game was full of dog toys and was actually for me! By mistake she had grabbed the wrong package for the game! Quickly she ran upstairs, got the right Dirty Santa gift, and hurried downstairs so that it could be opened. Everyone thought that that was pretty funny, and I was thrilled to have even more toys to play with.

Later in the afternoon, we three dogs took the humans for a walk through the park and around the neighborhood. It was nice and warm with lots of people outside, walking, riding bikes, and playing in the park. I met a couple new dogs and people, and just had the best time. I love my daily walks!

I hope you, too, had a nice Christmas. Lynn says that you and Dad have been sick. I hope you are feeling better. And please tell the kitties "hello" from me. 

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Peppermint Patty

Playing with Nacho

Hello, Mom!

Brrrr! It's chilly here in our part of Indiana - 9 degrees this morning. Lynn tells me that she is REALLY grateful that I do my business on command as it means less shivering for her.

Lynn likes to take me for a walk in the late afternoon just as the sun is setting. We go down to the park, walk around the lake, and I get to check out which neighborhood dogs have visited the park earlier during the day. (I'd like to check out all the goose poop, too, but for some reason Lynn will not let me.)

A few days ago, there was a big German Shepherd and his dad in the park. He kept barking at me and telling me that it was HIS park, not mine. Mom decided that maybe we should go a different route, and so she took me around the block past Nacho's grandparents' home. Mary Anne and Bill (Nacho's grandparents) check in on me Tuesday nights while Lynn and Craig are in Indianapolis serving in the temple. I love them, and Bill gives terrific belly rubs.

Anyway, we decided to ring the doorbell and say hello. To my great joy and surprise, Nacho and his mom, Kathy, were there, too!

Kathy kneeling on the ground on the left, with me lying in the center of the floor (legs akimbo pose) holding Nacho's moose stuffy between my front paws and in my mouth. Nacho is on the right with a hedgehog stuffy in his mouth and looking at me.

Oh, my, what a joyful reunion we had! Kathy and Lynn decided that, since we knew each other already, they'd take off our leashes and let us play. Kathy told Lynn that her only concern was that Nacho might "overwhelm" me.

Hah!! Overwhelm me? Not on your life! We raced around the living room in circles, with stuffies in our mouths. Nacho couldn't keep up with me! I was quick and nimble, and he was rather surprised that I could elude him so well. Everyone was laughing and exclaiming at how cute I was.

 He and I played for quite a while, and Kathy marveled that I was so quick and fast. She said she'd never dreamed that I could hold my own with Nacho like that!

We had quite a romp, and when we finally took a break, Lynn took our picture together. We are lying side by side with Nacho on the left. He has his hedgehog between his front paws and I have his moose between mine. (Well, it's my moose now. He told me I could have it since I like it so much.)

Lynn and Kathy plan to let us get together and play again. Next time we hope to go out into Bill and Mary Ann's fenced back yard where we can really turn it loose and run and play. I can't wait!

Love,
Peppermint Patty

Pepper the Model

Dear Mom,

Some days you do what ya gotta do, right? But seriously, asking me to model is bad enough; when it's MENSWEAR that I am modeling, that goes beyond the pale. But don't worry, Mom. I didn't let you down and did as I was asked. (Albeit grudgingly.)

Pepper wearing a blue coat with a snowmen/Christmas tree print and red trim.

Beside being menswear, the coat is way too big for me. I'll just stand here looking pitiful and hope that Lynn takes it off of me as soon as possible.

Wait! What did she say?? This coat is for Nacho? And she needs me to try it on because she is sewing it for him and wants to check how it is going to look?  Well, that changes things! Anything for my sweetie, Nacho!

(I even got a dog biscuit for my efforts!)

As ever,

Your Peppermint

Our Thanksgiving

 Hey, Mom!

Lynn says that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday and I can sure see why. Food, food, FOOD!! She laughed and said, "You're such a Lab!" at my reaction, and then told me she liked the holiday because it was a day of being thankful and full of family and friends (although she did admit that she likes the food, too.)

I found that I really enjoyed the family part of the day, too. Some of her grandchildren were with us, and they were so much fun to play with.

Me in my goofy legs akimbo pose with Julie (age 5) on the left and Kate (age 3) on the right. They are rubbing my belly. More, please, girls!

Kids also are a great source of food. They drop things on the floor and carpet from the table, and I did my duty and helped with clean up. In fact, as you can see from this photo, I decided it would be best if I just sat wherever the kids were eating - can't have our floors get dirty, you know!

Pepper under the table while Ian (age 5) eats a marshmallow that was supposed to go on the gingerbread house he was making. Julie is repurposing a KitKat bar by eating it, too.

No need to lick your fingers, girls! I volunteer! Yep, hanging out under the table near the kids really has its perks.

Molly and I are becoming better and better friends. She even let me nap with her in the kitchen Thanksgiving afternoon. (Shy as she is, she also hangs around the vicinity of the kitchen when the kids are eating.) I have my antler right next to me in case she decides she'd like to play with me.

Lynn caught a snap of Craig giving me one of his famous ear rubs. Oh, how I love those!

Julie is a real animal lover and very gentle with me. I even let her hold my paw and inspect it. She doesn't have a dog so she'd never seen a paw up close. I just stretched out and let her look. Later, I offered her my rope tug, hoping that she would play with me. I was very careful to not pull too hard since she was so small. Lynn and Craig told me that I was a good girl and that they were very proud of me.

There was one family member that I especially loved - Lynn and Craig's youngest son, Cole. Whatever the reason, we had an instant connection, enough so that at the end of their visit, Lynn laughingly told him, "Remember, she's my dog and you can't take her home!"

Cole would lie on the floor and I considered that an invitation.

 I'd lay across him, lean my head on his chest, and he would put his arms around me in a hug.

 Or, I'd tuck my nose into his elbow 

 and drift off to sleep, all warm and cuddly.

I'd even mimic him and roll over onto my back, just like him, still snuggled in his elbow and against his side, and we'd nap together. (Lynn says, "That's another goofy pose, Pepper!")

I'd stretch out by his head and put my head across his shoulder and down onto his chest. (I think my ear tickled his face when I did that.)

I tell you, that Cole sure is great. I wish he would move in with us, but Lynn says that he is all grown up and has his own life and family to care for. Oh well, he said he would be back for a visit.

Thanksgiving turned out to be a terrific day with lots of food and family fun. I got a lot of attention, and not as much turkey as I might have liked, but that's okay - there were leftovers and I had some of those the next day.

As Lynn told me, Thanksgiving is a day for being thankful. I hope you know that I am thankful for the year I spent with you as your guide, and that I love you very much.

Kisses across the miles,
Pepper

Nacho and Me

Hi, Mom!

I hope this letter finds you doing well. I am great - today Millie and Molly are here visiting me for the day. Lynn changed my princess and the pea bed into three beds for us, and now we are playing Goldilocks and trying out each other's beds. Lynn just shakes her head and says that we must really like our fairy tales since we act them out so much.

I wanted to tell you about the day I met the famous Nacho, Kathy's guide. Let me tell you, this boy is FAMOUS. Everyone in the area has heard of Nacho and how well he guides Kathy. He is also very handsome and, I have discovered, sweet on me.

Kathy sitting on the floor with Pepper lying on her left and Nacho on her right. She has her arms around both of them.

Kathy invited Lynn and me over to her home so that Nacho and I could meet - sort of a chaperoned blind date, you know? He was very interested in me (must be my svelte body and sleek coat, not to mention my chocolate brown eyes) and since he is so much bigger than me, Lynn and Kathy kept us both on leashes. Kathy said something about Nacho overwhelming me; apparently he likes to play when out of harness. Hah! Little did he know how lithe and quick I am. More on that in another post.

Nacho certainly seemed to like me. As you can see in this photo, we are now lying in front of Kathy and he has reached his nose out to me and is kissing my chin.

Since I am not the kind of girl who kisses on the first date, I sat up, but Nacho continued to reach out to me. This time he kissed my ear! Lynn says that I have my goofy face on - I am smiling but still a little unsure about his way of showing his affection. After all, we'd just met!

Sensing my bashfulness, Nacho backed off a little. But he still reached out and held my paw in his. He later told me that, "When you know it's right, it's right, and you don't want to miss out on the love of your life." Isn't he romantic??

We ended up lying side by side on our sides with our legs in the middle. We intertwined our front paws and just enjoyed our new friendship and budding romance. See how much bigger than me he is?  Such a big, strong boy. Oh, Mom, I do think I am falling in love!

Before we left, I climbed into Kathy's lap to say goodbye, Nacho by my side. She put her arms around both of us, and Lynn snapped this picture just as Nacho reached up to give me a final kiss.

So, I wanted you to know that I have met someone, someone who may turn out to be THE one. We met again just this week; I'll write about that later as I am still catching up on the posts from before Thanksgiving and when I came to live with Lynn and Craig.

Toodles!

Pep (Craig calls me that.)

Staying with Millie and Molly

Dearest Mom,

I am sorry it has been a week since I last wrote you. I have been at Millie and Molly's house (which was an absolute blast) while Craig and Lynn went to Florida to visit Beach Son Kyle and his family. (Lynn says to be sure to tell you that he isn't really a beach bum or anything. She just makes up names to go along with where her kids live. Music City Son Cole lives in Nashville, Denver Daughter is Sarah who lives in Colorado, and so on.)

Anyway! Staying with Lisa and the girls was fun. I loved having a doggy door where I could run in and out at will. I asked Lynn to put one into our house, but she said that it wasn't a good idea since our yard is not fenced in. Doggone it!

 Millie is the queen of the house and so I let her get into my bed and try it out. (Photo of Millie in the princess and the pea stacked beds and all comfy while Pepper stands next to her and looks up at Lisa who is holding the camera.)

I didn't mind if she slept in my bed - that meant there was more room for me in Lisa's bed!

Photo of Pepper sprawled on the comforter among the pillows. Molly can be seen sitting on the floor in the background.

Sometimes Millie and I both stretched out on the living room floor to snooze. Here we are side by side, but her nose is facing right while mine is facing left. My favorite toy, my rope tug, is handy nearby.

Lynn packed my antler in my travel tub and I spent a lot of time gnawing it. I like to lie on my back, legs akimbo, and chew, chew, chew with it held between my front paws. Do you like this picture Lisa snapped of me doing just that? Oh, that's Molly you can partially see.

Sometimes I didn't want to share my toys. Being a smart girl, I figured out that if I lay on them, like I am doing here on my rope tug, then Millie couldn't grab it. (Funny thing about Millie, she never plays with any toys. Ever! But now she seems to want mine. What is that all about?)

How do you like my Christmas collar? It has peppermints on it - get it? Peppermints for Pepper! Lynn got it for me from Serendipity, an Etsy shop who gives part of their proceed to support guide dogs like me.

Lisa is a teacher and she gets home around 4:30. If I thought she wasn't petting me enough, I'd put my head on the couch, just like in this photo, and give her my puppy eyes. Worked like a charm on her!

Lisa took Molly and me out for a walk every day in the evening. (Millie went separately after us; she can't walk nearly as far as the two of us as she is elderly.) I loved getting to be with Molly. She's really nice, and she told me a little bit about her previous home before she became an Isenbarger. It was a sad story, and she is very scared, especially of men, as a result. But Lisa makes her feel very safe and she is so happy to live with her. I like Molly; she's very sweet, and I keep inviting her to play with me. Maybe someday she will!

Much as I loved my visit, I missed Lynn and Craig. They actually came home a day early; usually it takes them two days to drive to Florida, but they wanted to get home to me so they drove it all in one day. They were very tired, but we were glad to be reunited. I wagged, and licked, and practically danced around them when they walked in the door!

This last photo is of me at home again at last. I have climbed up onto the princess and the pea bed (a stack of Millie, Molly, and my beds) which is my favorite place to sleep. It was good to get home with my family and settle in.

Well, Craig is calling me. He walks me twice a day (and Lynn will take me once, so I get three walks a day!) I love you, Mom, but you know that exercise is important, so I had better answer Craig's call.

Love, licks, and wags,

Peppermint

Craig and Me

Dear Mom,

I love Craig. I love him so much. Lynn tells me that if he ever grows up, it won't be any fun being married to him. I am not quite sure what she means by that; I think she is saying that he is just a big kid at heart.

He watches TV after dinner, and I have learned that if I lie on the carpet next to him, he will shift over in his chair and give me a good belly rub over the arm of the couch!

He will even get down on the floor and play with me. Paparazzi Lynn took this photo from the upstairs overlook. She'd heard us playing in the living room while she was working in her office, and so she snapped some photos of us.

We are both looking up at her - I am standing, and Craig is lying on his back. Around us are my antler, a tennis ball, and my rope tug.

 In this picture, he is lying on his side and I have run and grabbed another ball. I am standing in front of him, trying to get him to chase me or to throw the ball. (We haven't broken anything yet, but there have been a couple of near misses. Oops!)

 I quickly learned that one day a week Lynn and Craig will put on nice clothes and head out for a couple of hours in the morning. 

 Me, lying as close to Craig as I can get while he stands in front of the mirror and puts on his tie.

 I wish that we could be together 24/7 but at the same time, when they leave, I get to do this.

I jump up on their bed as soon as they are out the door and have a good snooze! When I hear the garage door go up, I know they are home, and so I hop down and look innocent. Both Lynn and Craig make comments about "monkeys jumping on the bed." I am not sure what that means as there are no monkeys around here, but I am sure they are clueless that I am sleeping on their bed in their absence. Don't tell!!

Time to go see if I can get another belly rub out of Craig. I'll write again soon!

Love,

Peppermint