Lucky and Pepper's Story
by their Mom, Kristi Clark
After recently losing Fancy and the loneliness I felt, I knew my life would not be complete until I adopted another rescue dog. After seeing Pepper posted on the SARG and ETBCR web pages I contacted them to see and meet Pepper. Here's my story...
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Pepper... where do I begin? I adopted Pepper on February 2, 2001 from SARG, with the help with East Tennessee Border Collie Rescue. Adopting rescue animals can be somewhat of a challenge, but a most fulfilling one at that. Pepper, being abandoned (she had been tied to a tree and had been abused) and also with still some puppy in her, came to me very submissive, shy, scared and looking pretty worn down. But the first time I saw her picture, I just knew that I had to adopt her. I needed not just any dog -- I needed Pepper, as she needed someone to truly love and take care of her. Pepper is not my first rescue, my first rescue "Fancy" which had a background very similar to Pepper's, so I knew what I was in for! |
Being a Border Collies, and being highly intelligent and active among other things, I saw the potential in her to learn tricks and commands. Pepper learned very quickly (with the help of treats) how to sit, stay, lie down, high five and shake. Also, Pepper was very quick to learn to fetch the tennis ball and also to drop the ball at my feet. I make sure Pepper has a lot of toys because she gets bored very easily. Pepper's favorite game is fetch and she has taught herself to throw the ball or a stuffed animal in the air and catch it. She is so good! Pepper walks very good on a leash until she sees cats, rabbits and squirrels. I would hate to see what she would do if there were SHEEP!!!!
Pepper has made tremendous progress from being a very withdrawn little girl to a social and loving canine companion. Pepper has truly come a long way and has matured tremendously. I truly love Pepper, as people would say she is spoiled, but I do not know any other way to treat an animal (my girl) that only knows to give unconditional love.
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So as the story goes. Around May 1, ETBCR posted a picture of Lucky, who needed a foster family ASAP. After thinking for a few minutes, I decided I wanted to foster Lucky, and also Pepper would have someone to play with. After speaking with Karen Lively, she let me take Lucky home. Lucky had no signs of abuse, but her owners did abandon her. Lucky is about 4 or 5 years old and appears to be an Aussie/Border Collie mix. I.ve never fostered before, so I thought this should be a learning experience, and. how hard can it be? My thinking was once someone gets to know Lucky; they will see how special she is! Little did I know at that time, it would be me. |
Lucky (Snuggle Bunny) is a very unique dog. She is very sweet, gentle, quite, curious, pretty, loves people, especially children, hugs people, likes other dogs and is just good all the way around! I haven.t figured out why on earth why someone would not want Lucky! I.m still looking for something wrong with her, but to date she has no bad habits at all! So getting to know Lucky and her disposition, I knew Pepper could learn a great deal from her. Lucky doesn.t do tricks, but I do think she has a few up her fur. She has gotten excited and turned flips, also she is very good at jumping over things in her way! She is not food or treat driven, walks great on a leash, and I am thinking this is too good to be true! Someone has definitely worked with Lucky and she is a great compliment to Pepper and me.
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I though I knew a lot about dogs! I have learned dogs are very good at training their masters (me), and also having two females, who both want to be the leader, can have its ups and downs. After several months of the girls getting to know each other, I have seen tremendous improvement with Pepper and Lucky towards each other. Pepper and Lucky now play together, sleep, eat, walk and share toys together, and I won.t lie, they still get jealous if I am giving one more attention than the other! |
So as of June 28, I adopted Lucky. What more could a person want than two beautiful dogs, one very playful and loyal and the other gentle and sweet, and both full of so much unconditional love for their human. Maybe we can all learn something from our animals. I know I have learned from all of my animals, and I am very grateful for that.
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I am very grateful for my two girls! Thank you SARG and East Tennessee Border Collie Rescue!
-- Krisi Clark