Pepper

ADOPTED! September 27, 2018

Behind the scene’s of most rescue organizations across the nation is a huge network of volunteers who give their time, gas, mileage and heart to transporting dogs from shelters to rescues to give them opportunities to find homes. We are fortunate and thankful to have the connection and tie with Stop The Suffering (Central Ohio) a nonprofit who’s mission is “to rescue dogs and cats from high kill shelters, primarily in Ohio, and to transport them to safe environments where they can be matched and evaluated with a new family. We also raise funds for veterinary care, transportation and food for rescued animals. Stop the Suffering provides resources to promote responsible pet ownership.” This nonprofit organization counts on donations to continue the work they do and we hope you will considering making a donation on our behalf for the wonderful work they do. Visit their website and click on the donate page to learn more about how you can help. 

Pepper is a 5 year old Dalmatian/Bully mix. She arrived at our facility in late March – not spayed – transitioning from being picked up as a stray in Mason County Ohio and waiting at a shelter since early March for her owner to claim her or someone to adopt her. As time ticks by in rural shelters with limited cage space animal control staff do whatever they can to spare losing a life by moving them into rescue groups like ours. Pepper was reportedly “good with everyone” and a bit “shy with men” and a “volunteer favorite”. That being said and having a good relationship with the Mason County shelter and the support of Stop the Suffering for assisting with her transport we agreed to give her an opportunity. Big thanks also goes out to our extremely reliable and committed transport volunteer Justine for providing her the last leg on her ride north to Cleveland.

Pepper is very obedient and based on her focus and obedience skills we believe she had some extensive training and an owner who must have cared for her. We will never know Pepper’s true story and with most of our dogs it doesn’t matter. Life starts over when they arrive at our doorstep. Upon her arrival, now her third known transition, in the first few days we were able to see that she was hesitant of some humans but could tell deep in our souls she is a great dog. Knowing how hard it is on dogs to change environments, walk the streets, get shuttled into a shelter that is presumably loud and unpredictable, then get transported in sometimes several vehicles for a ride to the next destination and then meet a whole new group of people the best thing is to move incoming dogs to a decompression setting either providing them space in our quarantine area or ideally a foster home. That is what we did for Pepper.

Fairly quickly and shortly after her arrival Pepper was moved to one of our experienced foster provider homes where she could decompress and settle in for a short time. Pepper quickly bonded with her female companion so much that she started to exhibit some signs of separation anxiety. We learned she was capable of opening doors (the kind that have handles dogs can open) but never got too far from the halls of the apartment complex she was secured in. While seeking a new foster home it was Scott, one of The Mutt Hutt’s staff members, that stepped up and offered his home and attention to lead Pepper in her newfound life. Pepper moved in with Scott and  his dog (former Secondhand Mutt) Katie and since then Scott has been providing her with the structure, exercise and affection she needs to set her up for what we hope is one last transition into a forever home. Lucky for us, and for Pepper, she is safe and secure until we find that match for her.

Unlike most of the dogs we take in from area shelters they are social with other dogs. There have been dogs over the last decade that have arrived only to find out hanging out with others dogs wasn’t really there thing. Some of us humans don’t like humans or we are selective about who we hang out and communicate with. That’s okay! We are proud to offer adoptable dogs that are social and socialized with other dogs. However, sometimes when we thought we were taking in a dog-social-dog and that isn’t a reality it does not mean we will give up. It means we will try harder to find her the right owner. It means we respect the dog.

Pepper can interact with dogs but needs supervision as she is still understanding other dogs space and how to properly communicate. She tends to be bothered by puppies and dogs with high energy that have no sense of space. She thrives off of being worked and having a leader at the other end of her leash. Pepper has had some setbacks with her social skills. We have a clear understanding that given she is a 5 year old dog, wasn’t spayed and being an older hormonal dog with no past we can reference we have realized she is a dog that is best suited for a no-dog household at this time. That does not mean that with patience and practice and training sessions we are providing to Scott and then to her new owner she can’t be in the company of dogs. Pepper will be starting basic socialization with balanced pack members at Paramount Dog Training in June. During those sessions we hope to find out more about her social skills and understand her more as a dog.

At this time we would recommend for Pepper a home without small children. She has shown no dislike of children or kids but we know how hard it is being a parent that we would not want to put one more obligation on a parent of young children to teach them all they would need to know about Pepper. We would consider a home with teenage kids and believe Pepper would probably love the company of an active household. Pepper is also not suited for a home with cats. Nothing significant to report on cats….this is just our intuition nagging us to focus on her and avoid adding one more element for Pepper to adapt to. We won’t deny an applicant with a cat — we may just need to know more about your cat and lifestyle to insure it’s a harmonious fit.

If you are interested in adopting Pepper please click on this link and fill out our online adoption application. The application allows us to learn a bit more about you to determine if setting up an in person meeting with Pepper is the next logical step. If you have kids 12 or under we’d ask that you hold off and check out some of our other dogs looking for homes. We are open to placing Pepper in a home with or without a fenced yard. We are open to placing Pepper in a home with another dog but keep in mind that we want your dog to be just as happy as Pepper and our focus may be on a home without dogs until her socializing sessions are underway and we have more of an understanding for her needs.

We want to find Pepper an owner who can accept her for who she is, continue on the path we have set up to set her up for success, and provide her with a committed home and take us up on our offer to continue her balanced-pack socialization sessions with our trainer.  We will be there for you and for Pepper every step of the way. We know you are out there and if you are and you’ve been thinking about having a four-legged companion and going to dog parks or bringing your dog to your friends and families houses are not top of your priority list please consider meeting Pepper.

What other ways can I help Pepper?

Make a donation to The Extra Mile fund to support our mission and help cover the cost of Pepper’s food, monthly preventatives and spay surgery. Show your support of “Teach Me the Way” program that will help Pepper further her training and cover the costs of the socialization sessions.

Teach Me The Way
Sponsorship of dogs whose behaviors leave a little bit to be desired. We work with skilled trainers and offer training and evaluations to potential adoptive families to ensure the training needs of the dog they are interested in can be adequately met and managed.

$25: Initial training evaluation by a trainer selected by Secondhand Mutts
$50: One training session with a Secondhand Mutt and a foster-to-adopt applicant
$100: Two training sessions with a Secondhand Mutt and their potential adopters (Secondhand Mutts pays for this out of pocket for amy dogs [up to two visits] to ensure we are making a good fit for our dog and the adoptive family)
$150: Three training sessions
$250: Five, one-on-one training sessions, often needed for some of our tougher cases
$500:  One month ‘Stay and Train’ boarding at a training facility

To make a donation online via Paypal click here. Donations over the phone can be taken weekdays from 10 am to 4 pm by calling 216-664-9660 or mail a check to us at Secondhand Mutts c/o Pepper, 2603 Scranton Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44113.

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FOSTER HOME REPORT: