The Well-Traveled Dog

Our dog Pepper has cancer covering a large portion of the roof of her mouth, so we don't know how much time we have left with her.  She seems to be doing great right now, but I am a little fearful each week if she will take a turn for the worse.  I am posting pics of her/our travels abroad while we were stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. This is the third post in this series.  Pepper likes to be the Alpha dog whenever another lady dog is around.  She is very protective of her house if another female dog comes in.  (she's so sweet and calm you would never know this about her, but she's got some Doberman in her).  A neighbor's German shepherd stopped by and got her on top of the head and around the neck.  I checked her neck out afterwards, and she seemed fine.  A couple of hours later, Pepper kept putting her head in our laps, and suddenly I noticed she had a small hole on top of her head.  Poor girl probably had some kind of headache, but it was particularly interesting how she kept trying to show us.  Thankfully Scott had some suture kits left over from Iraq and proceeded to sew her up.  Ironically, she is often not very trusting of Scott, but the whole time he was fixing her, she kept her head so still in his lap and completely knew he was helping her.  You can see no one had to hold her down.  I just thought this was a cute pic of our nephew "helping" :)

this was the first time she had ever been in snow--Kandersteg, Switzerland.  It was also the first place I ever snow skiied :) She went crazy running through this winter wonderland. 



Neuschwanstein Castle

 

We walked up to the doors of Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, and Scott was "carrying me away."  Pepper was barking and playing along

Cochem Castle

Pepper actually got to go inside the Cochem castle.  This cute little town is along the Mosel river in Germany.  You can see the castle overlooking, and then Pepper is relaxing inside the dining room during our guided tour.  The last one is the vineyards that were just up the hill from the little village we lived in outside of Heidelberg. I miss those walks!  Tune in again later for some more!

Nussloch Vineyards

"Breakthrough"

I know I promised more pics of Pepper--we've had guests, so I did not get to it today--I still will--sorry about that!  However, I have something better to share.  Please read this amazing post.  I mentioned Tanner awhile back--a 14-year-old who was in a car accident and experienced severe brain trauma on March 23.  I have been reading about his journey, and this post from his parents just seems amazing in light of what he's been through.  Please read the "Breakthough" post--so many interesting points written by his father, and I'm filled with much awe and joy for them, as this was their first real conversation with their son since the accident.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tannerunderwood

More pics of Pepper

Thought I would share some more pictures and the stories behind them.  I think Pepper's cancer is growing pretty rapidly, so we may not have much time left with her.  I really wasn't sure what to expect.  She started kind of coughing/gagging fairly frequently yesterday, so it made me wonder if the tumor is starting to gag her a bit or if the cancer has spread to her lungs already.  I had Scott open up her mouth, and the tumor has already spread toward the back of her throat.  When we first discovered it a few weeks ago, it was the size of a half dollar coin.  It has grown quite quickly!  So, I thought I would share some more fun pictures, and you can see a little bit of life over in Europe (I will share more pics again tomorrow of her in/near the castles).

This was one of our favorite palace gardens, only about 20 minutes from our house.  Schwetzingen.  Pepper wanted to chase those ducks so badly :)  Scott would always say "what is it" (even if there was nothing around) and she would immediately and excitedly try to find the animal/bird he was talking about.  It was their little game.

Fall in Heidelberg

I had to share this next picture, because this was taken a week or two after we lost baby Grace.  I was so thankful to have Scott with me, along with Pepper, my faithful friend :)

Pepper strolling through one of our favorite places--Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

  Inside the china store. . .she looks uncomfortable :)

She wasn't sure what to think of these cows along one of the most beautiful mountain hikes we've ever been on--a train ride up from Lauterbrunnen

Enjoy these pics--more tomorrow!

Pepper and Memories

Pepper in Switzerland

Heidelberg

Pepper Shopping




Pepper today

I have been taking a LONG trip down memory lane.  It has made me miss Germany and all of the places we traveled so much!  We recently found out our dog, Pepper, has cancer on the soft palette of her mouth.  Because of the location, it cannot be removed.  Not knowing exactly how much longer she has with us, I decided to create a flip book of a lot of the pictures we have from her adventures.  This meant going through all of our digital pictures--which began when we moved to Germany in 2004.This October will mark 10 years that we have had her!  We were married May 26, 2002 and lived in San Antonio.  In October we brought Pepper into our home; she was 2.5 years old.  Since I had never had a dog, the idea of raising a puppy terrified me, especially knowing we had brand new carpet and would be selling our house in less than two years to go to our next duty station.  Someone overheard my husband's phone conversation with me about not wanting a puppy for those reasons and offered that he had a dog who was well-trained that he wanted to get rid of.  We wondered what was wrong with her--he simply wanted a dog for hunting, and Pepper was gun-shy.  His wife told him they could not get another dog until he found a home for Pepper.  It turned out to be a perfect match. 
Pepper is the most obedient dog you will ever meet.  She does not chew things or jump on people, bark excessively, and she is very careful about how she walks, trying not to step on things.  She also walks best when not on a leash.  
Thus, when we moved to Heidelberg, Germany, she was the perfect dog to take EVERYWHERE.  She has many tales to tell--going to the bank, many restaurants laying under or beside the table, castles, some old cathedrals, a china dishes store, riding on buses, trains, the mountains, you name it.  She even had a passport that got stamped.  This dog has been to France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria.  I would not have made it through Scott's deployment without having her to hug every night before bed.  She has witnessed the tears I shed after he left for Iraq, especially the raw tears after Doug was killed, and then wrestling with God after we thought Scott would be sent on a dangerous mission.  Then came the mornings I would spend time with God to work through the loss of baby Grace.  She has seen it all!
Germany changed her--she became more outgoing and actually enjoyed all of the people coming into our home for our small group and different parties.  In San Antonio, she was a scared dog; in Germany she would hear the kids playing outside in the afternoon and beg with her deep growl/bark "oww wow wow" to go out to the playground to run around and see them. 
Since we moved into this house when I was pregnant with Anna, her spot has been in front of a sliding door that connects our bedroom to the nursery.  She has raised her head as I have had many middle-of-the night feedings and been thankful when we have had afternoon naps together :)  I will miss hearing her snoring :)  She has fallen in love with the girls--immediately she loved Anna and was very protective--always staying between the baby and whoever was visiting.  Since Elizabeth was born, her hearing isn't as good, so she's not quite in tune with what's going on and stays asleep.
While Scott wanted the dog the most, she favored me. To this day, she cannot be anywhere that she does not keep her eyes on me. It stresses her if she cannot find me so she will follow me from room to room. I have never had a more loyal friend :)
Right now, you can't tell that anything is wrong with her.  I was prepared that since she was 12 years old we might not have much time left with her.  She had a clean bill of health at her check-up, but a couple of months later, her breath was so bad, I had Scott open her mouth to see if she had an infection or growth.  Sure enough, we saw something and the biopsy proved it to be a fast-growing melanoma.  I do hope that as it spreads she will die peacefully or that we will know the time is near.  We are prepared to put her to sleep if it seems she is suffering.
She's doing so well now, so we are trying to give her lots of attention and treats.  She seems very happy with this arrangement, too.  :)  I could do a commercial for IAMS dog food--it has kept her body in great condition for so long.  I do not like to think of the ugly cancer spreading in her body; right now I'm trying to really enjoy what time we have left with her, however long that will be.  Enjoy the pics; I might share more as the days go on.