Photo Contest

Pet number and name: 
001 - Peppy-Roomba

Submitted by: Roberta - NJ, USA

25% of profits to: Carolina Poodle Rescue

Peppy...How can I put into words how much my little Peppy meant to me?  I got him not long after I lost 2 Dobies (one to intestinal cancer, the other to lymphoma and DCM).  At the vet's office, after sending the second Dobie to the Rainbow Bridge, I remember saying that little dogs aren't "real" dogs...How could I have known that a teeny-tiny little dog was about to come into my life and make me eat those words?

I certainly never set out looking for a cockapoo.  I wasn't much into poodles, as I always thought of them as being like my grandmother's little yap-monster.  But then, on one of the rescue lists, I read about a cockapoo who was going to be destroyed because he was blind, and had fleas.  That had to be one of the stupidest excuses I'd ever heard and, as he wasn't far from me, I figured I could at least foster him until a suitable home was found.  Well, he was a foster for all of 2 or 3 minutes...Once I had held that shivering little bundle of love, I knew he had found his forever home.

It didn't take Peppy long to learn his way around the house...and to establish himself as boss.  Even Rags, who'd probably eat any big dog who challenged him, would run away from Peppy.  Peppy couldn't see them, but he sure could chase them!  He quickly earned the nickname "Peppy-Roomba" because of the way he'd bump into things, and just turn around and head off in another direction - much like those robotic vaccuum cleaners of the same name.  And, at the sound of my voice, he'd run straight to me and stand up on his hind legs for me to pick him up.  He'd sit on my lap for hours while I was online, looking straight at the computer screen that he couldn't see.  But he didn't care, as long as he was being held.

For all his problems, he was the happiest little guy you'd ever want to meet.  He loved life, he loved his big brother, Chance, and he loved his mom.  Even the pain of glaucoma didn't slow him down, and he was an angel about letting me put in all the drops and ointments that we hoped might control the pressure in his eyes.  They didn't work, so he had chemical ablation done, and finally the pressure was down to where he wasn't in pain.  Then he got a nasty abrasion on one eye, and almost lost it.  (That was when I bought him his Doggles, which he tolerated, though he didn't really like them.)  He was finally almost healed up, when he died in my arms.  That's a long story that I can't bear to go into, and it was the most heartbreaking moment of my life.  I never would have believed that such a little dog could leave such a huge hole in my heart...

In an effort to bring some good out of all of this, I became active in IMOM. (I first found out about them when I was looking for resources for blind dogs.)  And I've taken in a couple of other little dogs:  the Mighty Munchkin, and Willie, a poodle/dachshund cross (who ended up being more medium sized, but he was supposed to be small!)  And Kramer, an old, blind cocker spaniel who came to me as a hospice case.  Like Peppy, he was proof that "Blind dogs see with their hearts".

Run free at the Rainbow Bridge, Peppy, my little love.  I know you'll be the first one to greet me when I arrive, and I'll scoop you up and never put you down.  I miss you so much, baby...Chance does, too.  I think he knew that it was you to whom we were paying tribute at the Gathering memorial 2 years ago - and again this year, as we'll do  every year that they have the memorial.  The house is full of dogs, but it still seems so empty without you.  Even though you've been gone for more than 2 years, it still seems like only yesterday that my world fell apart...You brought so much joy and love into my life, and I know you wouldn't want me to be sad.  But I'll never be completely happy until we're together again.  I love you...