A final update. Sadly, Pfeffer died on Monday April 21, 2025.

The story below documents how we rescued Pfeffer in late 2011 while living in California.  We adopted her sister Vala in late 2012, and in 2014 we all moved to Michigan where both dogs eagerly embraced their new rural life on our 15 acre Farmette.

We give special thanks to the Doctors and Staff at Kalamazoo’s Friendship Animal Hospital for their care and support in contributing to Pfeffer’s long healthy life.  (It is estimated Pfeffer was between 17 and 20 years old when she died.)

Here are some links to related stories and videos:
Vala
Pfeffer in the Pond
Snow Dog
Vala Saves Pfeffer

Original Post:
Neither Carrie Lynn nor I had owned a dog in our adult lives, so when we got our first dog it was after much thought, research and preparation.

We agreed on a Poodle, preferably female, from a shelter, not a puppy, and white would be nice. Poodles are hypo-allergenic, rarely bark and Carrie Lynn really likes their curly coats.

We found our dog at the Inland Valley Humane shelter and there was an immediate bond between dog (Pfeffer*) and Carrie Lynn; and an almost comical lack of interest in the dog for me.

Tragically, Pfeffer died on her second day home with us, presumably from complications of the required spaying.

We were both traumatized but Carrie Lynn was hardest hit as this was definitely her dog in temperament and affection.

A few months later, we were casually surfing “Adopt-a-Pet”, looking at photos of Poodles, when we saw a dog that had arrived at the Upland shelter as a stray on Carrie’s birthday. Hoping that this coincidence might mean this should be our next dog, we put ourselves on the waiting list (second in line) to adopt.

On November 26th, the morning the dog became available, we were at the Upland shelter when they opened. The person ahead of us on the waiting list was not there. When the shelter people saw our (Carrie Lynn’s) interaction with the dog and heard how our first dog died, they decided not to wait and let us adopt the poodle.

As this was a Saturday, we had to leave the dog at the shelter until Monday so she could be spayed and micro-chipped. The delay worked to our advantage in one way in that we had time to shop for all the minimum doggy requirements such as food, bedding, collar, leash, toys, grooming equipment, anti-flea stuff, and treats.

Monday afternoon we went to the Vet where she had the surgery and brought her home. So far so good. We named her “Pfeffer”. Her full name is Pfeffer 2.0. See Carrie’s Facebook post on the naming process.

Note to Self (and anyone else adopting a dog): Next time, insist that the dog be bathed before surgery.  Pfeffer already smelled bad at the shelter and with a “two-week after surgery before bathing” rule, she is getting pretty ripe, even with Puppy-Wipes sponge baths.

We have an appointment at the Vet tomorrow for a checkup and some direction on treating some of the skin allergy symptoms she has. Carrie Lynn has a dog with allergies that arrived at the shelter on her birthday. I’d say “Meant to be.”

The pictures show her in the back yard in her first moments at home and sprawled in her new bed sporting her “No, don’t lick your stitches” cone-of-shame.

And here she is lolling in her TV Room bed (she has two other beds so she can nap near us wherever we are).

*Pfeffer: As the dog was white, Carrie picked the contrarian name Pepper which we translated to its German “Pfeffer”.