Those Special Dachshunds: A Heroine Named Pepper

Thanks so much to Judith Paton for writing in all the way from South Africa with the heroic tale of her beloved girl 'Pepper.'  She writes:

Hi there Joey and Maggie,

First of all I need to start by saying that I just love your site. I will come back to see on a regular basis.

I would like to tell you about my dachshund Pepper, well we have 3 (Pepper, Rogueford & Cricket). But Pepper the eldest at 6 years is a remarkable little dog. Me being a diabetic who uses insulin 4 times daily need never to forget to take it. She just never forgets. On the hour 4 times daily she reminds me about the insulin. She would bark at me if it is time for me to take my shot. When I take my little bag out and open it she barks at me and insists to take the medicine out herself. She would carefully take it out and put it in front of me. But the most remarkable thing she ever did was the day I went into a semi coma. I still cry when I just think of it. I wasn’t feeling well that day and she was following me like a shadow. She always follows me but this was different. She just did not leave me alone. Always licking me and that is not like her. She is not a licker. Long story short, I went and laid on the bed and fell into a semi coma. She realised it and went barking at the gate. My neighbour said it was strange for her that Pepper is barking like that but thought she was just barking at something. When this did not work she pushed the phone off the hook and pushed the buttons. Well she must have pushed the speed dial because it rang through to my sisters phone. When she picked up she heard Pepper barking frantically. She said she just realised it was one of my dogs barking like that. First she thought nothing of it, but after a few minutes she realised but how is it possible for the dog to phone her. Well she rushed off to my house and found me on the bed in this semi coma. (She does have a key to my house). She said that the dogs were beside themselves. Especially Pepper. She was barking and howling and crying at the same time.

This little dog saved my life that day. We always just think she is clever but she a brilliant. Who said dogs can't think for themselves? I owe my life to her.


Unrelated image circa 1940 by Walter Edward Blythe.