We have been lucky enough to adopt three dogs from Peppertree in our household. Our extended family have adopted several other wonderful dogs from this great rescue as well. When we walk, we not only celebrate the dogs we have in our family now, but also the ones we have lost. We honor two of our original Peppertree Rescues - Nessa and JD. We invite you to join us whether in person, with a contribution, or both to support this wonderful program and they dogs they care for.
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Below we share the stories of Nessa and JD.
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Nessa was our OG Peppertree dog. Through meeting Nessa, we were introduced to this amazing organization. Thanks to Nessa, we have had the pleasure of having multiple Peppertree dogs in the family passed and present! Nessa was a Gallagher for 14 amazing years. She was around for so many big family events. She was a part of our celebrations and a pillar of strength and recovery in times of hardship. Always there cheering us up from the loss of a loved one or just a rotten Monday - Nessa knew how to make us smile. Since her passing there has been a part of us missing. It was the joy and sass that she used to bring to our family.
She was the class clown and queen bee. She protected the older dogs and showed them true love and respect. She has guided many younger dogs, taught them well, and made sure they felt welcomed...as long as they knew who the boss was. Nessa was our first puppy and truest love. We love and miss you so much Nessa. This one's for you!
JD passed away a few years ago, but every year we walk/run the 5K in his honor to thank peppertree for all the did for him. He and Nessa are snuggled together over the rainbow bridge. JD was a foster failure and hospice dog that beat the odds and lived years passed what was expected. That was in big part thanks to Nessa's love and nurturing.
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This is JD's story:
The dog's name was JD, a 10 year old Beagle mix. Peppertree volunteers Nicole and Alissa went to see JD and found a wonderful old fella in terrible condition, but his temperament shone through and they knew he was “Peppertree material”, so JD became a part of our program. First stop for JD was into a foster home. Tim and Phylisue, and their grown children Meaghan and Will, are former Peppertree adopters and agreed to foster. They and their dogs, Nessa and Blue, welcomed JD into their clan for what was thought to be a short stay. Meaghan took a special interest in the little orphan and supervised care of the sick dog and the many trips to the vet that were to come. JD had a number of health problems. He was overweight, had arthritis, liver disease and possibly Cushings's disease. There was also a sizable mass hanging off his back leg. Peppertree stopped short of calling JD a hospice case, but it was close to that. However, thanks to help from the Doris Day Animal Foundation, Peppertree was able to pay for the treatments necessary to save JD. It took some time. Surgery to remove the mass. Meds for his other conditions. Trips to the vet for further testing and treatment. And TLC from his foster family.
His "short stay" with his foster family stretched into weeks and then months while JD healed and began to regain his health. In the beginning, son Will had objected to anything more than a few days as a foster. They didn't need another dog, he thought. As is sometimes the case, a foster dog will sense when one member of a family is not "on board" and show extra attention and devotion to that person. Such was the case with JD and Will. Soon Will was won over and pleading with his family to adopt JD. And so it was. The adopters recently wrote to us: "JD's warm personality and never-ending kisses are just some of the signs of affection that he shows to many. We can also happily report that JD has a much better bill of health than originally expected, thanks in part to the care and diet set in place by Meaghan.” A happy ending for a wonderful family and a wonderful dog! We expect that JD’s first holiday season with his new family was filled with warm sweaters, fun days in the snow, and snuggling in the blankets with his human family and two dog siblings. JD Financials: $1,781 in vet bills
Thank you so much for signing up to raise funds for Peppertree Rescue!
