A dog’s life: Finding Pepper

They often say dog is man’s best friend. Kevin Emmons’s dog Pepper was proof of this and demonstrated how powerful the bonds we form with our pets can be.

Emmons met Pepper in 2013 while living in Glendale. He bought her from a U.S. soldier on Craigslist whose parents were unable to keep her once he was deployed. The black Lab was about a year old.

“She was a really good dog,” Emmons said.

Shortly after adopting Pepper, Kevin was going through a divorce process. During this experience, Pepper had given birth to a litter of puppies.

“I was going through a lot, with the divorce and becoming a single father (of three), so I re-homed all of her babies,” Emmons explained. “We had gotten her spayed right afterward.”

Life was slowly getting back to normal, and Pepper was enjoying herself. Having a gated front yard and backyard to play in, she had the life. Until she disappeared.

Emmons recalled no gates being opened, ruling out her running off on her own. He believed she was taken for the purpose of breeding her.

“We believe that because she was a Labrador and she had just given birth, that someone probably took her not realizing that she was spayed,” Emmons said.

Years passed, and Pepper was never found, despite their best efforts.

“She had been gone for a long time, about four to five years,” Emmons said.

The Emmons clan moved to Maricopa in January 2019. Kevin’s mother moved in with them to help raise the kids. A mortgage loan originator for Chase Bank, Emmons appreciated the love and support he had from his mom with the kids and their newest dog Sarah, a young retriever/German shepherd mix.

Life seemed calm and normal once again until about three weeks ago. A phone call from a veterinarian in North Phoenix had some surprising information for Kevin. His mom Cheryl remembers the exchange.

“An animal hospital called and said a good Samaritan dropped a dog off that was injured really badly. It had a lot of deep cuts,” Cheryl said. “It was Pepper.”

Kevin remembered not understanding the vet’s call at first. When they stated they had his dog, Emmons assumed they meant Sarah and told them their claims were impossible because Sarah was right next to him. The clinic explained they retrieved information from Pepper’s microchip, which had Kevin as her owner with his cellphone number.

“I said kind of loud, ‘Pepper’s alive?’ I was a little shocked. More than a little,” Emmons said. “I had to go and get her from the hospital. I was there from 10 p.m. until 2 in the morning. She remembered us and everything. As soon as she saw us, her tail was wagging like crazy.”

After a heartfelt reunion, Kevin was still wondering who initially brought her in. The clinic had no information on that individual. Pepper’s injuries were described as old and, while healing, were deeply infected. The main injury resided on her left shoulder.

Emmons paid for the medication and scheduled the necessary appointments to take his old friend home.

Cheryl said: “$2,500 later, we have the dog in our house, and she’s still recuperating.”

A few more vet visits and numerous antibiotics were required for Pepper’s injury as well as minor surgeries in an attempt to close her wound. Pepper is now almost fully healed. Meeting a new friend has been a highlight for Sarah and her new big sister.

“(Sarah) is much younger so I thought it would rile (Pepper) up quite a bit, but even though she is much bigger, she’s more submissive so Pepper’s the boss,” Emmons said with a laugh.

Kevin is happy to have Pepper home and safe, with another chance at life with the Emmons family. While he may not know exactly what happened, he knows she is where she should be.