The August Give Away Winner & a Bit About Pepper

Thanks to all who entered the August Give Away - it was fun to see how much interest there was in the book about Pepper and the other guide dogs her former partner has had.

I got the Kindle edition the day the book was released on Amazon. I haven't finished it yet, but I did skip ahead and read the parts about Pepper - it was fun to see Sarah's view of her and to hear about the work they did together.

Congratulations to the winner of the August Give Away!

Didn't win but still would like to read the book? It's available in Kindle and paperback here.

Sarah's book talks about Pepper's excellent guiding and the caring that she had for Sarah. And when Pep came to live with us, that devotion was transferred to me. These unpublished photos of Pepper give a glimpse of that devotion.

The back story? I'd been in an Indianapolis hospital for a week having a precancerous mass removed from my pancreas along with my spleen and a lot of lymph nodes. It was the hardest surgery I've ever had. 

The surgery was hard on Pepper, too. Being separated from me for a week, even with Craig home with her and Lisa caring for her when he was with me, was very, very difficult for her.

When I got home, she could not get close enough to me. She even tried to crawl up into my lap but, of course, that was not possible because I had such a large abdominal incision.

And so she curled up on my feet, leaning against my legs, just so she could be close to me. I snapped that picture as she snuggled in against me, and I was grateful to be with her again, too.

As I healed and she couldn't be the lap dog she preferred, she would take her place at my feet, holding one of my legs between her front paws,

or curling up for a snooze, but always, always touching me in one way or another.

Pepper's walk with me is different than the walk she had with Sarah, but to the two of us, it is every bit as meaningful and absolutely full of love and joy. 

I am blessed to have this girl in my life.

A Year at the Park: August 4, 2026

Second Post of the Day 

I have decided to continue taking monthly pictures at the park like I did last year, only this year, I will post them when they are taken every month. I will still put the entire year's worth of pictures into one post next August so you can better see how our park changes over time. Enjoy!

Looking south from the pavilion. Look closely at the black iron fence on the right - someone is fishing from the bank over there.

The west view from the pavilion. Summer is definitely in full swing!

And just for fun, Tammo photobombing this photo as he rushes back to Craig carrying his frisbee.

Don't forget the August Give Away! Comment to enter to win Walk with Me, the new book by the woman Pepper guided.

Pepper & the August Give Away

First Post of the Day

The August give away is.... Pepper!

Well, a book ABOUT Pepper, to be more accurate. Other guide dogs, too, along with the cats in the LaRose household.

The woman Pepper guided, Sarah Blake LaRose, has written a book about her thirty years with her guide dogs. Pepper was her sixth and had to be retired early when it was discovered that she has Addison's Disease.

Sarah knew that something was very, very wrong with Pepper and quickly got her the care that ended up saving her life. Sometimes I get the shivers when I think about how deathly ill Pepper was and just how close a call it was. I will always be grateful to Sarah not only for the gift of being Pepper's retirement home, but for her heroic efforts in saving her life. That experience is detailed in the book.

My favorite parts of the book are (naturally) those about Pepper. I learned a lot about her history as a Seeing Eye Dog, things that I had been unaware of. Here's a brief excerpt:

 I love Sarah's description of Pepper in that excerpt.

Pepper's sudden retirement was difficult for Sarah. I could only imagine losing a dog I had loved so much, let alone partnered with through life. And so I started a blog for Sarah, My PenPal, Pepper, where letters to Sarah were written from Pepper. 

I had hoped the blog would be helpful and meaningful to Sarah, and in chapter 20 I learned that it had.

As Sarah writes, I did give permission for her to include some of those blog entries in her book and I found it interesting to see which ones she'd selected. The blog is public; click here if you'd like to read it. 

One of the very first photos of Miss P in our home.

If you'd like to win a copy of Walk with Me, comment on any blog post beginning with this one and published through Friday, August 7, 11:59 PM Eastern.  I'll spin to win and have the book sent to the winner!

Stay 'tooned!