Pepe

2011 - 2025

Pepe… So what do you say about a dog like Pepe?
For those who met him when he came to the Humane Society of Sonoma County after being a “resident” at the San Francisco Humane Society for about 7 years they would tell you he made a lousy first impression. He barked, he bit, he complained about EVERYTHING. Some would say he was “complicated”. And yes, he was.
He was transferred to HSSC for a “second” chance. Which didn’t go very far altho’ he did make two human friends, Tala and me.
As I got to know him I learned he was really smart and really misunderstood. He was scared and used to being abandoned. He would make a doggy friend and then they would be adopted. It was tough on a really smart little dog.
I got to know him because he trusted me (and I fed him chicken). He could catch a ball in mid-air and bring it back. (The only dog I’ve ever had do that). He would talk to you. His expressions weren’t always printable but he definitely had a vocabulary. He would also pee on a place when he wanted you to know you were seriously lacking in attending to him.
So when he was transferred back to SFHS after a year it just seemed wrong. I was pretty sure that this 7 year old cranky chihuahua was not going to be high on the list of adoptable dogs. So I went down to see how he was doing. When he saw me he jumped into my arms. I melted, just melted. I didn’t adopt him that day but promised I would be back… I just had to convince my husband Tim that getting a complicated, bitey dog with trust issues was a great idea.
So, Tim agreed to go meet Pepe, this dog who had been “institutionalized” for several years and see if we were a match.
First meeting. A very lovely Adoption Counselor who liked Pepe and he liked her (she had chicken) brought him out to the introduction area. I told Tim “Don’t put your finger down when you meet him he’ll bite it”. Tim puts his right hand down finger extended and Pepe bit it. What a surprise. Tim puts his left hand down, and Pepe bit it. “What part of don’t put your finger down did you not understand?” Anyway, we adotped Pepe that day and took him home to introduce him to Jack, Lucy, Scooter and Muey.
He didn’t exactly blend into the family. He peed in the house, dragged the trash out of the can and distributed it everywhere he could, chased Muey, and grumbled at Lucy all the time. But when he looked at you, you could tell he was happy and I think for the first time in his life he felt safe, loved and he trusted us. I think he knew we weren’t going to give him back that he was part of the family. Sort of like the weird uncle that shows up for Thanksgiving and says inappropriate things but you still love him.
Along the way he made friends with Muey and Lucy. He also made human friends. And once he knew you and trusted you he never forgot you. People who earned Pepe’s love and trust felt truly special. There were a few people that tried for a really long time to become his friend and when he finally said “OK, you can be my friend, it almost felt like he had bestow upon you a prestigious award. You felt special.
Pepe was special, always will be.
I wish I could have met him earlier in his life. I don’t think it would have made him a better dog, he was the BEST dog but I would have been able to love him longer and give all that incredible stuff he missed as a puppy and young dog.
Pepe you will be missed not for the pee, the bites, the trash dog episodes but because you taught me so much about how brilliant a dog’s mind is. Thank you for teaching me. From now on in my life I will look at situations and say “what would Pepe do?” And I will know that you would have bit, peed or spoke your mind.
Trust and love are earned thank you for trusting and loving me. I love you Pep. I will miss you will all my heart.