By Jarissa Aquinde, Positively Woof Rescue and Adoption Story Editor
Wee Soon and Lorraine, newlyweds from Singapore, decided to add a furbaby to their family. They adopted beautiful Pepper, a female Shiba Inu, from a private animal welfare support volunteer group, Voices for Animals (VFA). The volunteer group specializes in rescuing puppy mill dogs.
Pepper had just been rescued by VFA when her forever parents met her on December 20th, 2015 at a VFA adoption drive. Wee Soon picked her out from the many pups that were clamoring at the fence of the pen for human attention. She looked nonchalant, always keeping to herself. Her parents decided to adopt her, as both of them work during the day, and they felt that she was the most independent of the adoptable dogs. The volunteers asked the new trio to pose for a photo after signing the papers. Pepper kept shying away, unsure of the company of humans, and fearful of the human touch. Her new parents named her Pepper because there is a streak of grey, black and sesame fur along the centre of her back (she is a ‘sesame’ Shiba Inu).
Wee Soon and Lorraine noticed that Pepper had a large belly, with her nipples almost touching the ground. She was most likely forced to breed repeatedly. The first thing Pepper’s parents did after adopting her was take her to the vet. It was then that they realized Pepper had more health issues: an enlarged liver and an enlarged spleen. Her uterus was also swollen with mucus, and there was a risk of it being infected, and the mucus turning into puss. She also had a parasite infection attacking her intestines. Pepper’s road to recovery wasn’t easy. She had to undergo a uterus removal surgery, multiple blood tests, a spleen biopsy, and two months of medications.
Pepper is a fighter, and her parents were so happy that she overcame all her obstacles. She is now living life to the fullest in her forever home!
Follow precious Pepper on Instagram @pepper_and_heng
