Dear Editor:
Last Friday everything seemed normal, I was a typical stressed out Fashion Design student. I was doing around 16 hours of work a day on my first five-piece collection and managing my first fashion show's financial and sponsorship matters. I lived at home in the house I grew up with my father and older sister, along with Tucker and Pepper (our two dogs), Komere and Nila (our two cats). But then everything changed...

My sister was on her way to check on our horses when she called Tucker and Pepper in from outside to join her. Tucker, our nine and a half year old collie slowly came towards her and then stopped and leaned up against the house. Right away she knew something was dramatically wrong — going to the barn is our dogs' equivalent to children going to Disney World. We immediately took him to our local emergency vet.

Originally, we thought he was dramatically dehydrated and that all we would have to do was to hook him up to IV fluids and electrolytes. He stayed at the clinic to be hooked up to fluids and closely monitored. Although we left without him, we were still positive everything was going to be alright. The next morning we went to work together and were managing to work effectively until my sister got a call. Tucker's condition had started to deteriorate. It was right then and there we realized that Tucker may never come home. My sister left work around 10:30 a.m. and raced to the vet so she could spend as much time as possible with Tucker. Around 20 minutes later she texted me and said I should get to the vet as soon as possible. Four hours later our beloved collie, a member of our family, my sister's little boy and my latenight couch buddy was gone.

To say the least, we were in shock. Did that really just happen? Is this real? When we got home that night all we did was look at each other and then Pepper, our three year old Shih Tzu. He looked so confused and didn't understand why Tucker wasn't with us. We cried and cuddled with him all night while we did small things such as hiding Tucker's food dish so we wouldn't have to look at it again until we were ready.

It wasn't until Sunday that we believe Pepper fully understood that Tucker wasn't coming home. He looked so depressed, lonely and heartbroken. We spent as much time as possible snuggling and playing with our lonely dog. Any time we left the house, he came with us. Even putting make-up on and doing my hair, he was with me. On Tuesday morning I didn't have to be at class until 12 p.m. so I created a “spa day” for Pepper. He loves getting his hair washed, dried and brushed so much that we treat it like a spa day where he even gets special treats. By the time I left the house Tuesday morning, I was walking down the street thinking that things were getting better...

Around 4 p.m. Tuesday night I got a text from my father to call him as soon as possible. I knew something was dreadfully wrong. Panicking, I called him and as soon as he picked up I blurted out, “Who's dead?” No one was dead, but he explained me to that Pepper had run away. He had taken Pepper for a car ride to St. Marys, Ontario to visit my grandparents. When they got there, he let Pepper out of the car so he could go to the washroom and sniff my grandfather's leg. Something happened and Pepper took off. My father tried to chase after him but Pepper was too fast and he lost him.

In this sprint, our little 16-pound Pepper ran almost one kilometre before we lost him at Timms Lane and Peel Street. Five of us searched until we couldn't see anymore that night. When we got back to my grandparents' house, I made the decision not to leave until we found Pepper. So I stayed the night, created posters and began my spree of informing local business of his disappearance via Facebook, Twitter and Kijiji.

The next morning I got up from a sleepless rest at 5 a.m. and started calling shelters, kennels, vets and police asking them to inform me if anyone called or brought Pepper in. By daybreak I was back out searching for Pepper. My sister and I walked around St. Marys all morning putting up flyers and speaking with storeowners and passersby asking for their assistance during this troubling time. After a short lunch break and a social media update, we were back out on the streets looking for our little baby. Thankfully all our hard work paid off on Wednesday with numerous people calling and informing us of sightings.

Thursday morning, due to all the great tips from the day before, my grandparents and I woke up early and arrived at The Flats, a location that was most often mentioned in Wednesday's public tips, around 5:40 a.m. Between them driving around and me sitting outside in Tucker's old car blanket with toys and Tucker's valued bowl we left the park unsuccessful. Once again we did our rounds, even going door-to-door in some areas searching for our poor lost puppy.

It is now Thursday night. I have slept around two hours since Tuesday, walked countless miles on a sprained ankle, handed out over 220 posters and have been unable to attend other family obligations. I keep waiting to wake up from this nightmare but it seems never ending.

Please help us find Pepper; to you he may just be a dog, but to us he is so much more.

I can be contacted at 519-859-5630 or ani.m.martin@hotmail.com with any information you may have on Pepper.
Angie Martin
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.