Puppy Love – Publisher Patti Stephens and Her Pup Pepper

When our son was 7, we brought home our first family dog. Coco was a cockapoo, fluffy and full of energy. She was also my first dog as an adult and quickly showed me how much I had to learn. Lucky for us, Coco was smart and sweet and the good definitely outweighed the bad. When we lost her after 18 years, I realized how much I counted on her company during the day! I made it through almost a year before I convinced my husband to get another dog. He would concede, but only if it was another cockapoo. We found Pepper!

I am learning a lot—again. Pepper is into everything, stealing socks, shoes and napkins off of our dinner guests’ laps! She even tried to eat someone’s lip gloss when the team came to photograph our new kitchen (check it out on page 16). Pepper makes me laugh (and swear) every day. She was easy to house train and knows all commands. She just doesn’t always obey them. She doesn’t shed and other than the occassional pine straw stuck in her tail, she’s a pretty clean dog. Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t have to clean up after her. For example, topping our list is the upstairs window. Pepper loves to pop up on the window seat and keep watch on the cul-de-sac (until she sees Mark’s car and flies down the stairs to meet him at the garage door). Her nose prints are a constant.

Check out the list we published on page 12 about keeping a clean house with your pets—it’s full of tips for pet parents that help remind me what to clean, when to do it and how often.

I’d love to see where your furry family members spend their time! I think we can all agree that no matter what kind of personality our pets have—those unconditional waggly-tail greetings make any kind of cleaning hassle completely worth it.

Patti Stephens, Publisher