Pepper: Tales of a Family Dog...

by Mark Richards

Every family’s dog has a story to tell… Pepper was our Springer Spaniel. She could have been your dog. She could have been any family’s dog. She loved her walks, she loved the five of us – and she loved stealing your ham sandwich if you were careless enough to leave it unguarded. A normal dog in a normal family. And this is her story… We didn’t rescue Pepper from years of we didn’t trek through the wilderness together. We went to the woods. And sometimes the beach. She liked to roll in a dead fish… When Pepper arrived in our lives the children were 13, 11 and 8. When we finally said goodbye to her, they were 26, 24 and 21. There had been a few changes along the way, and Pep was there for all of them. She was a thread running through our children’s a key part of the family. This is her story, told through the – hopefully humorous – newspaper columns I wrote at the time and the personal reflections of my wife and our children. The stories in the book take you from our decision to get a dog to… well, how you know it must one day end. Most of them should make you laugh. But as you reach the end you might need to have a tissue handy. Pep doesn’t take centre stage in all of them, but she was always there, seeing all the trials and tribulations of teenage life. And then she watched sadly as, one by one, the children left home. This isn’t a long book. You could, if you wanted to, read it in two or three sittings. But really, it’s a book you can dip into when you want a five minute pick me up. It’s a book that’s meant to make you feel good, to cheer you up and make you laugh. Ultimately, of course, the book can only end one way. But I hope I’ve written even that chapter in an uplifting way. Pepper had a wonderful life. We can be sad she’s gone, or we can be happy that she shared our family’s life for so long. This book will hopefully show you that we chose the second option...

137 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 16, 2020

About the author

Mark Richards is a copywriter, ghostwriter and author of the UK's Funniest Dad Blog.


There are multiple authors with this name in this data base. This one is Mark^^Richards.

Reviews

[Marcia Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Family's Best Friend

A heartwarming, touching, and often humorous story of dog named Pepper who came into the Richards' family and loved them unconditionally and, in turn, lived the very best life a dog could possibly have. I gave this book 5 stars, not only because of the exceptional and honest writing, but also because of the joyful and loving memories it brought back for me of the dogs in my life, and the heartbreaking ones when I knew it was finally time to let them go. Each of my animals have left imprints on my heart so that I'll never forget them. I have tears running down my face as I write this review, but they are happy tears. Tears of knowing what a good life Pepper had and the impact she had on her people, but also tears for my own animals who were able to live their very best life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves animals, and also for those that don't. You might find you're missing out on one of God's greatest gifts.

[Louise Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author's writing style and have read everything else he has written. This collection of short stories about family life and predominantly the family pouch, Pepper, who has recently passed over the rainbow bridge was beautiful, touching, and endearing; but more importantly, real.

[Ken Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartwarming tale

Anyone who has a pet dog will totally understand this book, funny moments throughout but tinged with sadness as the years roll by. The writing is so good I found I could hear the author reading the words, the description leaves no doubt as to what was happening. Guaranteed to make you smile, highly recommend the book.

[andrew boyland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

As a dog owner and keen walker, this book ticks all boxes and I can relate to just about everything . A Joyful and moving collection of tales relating to a family and their dog. Just buy it !