home

S

he worked in Hollywood. She’s lithe, glamorous and even has a tattoo. She only discovered mirrors in early middle age. For surviving the transition from Hollywood to Oriental, TownDock.net congratulates Pepper – Miss August.

Pepper

First, her life in Oriental.

Pepper is a 13-year old greyhound described by owners Walt and Mary Alice Kowals as “spoiled – like a baby”. Evenings, she enjoys strolling around Oriental with Walt. On cool days, she visits the Town Dock. On hot ones, Walt loads her into the car and drives her to the town beach where she enjoys visiting the Neuse.

All in all, life for Pepper now is a pretty standard experience for a dog in Oriental.

Pepper and Walt take a stroll

For Pepper, it almost wasn’t so.

In Pepper’s case, the Hollywood and tattoo from her early life have nothing to do with the West Coast and movie stars. The Hollywood is the one in south Florida. The tattoo is the one in her ear – the one that refers to her date of birth and litter number. Before her Oriental leisure life, Pepper was a racing greyhound. She almost didn’t survive her career.

Pepper’s tattoo. The number in her left ear is “97A. That translates into “born 1997. First litter”.

Starting when she was a year old, Pepper spent two years at the track – the first year she trained, the second year she raced. Trouble is, as a racer, “she was slow” says Walt, “and not bringing home the bacon”.

In racing greyhound circles, this used to be a death sentence. Walt says non-performing greyhounds were shot. In recent years, though, agencies were formed that found greyhounds family homes after their running days were over. It was through one of these organizations that Pepper made her way from the race track into the Kowal’s life.

But the transition wasn’t easy.

First there were the stairs.

Racing greyhounds spend most of their time locked in cages. When they’re not training or racing, Walt says they may be locked away in containers “2 to 3 high”. So when they move in with humans, they have a lot to learn. Like how to navigate stairs. In Pepper’s case, she did fine, not falling down the entire flight as some adopted greyhounds have done.

Then Walt and Mary Alice had to teach her about sliding glass doors and mirrors – you don’t walk through the former or attack the later. She mastered those, and moved on to learning about her name.

Racing greyhounds have two names. At the track, Pepper’s kennel name, the one she heard while caged, fed and watered, was “Click-Away”. Mary Alice says this refers to how greyhounds’ jaws “chatter” or click. Only when she raced did she go by Pepper. That way, during the race, the dog wouldn’t be distracted by hearing the name it associated with eating, relaxation and, worst of all, napping.

The dog formerly known as “Click-Away”

Walter describes Pepper, as all other greyhounds, as an “eye dog”. She hunts by visual clues. That’s why greyhounds so eagerly chase a mechanical rabbit when they race. These days, a decade after she hit bursts of speed nearing 40 miles per hour, Pepper prefers a more leisurely pace. She’s also eying slower prey. “While most greyhounds hunt squirrels,” Mary Alice says “this one hunts crabs”.

Pepper’s crab hunting goes back to her early days in Cape May, New Jersey, where the Kowals once lived. “I used to take her on walks and she’d find crabs the seauglls had dropped.” Mary Alice says. “Sometimes I would hear this crunching sound. It’s where the legs would fall off and the sound was Pepper munching on them….”

Hunter and hunted: Pepper in front of the mural that graces the Garland Fulcher Seafood Market

Crabs are tougher for a greyhound to come across in Oriental. Pamlico seagulls don’t drop them as often as the ones back in the Garden State. Which is not to say Pepper has given up hope. Walt says she finds the state Wildlife Ramp a fine hunting ground – even if her quarry is washed up. The nearby patch of reeds holds an equal appeal. These days, after a career spent chasing fake rabbits, just catching a whiff of crab is fine.

And there is the lesson for the rest of us. For surviving the shift from the racing lane to Oriental’s slower pace, we celebrate Pepper as Miss August.

Pepper picks. The standard TownDock Pet of the Month prize package is baked doggie treats. In Pepper’s, case, a few (already dead) crabs were substituted. (Crabs provided courtesy of Endurance Seafood)

Pepper’s Bio

Celebrity Pet Most Resembles: Cate Blanchett
Favorite Snack: Found crab
Least Favorite Album title: “A Day at the Races” by Queen

Unfulfilled Dream: Catching that greyhound track rabbit
Least Favorite Cartoon Character: Bugs Bunny
Cartoon Hero: Elmer Fudd
Missed Career Opportunity: Runway model

Know a pet that is a standout? Send in some details and a photo to info@towndock.net. Tell why that pet deserves the coveted TownDock.net Pet of the Month Prize Package --- accolades, a pat on the head (snakes excluded) and a box of Milk Bones ( or snack suitable for the species). We regret that we cannot offer a college scholarship to Pet Of The Month winners. Animals caught near the HarborCam attempting to suck up to the judges will be disqualified.