Pepper was in terrible shape when he found her, so he took her in and cared for the severely abused dog.

Josh fostered Pepper, nursed her back to health and paid for her rehabilitation. But Pepper’s story took several other twists and turns before the Labrador Retriever / Pointer / Jack Russell Terrier mix ended up becoming a permanent member of Josh’s family.

Here’s Pepper’s story as written by Josh in her point of view:

“My name is Pepper and I was a dumpster dog who was brought to the SPCA as a puppy. Ironically, an animal hoarder took me in, abused me, neglected me and kept me locked in a storage shed in Houston Texas’s 110 degree summer heat.

I had a rusted cook pot as my bowl but ate twice a week. I slept with a choke collar attached to an exercise bike, was beaten and learned how to sleep standing up.

“When Josh, my saviour, found me I was surrounded by the smaller dead animals that the hoarder neglected to feed. The vet told me I had mange, 27 lacerations, (2) sets of worms, fleas, ticks, fractured leg, malnourished and not to mention being petted scared me to death.”

“My new owner fixed me up and gave me away to a loving family. They lost me in a month as I got out and ran away. A week later a teacher found me at a school miles away and dropped me off at a vet clinic where I stayed for 4 days. Josh had kept in contact with the family he gave me to and did his homework since I was microchipped, but with the info still being the SPCA they were able to locate me when he called.”