Margaret Nordahl lives with her dog Pepper aboard a 37 foot sailboat in Ballard but they both spend their days in West Seattle at a real estate office here. Pepper is very well behaved, staying in a crate underneath the desk during the day. They love to walk along Beach Drive and around Green Lake.
Pepper is a 4.5 pound PomPoo (Pomeranian-Poodle) born August 5, 2005. Her name is a shortened version of "Sargeant Pepper Peck" because as her owner Margaret Nordahl explained, "When I got her my daughter picked her out and she loves the Beatles and Peck is her last name."
Nordahl said of Pepper, "Whatever the action is, she wants to be there."
Pepper eats regular kibble and really very little only about half a cup a day and when she first became part of the family it was a difficult time since she only weighed 1.5 pounds and had been improperly weaned from her mother. That meant she had to be had fed with drops and watched over carefully.
Pepper came from a pet store in Ballard and she was the smallest one in the litter. Nordahl's daughter chose Pepper because she reasoned that because she was black and that breed she wouldn't shed.
Nordahl, who is a real estate agent in West Seattle, currently lives in Ballard aboard a sailboat in a marina. Pepper has adapted very well to the environment. "She has no problem running down the dock, running down our slip, jumping up on the stairwell and making the 2 foot leap into boat. But the first time she tried it she misjudged the distance and went in the water. It was dark and I had to fish her out," Nordahl explained.
A friend of hers was dog sitting Pepper one day and Pepper demonstrated her two legged capabilities, standing on her hind legs for well over a minute...all for a treat of course.
Normally, Pepper joins Nordahl at the office, residing in a small crate under her desk during the day.
She has a good friend, an 85 lb Labrador Retriever named Kane and they play together a lot.
Nordahl said that Pepper, despite her diminutive size can handle long walks just fine and they enjoy Green Lake and Beach Drive as favorites.
Pepper loves her stuffed toy Piglet, and often tosses it around for fun. It's her "particular toy."
Nordahl summed Pepper up saying,"She is a loving, snuggly, ambitious, peppy, inquisitive, very intelligent dog. Oftentimes I feel as if she is definitely running the show. She's walking me rather than me walking her. She's always ready and willing and always looking for action."
