Obituaries

Pepper joined our family at the start of 2017 after years of wanting a pet in our early marriage. A brown tabby with a cute, little face, roly poly body, and friendly spirit - we fell in love with her right away. Pepper had been called Dahlia by the shelter and all the staff loved her, too. She had an adorable, unique trick she’d do of rubbing her front paws together to "pray" when she wanted some food. She loved to eat, so we saw her trick often and it tickled us every time.

Pepper was an exceptionally affectionate, easy-going, sociable kitty. She loved cuddling as a lap cat and being around people, making loud meows and generous purrs. She was even a good girl in the bathtub. We called her our Oregon mountain cat because we first lived with her in Portland before moving together on a five-day road trip to North Carolina. We were proud of how well-behaved she was the whole way.

Pepper’s good nature made it so easy to love her. When our baby boy arrived in 2021, she adjusted well and remained her sweet self. She could often be found sitting nearby on the rug keeping him company, even as he became a curious toddler. Pepper helped us teach our son to be gentle with animals and love them. She had been like our first baby and it was a delight to have her with us when we became new parents.

Pepper was small, but made our house feel so full. It was such a joy to have her in our family. We loved her deeply and miss her greatly.