Pepper Becoming humorously, tenderly, and sometimes painfully recounts the unlikely true story of two kindred souls — a dog no one wanted and a man not interested in owning a dog— helping each other navigate life’s challenges.

Abandoned by her owners 15 miles from her home, she was dirty, diseased, and emaciated when seized by the police off of the streets of New York. Scheduled to be euthanized at a municipal pound after her owners refused to claim her, she was adopted, returned, and again scheduled to be euthanized. Finally rescued by a no-kill shelter, she lived in a cage for nearly two years while deteriorating emotionally and behaviorally.

With predestination in the air, her path crossed with a novice dog trainer (the author) seeking to improve his skills by volunteering at the shelter that housed her.

Despite her distrust of people, and his disinterest in the responsibilities of dog ownership, they immediately bonded and embarked on a nine-year journey that would change them, and those whose lives they graced, forever.