Pets are often considered restrictive to some lifestyles.
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However, in Charlotte Hart’s case, her best friend, Pepper, whom she also refers to as her fur child, has had the opposite effect.
“We get out a lot and go and see everything,” Ms Hart said.
“She’s the reason I’ve seen all the surrounding area.
“I take her to flora and fauna places where dogs are allowed, down the river, to Cactus Country.”
Ms Hart moved from a small unit without a backyard in the Melbourne suburb of Chelsea to the Goulburn Valley early last year.
She had family in the area, but seeing that the same amount of rent could afford her a more spacious property in Tatura with a yard gave the Shepparton osteopath even more motivation to relocate.
Before she had a yard fit for her pawsome partner in padding pavements in search of perfect puppacinos, Ms Hart was a rabbit mum.
Smokey was a bunny who defied regular rabbit habits and lived to the ripe old age of 10.
Ms Hart was saddened by losing her long-standing bunny buddy, but pleased he’d had a long life full of love.
His passing, while upsetting, made room for a new companion.
Enter labradoodle Pepper.
Now one and a half years old, Pepper might not be made of the exact ingredients labradoodles usually are, but Ms Hart said he still displayed characteristics of both breeds that are traditionally in the mix.
“My dad says she looks like a dog you didn’t pay for,” Ms Hart laughed.
“She can be lazy like a lab(rador) or completely neurotic like a poodle.”
Despite Ms Hart’s dad’s assessment of her appearance, he adores Pepper.
“She even has her own Christmas stocking at my parents’ place,” Ms Hart said.
“My brother got dogs at the same time — two shepherds — we tell Mum and Dad there’s no need for us to give them grandkids now they have three fur grandchildren.”
Ms Hart describes her beloved bestie as nosey, inquisitive and void of a single mean bone in her body.
“She wants to sniff everything and doesn’t understand personal space,” Ms Hart said.
“She’s everybody’s best friend. If she sees someone, she wants to be in their space.”
The pair go on walks together daily, hitting up cafés and socialising with others in the community.
Despite that spacious yard, Pepper is an inside dog at home.
Ms Hart recalled once determining she’d never have a dog sleep in her bed, but now Pepper even has her own pillow on her dog-mum’s bed.
But the benefits of having a bedmate are mutual.
“She’s on wake-up duty; I have no need for an alarm,” Ms Hart said.
“A sleep-in for us is 7.10am, but we’re usually up at 6.45am.”
While helpful, easygoing and friendly, Pepper can get a bit salty if she’s fed anything other than the special brand of food — in her preferred flavour — that she likes.
“She cries if you feed her anything else,” Ms Hart said.
The pampered pooch spends three days a week at daycare, socialising with other dogs.
Ms Hart said Pepper was exhausted when she came home after playing with all her friends, with whom she shared a 30-pack of treats when she spent the day there on her birthday.
Not only does she love daycare, she loves going to daycare.
“She’s great in the car,” Ms Hart said.
“If we’re going 60 or below, the windows are open. She has to have at least her tip of the nose out the window.
“She’s definitely a back-seat driver.”
Pepper, who has her own Instagram, is somewhat famous in the social media world.
At times, she gets recognised by strangers who follow Pepper’s journey online.
She also works with pet-related brands and companies, sampling and endorsing food and accessories she’s fond of.
One of her most memorable experiences was being involved in a photo shoot for a treat company when she was six months old.
She was on assignment with Ms Hart’s brother’s dog, her little fur cousin.
“She didn’t want to sit, she was running all over the set. It was chaotic,” Ms Hart said.
“It’s a fun memory.
“The photo shoot was meant to be about half an hour, but we were there for two hours.
“They would go crazy and then power nap for five minutes, so we had to wait for them to have their sleep before going again. They were just puppies.”
Though not yet two years old, Pepper has settled deep and firmly into Ms Hart’s heart, and no doubt neither of the BFFs can imagine life without each other.
“We’re just the best of friends and she’s also a bit of a protector,” Ms Hart said.
“Although it’s more bark than bite.”
Senior journalist