Pepper to march as First Dog in Constitution Day parade

Photo by Bob Lickter Susan Teasley of Nevada City will march as a secret service agent keeping a special eye on Pepper, who will march as the First Dog, Bo.

While several members of the Famous Marching Presidents are dead-ringers for those they portray, it’s likely Pepper would take home a prize for the most identical resemblance in this year’s parade.

 While several members of the Famous Marching Presidents are dead-ringers for those they portray, it’s likely Pepper would take home a prize for the most identical resemblance in this year’s parade.

   Pepper will march as Bo, the First Family’s new puppy. Both dogs are purebred Portuguese Water Dogs, which means they have an awful lot in common including infectious personalities.

  “They are addictive. They are like potato chips. You can’t have just one,” said Susan Teasley, who owns Pepper and two other Portuguese Water Dogs, or PWDs.

  Teasley and her son, Shawn Mathews, will walk as part of President Barack Obama and the First Lady’s security contingent in the Constitution Day Parade and watch Pepper, a male who likes to run laps in the Teasley’s spacious backyard for as long as 40 minutes at a time.

  “If you don’t exercise them, then they will exercise themselves and you won’t like that,” jokes Teasley, who has been breeding the dogs for years with her husband, Chuck, the current vice president of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America.

   Susan, who also owns Shaw’s Antiques in downtown Nevada City, said PWDs are guard dogs and for centuries were used to herd fish for Portuguese fishermen. They also crave the companionship of their owners, she said.

  “I tell people who get them as puppies that it will be the last time you go to the bathroom alone,” Teasley says as two of her dogs stand nearby.

   Since Obama is newly elected president, Gregory Diaz and his wife, Katherine, will be leading the Famous Marching Presidents in the parade along with Pepper who will get First Dog treatment.

  Teasley said she will bring an umbrella and a mister with ice cold water to help Pepper keep his cool at the parade, which starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21.

Celebrating History

The Constitution Day parade caps off a busy weekend in Nevada City thats starts on Saturday morning.

Saturday, Sept. 12

7-10:30 a.m.: All-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at Seaman’s Lodge, 425 Nimrod Street.

11 a.m.: 49er Rotary Club Duck Race at 11 a.m. at plaza near Deer Creek.

1 p.m.: American Civil War Association battle re-enactment at Pioneer Park.

 4 p.m.: American Civil War Association battle re-enactment at Pioneer Park.

5:30-7 p.m.: Nevada County Concert Band performs on North Pine Street.

5:30-8:30 p.m. Classic Car Showcase on Broad Street.

Sunday, Sept. 13

7-10:30 a.m.: All-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at Seaman’s Lodge, 425 Nimrod Street.

11 a.m.: American Civil War Association battle re-enactment at Pioneer Park.

2 p.m.: 43rd Annual Constitution Day Parade on Broad Street featuring the Famous Marching Presidents and their first ladies along with around 100 units.

For more information, call the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce at 530-265-2692.