In a moving episode of The Repair Shop, guest Neil Powell brought in his late rescue dog's jacket and collar for restoration, sharing the tragic story of Pepper, a border collie who helped search for survivors after the Lockerbie disaster.
Leather worker Suzie Fletcher and Dom Chinea welcomed Neil to the barn with the sentimental items. Neil explained that Pepper was 'one of the best' search and rescue dogs he had ever had, qualifying at just 18 months. Her first live search was for a young German boy missing for 36 hours in bad weather, whom she found alive.
Pepper's Role in the Lockerbie Search
Neil described the Lockerbie Pan Am air crash in 1988 as the worst experience of his career. He said: "It left a huge crater there and the search and rescue dogs were all brought in to help search for people, any survivors. I mean, working in that crater, it was muddy and horrible."
"The smell of the aviation fuel was dreadful. It was just like that for four days. Pepper had found a suitcase which turned out to be very significant. There were scorch marks on it that suggested this had been a bomb."
Tragically, 270 people lost their lives in the Lockerbie bombing, including 11 residents of the Scottish town. The crash site was contaminated with aviation fuel and radioactive material used in the plane's manufacturing.
Heartbreaking Loss and Restoration
Neil added: "As a result of that, little Pepper, he and like five or six other dogs who were in that crater searching for human remains, they all developed tumours in their nose and their windpipes."
"We're not sure, was it the aviation fuel, or what was it? But they died. It was heartbreaking. Heartbreaking when Pepper died, it was really awful."
During restoration, textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet discovered Pepper's name on the jacket, which had been missed initially. She said: "Oh my goodness, I can see Pepper's name! I'm not even a dog person and that's really moving. Look at that, it was just covered with dirt. That's really lovely."
Emotional Reveal
The experts successfully restored both the jacket and collar. Neil was overcome with emotion, saying: "Now, that's perfect. That is absolutely perfect. Now, I'm going to crack up! It's all refreshed and renewed, it's beautifully done. You're very talented people."
Praising Rebecca's recreation of Pepper's name, Neil added: "I'm overwhelmed by that." He told the experts the jacket and collar would be displayed at the Mountain Rescue Centre base to honour Pepper.
