25/06/2026
Epic New “Incredible Journey” Unfolds
Thursday, 25 June 2026
• A repeat of the legendary animal story and film
• Pepper’s “Dad” searches Table Mountain every day, never giving up
• Viral community effort to find Pepper
• Woolies' liver pâté saves the day
• Eight-hour rescue effort reunites man and best friend
There are moments in life that change us forever.
For Nicole Clarence, the daughter of the terrier's owner, Erwin:
The phone call to say Pepper had gone missing on Table Mountain was one of them.
“Losing my mom was one of them,” she said. “A year later, in that very same month, the month that already carried so much grief, we received another phone call that made my heart stop.”
“My dad had been walking with Pepper on the mountain, like they had done so many times before. Then, in an instant, another dog ran towards Pepper and chased him out of sight.”
“When the phone rang and I heard those words, my stomach dropped. Pepper wasn’t just a dog. He was my mom and dad’s dog. He was one of the last living pieces of a life they had shared together. He had been loved endlessly by my mom, and after losing her, he had become my dad’s faithful companion through the loneliest days. We couldn’t lose him too.”
So when Pepper disappeared on Sunday, 15 June, after running off while out walking with Erwin above Oudekraal, giving up was never going to be an option.
Every morning for the next 11 days, Erwin drove from Stellenbosch to Table Mountain and Oudekraal, arriving with hope and leaving only when darkness forced him off the mountain. Every day he searched the slopes, ravines and ledges for the dog he refused to stop looking for. Every night he went home without Pepper. And every morning, he got up and did it all again.
What followed was not just a search for a missing hound, but nearly two weeks of determination, hope and a remarkable community effort to bring one very loved dog home.
Wilderness Search And Rescue first crossed paths with Erwin on Monday, 16 June, when his daughter, Nicole, raised the alarm after he failed to return from the Pipe Track while searching for Pepper. Rescue teams were activated to search for him, but thankfully a group of hikers found him and helped him safely off the mountain before rescuers reached him.
The following day, Youth Day, teams were called out again - this time to assist two men stranded on an unstable ledge in Slangolie Ravine below the Pipe Track. One of them was Erwin, still searching for his boy. The pair had been searching down towards a waterfall when they became stuck on a steep and unstable ledge. Rescuers descended to their position, secured them on rope, and carefully guided them back to the Pipe Track above.
Still, the search for Pepper continued.
Day after day, Erwin returned to the mountain. Beside him was Jolene, faithfully climbing those same slopes and sharing in the exhaustion, heartache and determination of the search.
But as the days passed, what began as a family searching for a missing dog quickly grew into something much bigger.
“At first, it was just family searching,” said Nicole. “Then something beautiful happened. People who had never met us started caring. Neighbours shared Pepper’s story. Friends shared it. Then strangers shared it. Soon Camps Bay seemed to know who Pepper was.”
Complete strangers offered to hike with Erwin. People printed posters before the family could even ask. Businesses put them in their windows. Phone calls were made, messages poured in, and advice, encouragement and hope came from every direction.
“Professionals volunteered their time. Drones searched from above. Sniffer dogs searched below. Pet communicators gave their time. Search and Rescue volunteers walked countless kilometres. Someone even started a BackaBuddy campaign for Pepper,” Nicole said. “I remember sitting there completely overwhelmed. How could people who didn’t know us care this much?”
What followed became more than a search for a missing dog - it became a remarkable show of compassion, persistence and a shared refusal to leave one little hound behind.
Then, late on Wednesday afternoon, 24 June, reports were received that Pepper had been spotted on the lower slopes below Corridor Ravine.
A small team from the Mountain Club of South Africa Search and Mountain Club of SA - Search And Rescue, already out on training, was dispatched to investigate. Once on scene, a rescuer abseiled down a series of steep ledges – nearly 70 metres in total – before finally spotting the frightened hound stranded on a ledge.
Pepper was alive. Pepper was safe enough. Pepper, however, had absolutely no intention of making things easy for his rescuers.
Realising that this was now as much a canine negotiation as a technical rescue, additional resources were called in, including members from Trail Search and Rescue and specialist from K9 Search and Rescue Association of South Africa.
James Smart from K9 Search and Rescue said the rescuers already on scene had done an excellent job of calming the terrified dog.
“When we descended to the bottom of the cliffs, we found that the rescuers had done well to settle Pepper. They had given him water and treats, and at one point he had even laid down near one of the team members,” said Smart.
“But every time we moved too close, he became more frightened. We were concerned that in a panic he might jump or fall from the ledge.”
And then came the breakthrough.
In what may well go down as one of the more important contributions to a mountain rescue in recent memory, WOOLWORTHS liver pâté was deployed to the scene.
“No dog has ever refused Woolies liver pâté,” said Smart. “We disguised a natural herbal calming medication inside and Pepper happily accepted it.”
With tensions lowered and Pepper beginning to relax, the team gave him a few minutes to settle before moving in.
“We calmly cornered him and draped jackets over him,” said Smart.
Pepper was not entirely convinced by the arrangement and, in the confusion, left his mark with a quick nip to one of the team members, a small reminder that gratitude would come later.
For Pepper’s safety, and that of the rescuers, he was carefully placed into a well-ventilated rescue backpack before being hauled up the cliff with the team member carrying him back to his dad.
At the top, after 11 days of searching, hoping and refusing to give up, Pepper was finally reunited with his dad, Erwin.
It was the reunion everyone had been hoping for.
To avoid any last-minute detours on the walk out, Pepper was carried down the mountain in the backpack while rescuers packed up ropes and gear after a gruelling overnight operation.
By 04h35 on Thursday morning, Pepper, Erwin and the rescue teams were safely off the mountain together.
This rescue took eight hours from the moment Pepper was reached on the ledge to the moment the team walked off the mountain. But in truth, it was the final chapter of an 11-day journey powered by one man’s refusal to stop searching for his dog, and by a community of people determined to help bring Pepper home.
Pepper is now home safe and recovering well, after a proper meal with seconds, a bath and a very long sleep.
Nicole also shared the family’s gratitude to the many people who helped carry them through the search.
“None of it would have been possible without Jolene and Dalit Cohen,” she said. “Their compassion and selflessness carried us through some incredibly dark moments. They never made us feel like Pepper was ‘just another dog’. They understood.”
“One evening my dad said something I’ll never forget: ‘Even when we were losing hope, the people supporting us never did. They just wouldn’t give up.’ Those words perfectly describe every single person who walked this journey with us.”
“To every single person who searched, prayed, shared a post, made a phone call, printed a poster, donated, walked the mountain, or simply refused to let us lose hope - thank you,” said Nicole.
“You didn’t just help bring a dog home. You carried a grieving family through one of the hardest chapters of our lives. You reminded us that kindness is still alive, that strangers can become family, and that when hope feels impossible to hold onto, an entire community can hold it for you until you can. For that, we will be grateful for the rest of our lives.”
Nicole said Pepper’s first hours at home were full of all the little signs that he knew he was finally back where he belonged.
“When he walked through the front door, our two little Yorkie puppies were waiting. He ate a warm chicken dinner as though it was the best meal he’d ever tasted, pulled out every toy he owned and ran lap after lap around the house. He sniffed every room, every familiar smell and every corner, as if making sure home was still there,” she said.
“The following day brought something wonderfully ordinary - a warm bubble bath, a visit to the vet and a gentle neighbourhood walk. And slowly, the Pepper we knew started coming back.”
Thank you to every rescuer, volunteer, supporter, hiker and friend who played a part in bringing Pepper home. This was a rescue built on teamwork - with a special nod to Woolworths liver pâté, which proved itself to be a rescue essential of the very highest order.
Welcome home, Pepper. ❤️🐾
• Save and share the correct Emergency Contact Number - 021 937 0300
• Please support us - https://wsar.org.za/support-us/
• Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) is a network of government agencies, and civilian volunteer organisations, who partner in search and rescue.
Photos by Naadirah te Water Naude, Adam Griffin, Duncan Fraser, Axel Erwast, Rob Stamatiadis and Matthew Collier-Reed
