A little Sparky of life….

Today my oldest and best buddy turned 10, and while a lot has happened since we’ve joined forces, it still seems just a short period of time.

Sparky was Mom’s best buddy before he was mine. They went everywhere together and Mom had a small sort of box seat that he could ride in and look out the window.

He’s paranoid… sorta like a horse; a scrap of paper tossed by the wind will spook him, and he’s so acclimatize to thunderstorms that he’ll start shaking when he hears that pre-storm static on the AM radio.

He actually controls time in our house. He announces when it’s time to go to bed, especially for meals, night time snacks, and to wake up and go outside (usually at about 6:15 a.m. this time of year)

I attribute this to his having the smallest bladder. He does this by putting his front paws on my face and licking any exposed skin.

Hard Impossible to ignore.

Like most dogs, especially small breeds, Sparky cannot leave or enter the house without turning in tight circles like a rodeo horse… any and all excitement is expressed in this way. Chow call, treats, walks, car trip…. any time I put on a jacket or my cap.

All those are cues for Cooper to start “talking” loudly as Aussies do (“Roowar, rawr, rawr” ), and Jack to start madly running around, like terriers do. 

Early mornings here at the Southern Command are not born in quiet dignity.

Mom and Sparky made quite a pair… I marveled at how a four and a half-pound dog could control a grown woman.

I learned the answer—he does it with a sophisticated level of cute; after Mom had to leave and Sparky came to live with me and Tripoli we logged tens of thousands of miles together.

This weapon/skill is not to be underestimated. It works on all save the most hardened (Don), and is particularly effective on young, female, drive-up window clerks given to oooohhh, and awwww.

They invariably think he’s a girl—guys are just not that cute. He always gets a treat and once I got a phone number.

Actually, he’s gotten pretty crotchety as a seasoned citizen, and if really annoyed (usually by me or Cooper) he’ll growl and bite.

We have so much in common.

A few years ago Spark developed a thyroid condition which causes him to blow most of his coat when the condition flares up. Hypothyroidism is well controlled by daily meds; and we both have one of those daily plastic pill boxes, he actually thinks his contains some sort of treat.

When a major flood hit town a few years ago Sparky and I jumped in the truck and began taking pix of the receding waters which caused some $20 million damage in the county. The high-water mark on the historic train depot –the building in the photo below—was about three and a half feet high.

So, through thick and thin we’ve done our best and for the most part met good people and dogs, pardon the redundancy, along the way.

I’ve learned so much from Sparky and Trip and Coop and Jack; I try to emulate their best attributes, and since they have no bad intent about anything, I couldn’t have better role models.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And… he reminds me when it’s time to stop and smell the roses.

Comments

[auto insurance quotes]

Once I received a call offering me a decent sum to turn for a pianist for a chamber music concert. I was pleased to finally get paid for something I'd been doing pro bono for years. I got there early and met with the pianist. He seemed high-strung but some people are before a concert. I clarified repeat issues with him and he assured me he was a clear nodder.The concert began and I soon saw why he was so high-strung; his mediocre technique and limited musicality made him a bad choice to play the well-known Beethoven and Brahms trios he was tackling (almost literally, football player style). We got towards the end of the first page and he did not nod. I figured, Maybe he likes memorize the beginning of the next page and have late turns. Nope as we reached the last two beats he abruptly turned his heard toward me and, in a low, gruff voice barked, Turn! This disagreeable ritual was repeated for most of the performance. I thought it might have been less disruptive for him and the audience to nod as he said. No such luck. I made it through and didn't mess it up, but he really unnerved me and I dare say I was very deserving of my pay that evening.

[Nicky]

still upset about the joynns snub. no play-in game? this is a tradition that has been a part of "March Madness" since 1991, you know back when you were mixing things up over at BGA.

[pontiff alex]

Nice tribute to man AND women's best friend...

[Danielle Droppers]

To my favorite uncle: I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing it with me. It was the bright spot in my day. Love you.