Sparky

His name is Sparky. I want to say he’s a dog. But to say he is just a dog is like saying that the Super Bowl is just a football game.

If you know me well you know that I am not the biggest fan of pets. I am not cruel or anything…just never been one to go overboard too much when it comes to domesticated animals.

But if you do know me well, you get a pet in front of me who is the coolest pet, the “best friend” that people sometimes call their pets and I am hooked. That is Sparky.

He could be the most annoying animal…whiney, barking, (my nickname for him is “barky”), never completely, fully house trained…yeah he could be very annoying to me. And I will confess, at times if he were mine, I might have considered foster care for the amount of care he needed. He is like a little child…even at 15+ yrs. old, (my daughter got him from a shelter when he was about one year old), this past Christmas he acted a like a little baby. In our home for less than a few hours…he made his mark on our carpet. But during his visit this past Christmas, for some reason, he would come and rest his head on my feet while I sat and watched television. Not once but several times throughout their visit this happened. I did not understand how much I will miss that now.

Reminds me of this past summer. Taking Jakob to spend some time with his sister, we stayed at the Embassy Suites in Birmingham, AL. They allowed dogs. Around 1:00 a.m. he is scratching at the door of our room telling someone he wanted to go potty. I was elected because I was the one who heard him and was awake. I leashed him up and left our room on the fifth floor. We left the elevator and if you are familiar with Embassy Suites they have immaculate garden areas, running streams through the lobby. Well Spark somehow thought he was outside and got out of the grip of his leash and started to make his mark in the garden area. I dragged him literally from the space spewing gravel, dirt, and bark all over the lobby trying to get him outside. I was more than a little upset. By the time we got outside he hardly had anything left. He just looked up at me as if to say, “Okay lets go back to the room and to bed.”

My daughter called us today to tell us that Sparky is sick. The Vet says it seems like congestive heart failure and they are trying to decide the next course of action. (While writing this late at night my daughter called us to talk about what was happening, how to move forward, what to say to our two little grandchildren).

I am sad. I a non-pet person find my heart overwhelmed not just for my daughter and her family or other members of my family who know and love and who Sparky has been a part of their life. I am sad because I care for him. He has broken through into my heart and I pray now that God will help Sparky and give wisdom to all those in deciding his care.

The author of Marley and Me writes:

“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not.”

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.”

And his final words to Marley:

“You remember how we were always saying what a pain you are-that you're the world's worst dog? Don't believe it. Don't believe any of it for a minute. 'Cause you know we couldn't find a better dog. You know what made you such a great dog-is you loved us every day, no matter what. That's an amazing thing. You know how much we love you? We love you so much. I love you more than anything. I don't know exactly where we go from here...but I want you to remember you're a great dog, Marley. You're a great dog.”

Sparky…I love you and you are a GREAT dog!