TRIBUTE TO SPARKY

September 23, 1992 – September 4, 2007

What can I say about the wonderful dog/friend we called Sparky?  Mere words can’t describe how special he was, but I must try to put into writing just a glimpse of his magic to honor him. 

Sparky was K-Lee’s Spark of Fire, CD, CDX, UD, CGC, TDI.  More importantly, he was the most gentle and kind soul imaginable.  He gave and received abundant love effortlessly.  He was highly intelligent, intuitive and had a great sense of humor.  His “sixth sense” for people was a part of him from birth.  They say every dog has one special person in his heart, and I was lucky enough to be that person for Sparky. 

Sparky came into our lives when I was seven months pregnant with our daughter, Jenna.  He was only with us about 1-2 weeks, when I was put on constant bed rest for a pregnancy complication.  One would think it would have been difficult to care for a puppy under those circumstances.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He took care of me.  He kept me from being bored by entertaining me with his antics with our other dog, Lady.  When I wasn’t laughing out loud at how adorable he was, I was holding him, all curled up on my chest, cuddling, taking in all of the good puppy smells, sights and sounds.  He was an incredibly good puppy – hardly any barking, no chewing, etc.  He literally only needed to be told something once, and he obeyed.  He went hours without having to go outside and fluently communicated with me when he needed to do so.  Needless to say, he and I developed a close bond very quickly. 

When the day came for me to go to the hospital for Jenna to be born, we were worried about leaving our puppy alone for (possibly) such a long time.  My husband, Wayne, decided to crate him in the basement with lights and music on, in case it ended up being a really long time.  We were at the hospital for about nine hours, and things were going pretty slowly, so I sent Wayne home to check on the puppy.  Sparky, who had been left in a crate in the basement with the door to the basement tightly closed, was now upstairs, greeting Wayne with tail wagging, at the door.  No damage had been done; no accidents had occurred.  He just somehow got himself free and upstairs, probably wanting to be closer to the people in his life.  Wayne took care of him and put him back in the crate downstairs, making sure to close the basement door tightly, before he came back to the hospital.  Later on, after Jenna’s birth, Wayne returned home again to find Sparky, once again, upstairs happily greeting him at the door.  Again, there were no accidents or problems, just a mystery that we never solved to this day.  We always referred to this day as one of “Sparky’s little secrets.” 

When baby Jenna came home, Sparky was the perfect big brother to her.  He cared for her and watched over her like a mother hen.  Later, he knew, before we did, that Lady was starting to change in her old age and couldn’t be trusted around a crawling baby.  When Jenna was around, Sparky spent his time putting himself between Jenna and Lady, always keeping a sharp eye on Jenna to keep her safe.  Throughout his life, Sparky also took care of other dogs, rabbits and injured birds – it was just his nature. 

Sparky started obedience training at a very young age.  He was a natural.  He obtained his CD, CDX and UD in a minimal number of shows and got class placements with almost every leg of each title.  It’s a good thing he earned his titles so quickly, because I got busy with Jenna, work and other commitments and couldn’t continue to do much obedience or go to kennel club meetings.  He was not one of the top obedience dogs in the country, but he probably could have been (with another trainer).  In obedience classes, Cindy Brick was amazed at how quickly he learned new things.  It made him so happy to heel with me.  He did not enjoy Utility that much, as most exercises are done away from the handler, and Sparky never liked being too far away from me.  Later on, when he was older and couldn’t go over the jumps anymore, we competed in Veterans obedience classes, and, every single time I showed him in Veterans, he took first place.   

Sparky always liked to be held and cuddled, which we did for hours at a time.  He never tired of it, nor did I.  Is it any wonder my arms feel so empty now?  Jenna and I always said Sparky had “magical powers.”  Whenever we were sick, couldn’t sleep, etc., lying on the couch with Sparky in our arms was the magic we needed to feel better, get to sleep, etc.  He really did seem to have some sort of healing powers – another one of his “little secrets.” 

 Sparky was not a conformation dog, but, he had the most beautiful expression and eyes.  He had a gorgeous thick coat, which I loved to stroke whenever I could.  He had an incredible amount of “bone” in his legs and paws, and his front movement was like poetry in motion.  I frequently referred to him as “the most beautiful creature God ever created.”  He was beautiful inside and out.  I can only strive to be half as generous, self-less and loving as he was.  He was “Our Little Angel Boy” and truly a “Gift from God.”  I was so blessed to have him share his life with me for almost 15 years, although that life seemed much too short.  The void his passing has left in me is immense. 

 I would like to thank Karen Lee for bringing Sparky into the world, friends from the “dog world” for their care and concern (especially Shirley Penn and Gigi Wood), Kronenwetter Veterinary Care (especially Dr. Nikki Wills and JoAnn) and Jerry and Shirley Graveen at Peaceful Pines Pet Memorials for helping me get through Sparky’s last days and the days after his passing.  I would like to close with some lyrics from a Jim Brickman song that seem appropriate: 

From the moment I saw you,
From the moment I looked into your eyes,
There was something about you, I knew, I knew,
That we were once in a lifetime,
A treasure near impossible to find,
And I know how lucky I am to have you.
Cause I’ve seen rainbows that could take your breath away,
The beauty of the setting sun that ends a perfect day,
And when it comes to shooting stars,
I have seen a few,
But I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.

Cindy Dahlke