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Sparky's
beginning
Sparky was born in an Indiana's
breeder's kennel on July 2, 2001, and was sold as a puppy to a house
hold that was composed of 3 adult males, 1 adult female and a 3 year
old little girl. Eight months later he was dumped in a shelter. The
owner release form that was completed and turned over with him,
tells what a great pet he was, his only problem was that he knocked
over their toddler. As I found out later this was not the total
truth. I have no way to verify what his early life was like but I
can tell you this, he wasn't your typical happy 8 month old Saint. I
went to Terre Haute to rescue him and the first impression he made
on me was on my right hand where he bit me as I reached out to pet
him. I now knew that he had a problem with strange men, hence a
possible clue to his past.
Sparky
in
rescue
At the time I rescued Sparky I had a
working agreement with a boarding kennel where I kept my rescued
Saints and worked off the bill. It was there that I first started
working with Sparky. I showed him to people on many occasions and
started building a profile. He did not like strangers and really
went off if he was introduced to very young girls.
Remember the
family that he came from? I have no training other than OJT in
evaluating dogs but common sense told me that in his past his
interaction with a little girl had left a lasting, negative
impression on him. I have to believe that someone in that household
was over punishing/abusing Sparky up to the time he was dumped at
the shelter.
After living at the boarding kennel for
many months Sparky and a Saint buddy of his, Whiskey, were evicted
as the kennel changed hands and was no longer rescue friendly.
Hoping both would get adopted quickly they were taken in by two
friends that have a private shelter at their residence. They also
took in Reno, a third rescued Saint but who was placed within a
short time. Next, Whiskey was adopted and that left Sparky the only
Saint on the block. He underwent additional training there and made
slow but continual progress in his social
skills.
One crazy afternoon I was up at the
private shelter doing chores and Luann and Bill, the owners, were
working with their horses. Sparky always found the horses
interesting but was never allowed to interact with them. Bill was
leading one horse and another broke and ran startling the one Bill
was leading and Bill took a kick which Sparky witnessed. I don't
really know what the mechanism was but in all the commotion and
craziness Sparky grabbed one of his Westie buddies and shook it as
if to kill. The Westie survived but I knew now that Sparky had worn
his welcome thin so I decided it was time to get this settled.
Sparky was moved to a sanctuary in Kansas owned and run by Maureen
and Teri. He was there with about 35 or so other dogs and was a
happy camper but this was only a stop over until his last round of
training began. As with all others that got to know Sparky, Maureen
and Teri really loved the big boy and added to his quality of life.
Finally, Trish, the behaviorist that was going to attempt to
straighten Sparky out had room for him to be moved to her place so
Sparky moved again. The last pictures below are of Trish working
with Sparky. In about a month she had him acting the perfect
gentleman and his fear of strangers seemed to be in the past. We
started accepting applications for his adoption, still not allowing
any small children to be involved.
Sparky's Unforgivable Act
Sparky had kennel facilities at Trish's
but she allowed him to live in the house most of the time. On his
last Friday he and Trish were in the house and a friend of Trish's
opened the front door and came in. Sparky ran by her and headed out
the door but Trish intervened by trying to close the door. For
several months after I rescued Sparky he always appeared to be
glaring at you, very hard eyes, but after he had been at the private
shelter with Luann and Bill his look softened and this was
considered a mile stone. HOWEVER, Trish recounted, as she tried to
close the door, how is eyes hardened, she turned away; he then
jumped her, shook her, took her to the floor and inflicted a full
depth bite. His demon had returned and when he left this time Sparky
was going with him. It was now obvious that Sparky could never be
trusted hence never adopted into a family. Policy dictated that he
be euthanized. Trish called me and told me this story and so I
authorized his death. Sparky had been a part of me for a couple of
years and without sounding melodramatic, killing him hurt me deeply.
In my opinion, Sparky is still not to blame; the humans that
originally purchased him and tormented him for his first eight
months are the ones who slid the needle into his Saintly
vein.
I regret that Sparky could not have been
rehabilitated but even more so, I regret that my friend Trish had to
take the bites as well as now live with the sad memory of
Sparky.
Trish remembers
Sparky
The first time I saw Sparky he was in the
back of Carl's van in a large wire crate. As soon as I came into
view, he began barking and lunging with saliva being flung from side
to side, eyes hard. Carl got him out of the crate with a slip leash
and together we walked him into our backyard where he began to run
like the wind and romp once off leash. It came time to take him to
Maureen and Terry's sanctuary where I could begin to evaluate him
and when he approached me I was able to pet him. He plopped down
next to me, leaning against me...not fully trusting but testing the
waters.
Almost a month later, the Sparkster was moved
back to our place by Carl. Together, we had put together a kennel
for him with a large igloo and lots of fresh straw. Each day I
worked with Sparky, teaching him to 'wait' for his food and 'sit'
before I entered the kennel. He learned quickly. His eyes began to
soften, and instead of barking when he saw me, Sparky would bounce
happily back and forth across the front of the kennel and then 'sit'
and 'wait' quietly for a full five minutes before I entered. He no
longer wanted his food first. He wanted attention and petting. He
would sit beside me before rolling over on his back to have his
tummy scratched. Sparky had begun to relax deeply and put on weight.
His activity level normalized. It was time to introduce him to my
Border Collies.
I had recently adopted a young Border
Collie pup named Jett who quickly became Sparky's best buddy.
Despite constant pestering from this rambunctious pup, Sparky was
patient. Together they chased each other across the yard, tugging at
toys, pawing at one another and when it came time to nap, the
Sparkster would roll onto his back and let Jett stretch out asleep
across his tummy in the sun. These are the images I hold in my
heart. Sparky enjoyed the other dogs, becoming part of the "Border
Collie" posse as Carl refers to them.
It wasn't long
before Sparky began joining the household. We brought him regularly
at night to brush him and give him alone time with us. He was
particularly gentle with my 76 y.o. mother who slipped Sparky
special treats. In fact, he declined to go outside in the morning
until he had searched for and found my mother to give her licks. He
often followed her around the yard when she was outside and when he
saw me come into the yard, he would bound toward me screeching into
a 'sit' at my feet.
Together, Sparky and I did lots of
"meet and greets" with strangers of whom he had originally been very
afraid. He was particularly happy to meet friendly strangers with
dogs. If there were dogs around the people, he was eager to greet
both. It seemed that many of Sparky's fears were being overcome.
And, this was true. But as it turns out Sparky had a few hidden
triggers that I'd never yet seen.
Carl described
Sparky's last day in part. What I remember is that Sparky and I had
been stretched out on the floor in a swath of sun in the great room.
I had spent time brushing him. Before long he went to
sleep...snoring loudly...and I put my head on his chest to nap too.
I couldn't have predicted any of what happened after this, but it
ended with Sparky's death. The Sparkster is the only dog I've had to
euthanize. I held him and then brushed him. Despite his having
inflicted serious injuries on me, I never felt fear with Sparky.
When his attack of me ended, his eyes once again softened and he
responded with a 'sit' upon my request. Sparky remains an enigma to
me and I loved him too.
Carl: Edit this if
you like...it is still so hard for me to talk about Sparky and look
back on the details of his last day. I don't know if I've really
done justice to him in this vignette because I don't have the words
I need to describe his impact on me. When a dog like Sparky offers
his trust it is a treasure...each of these rescue dogs are wounded
healers...they teach us and allow us into their lives despite their
past. Sometimes the past just never fades because the volume of
offenses exceeds what we are able to give them in the time
allowed.
Trish
In closing, I again want to thank
Luann and Bill, Maureen and Terry and Trish, her friend Mike and
Trish's Mother who gave Sparky love and attention and a quality of
life befitting a Saint.
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