In memory of Sparky

This page is dedicated to the memory of our Maltese Sparky, who recently passed away. He came to us from Kansas on March 17th, 1989. He was picked up at the airport in carrier cage. My family was afraid to open the cage in the airport, for fear that he would run away. They opened the carrier at my grandparents house to find a shaking, scared, beautiful white puppy, spotted in newspaper print. That was how it all started.....we named him Sparky. He was named Sparky after the decoy rabbit at the Naples-Bonita Springs dogtrack. Actually his name was Sparky Marco, as a purebreed, we were advised he had to have a middle name. The name was appropriate for a few reasons-

1) He was full of energy when he was a puppy
2) He looked like the decoy fake rabbit at the dog track
3) My father won $500 in 1989 at that track & used it to buy him.

I have to admit I was not crazy about the idea. I was allergic, but was assured he was hypoallergenic. After a few nights of being contained the kitchen and crying for his mother, he settled down. He was a large pure Maltese, and lucky for him-he had a few close calls with being stepped on!!! We were told he would never be a show dog because of his size, but we didn't care, we just wanted a pet. Soon he has getting spoiled! Begging for food at the table, we bought him a bed, toys, treats, and let him sleep at the end of our beds. He was a house dog and spent limited time (on a rope) outside. He came to see our mother as his mother and often jumped up on her lap to be petted. He litterally beame a lap dog! He was considered slightly overweight at 14 pounds, which was his full grown weight.

Sparky's favorite activities-

Running figure eights in the house,
jumping on the couch,
barking incessently at anyone in uniform,
eating,
sleeping,
lying on the couch and being petted,
getting his white coat dirty,
running around the house with underwear,
bras, and nightgowns from the laundry,
shredding paper under the table,
chasing after flashlights pointed at the ceiling

During his life, he was never in a kennel. He saw two of his "sisters" get married to two "neices"
come into the famly. He accepted that pretty well. We found out at about a year or so that he
had a weak larynx and that we should never use a choker collar on him (which we did not). He sometimes coughed and we would massage his throat when he did. He also had freckles. Other than that no medical problems. In the summer of 2000, after his coughing and choking worsened, we was diagnosed by the vet as having congestive heart failure. The vet gave him 6-7 months to live, maybe less. We were shocked and upset. In spite of lasix and other medication he was on, he did worsen, slowly at first and then more rapidly the last few weeks. Sparky was really losing his spark and no longer wanted to do the usual things he liked to do. It was a difficult decision, but on the morning of Dec. 18th, 2000, his suffering was too great and he was euthanized. In the final moments my brother and mother spent with him in the vet's office, he showed a spark of life and for a few brief minutes he wagged his tail, looked excited and wanted to curl up against my mother. It only made it harder for them. I interprit those actions as his final good-bye. Although weak and having difficulty breathing, he mustered up his strength to say a final "thank you" for all the love and care we gave to him in the nearly 12 years he spent with us.

As an afternote, I'd like to add that he is greatly missed in our house. My parents and brother feel an unexplained void in the house that only another pet owner who experienced this would know. We still feel like he will run into the room and jump onto the couch or onto our laps and look to be petted and spoiled. There is no dog to walk when we wake up or before we go to bed. No jumping dog to greet us at the door. His remains have been creamated and are in the house, so Sparky will be with us eternally. I do think he knew how much he was loved.