Sparky

Sparky

Sparky September 12, 2022

Sparky was surrendered to rescue on January 3rd, 2022.

A friend offered to come with me to pick him up and when she 1st saw him she laughed and said ’Holy cow, it’s Hank the Tank’€ We’ve always had a good laugh about that.

Sparky was a big Westie at 27 lbs., not overweight just a big stocky boy.

We soon learned that he was a gentle giant with the sweetest disposition. Sadly he was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease with a life expectancy of only 1 year. Sparky was such a calm dog and took everything in stride. He happily greeted every person and dog he met. He loved his cuddles, watching TV and his daily walks, he was not bothered by squirrels or cats like every other Westie I’ve known.

We had him for a month before we even heard him bark. His bark sounded more like a seal than a dog maybe because he didn’t often use his voice.

The few times he did bark was when he got overly excited playing with another dog, or perhaps he was just saying that he’d had enough.

Sparky never messed in our home but outside the door anything was fair game, my flower pots, my husband’s golf bag or a friend’s shoe at the door. He was such a sweet boy and so entertaining it was impossible for anyone to be upset with him. He was doing so well on his kidney meds and supplements that we were hopeful that he would live another 2 years and not just the expected 1 year.

Then in July he was diagnosed with Westie Lung Disease. Sparky never complained and never seemed to miss a beat with the endless vet visits and medications. In September things changed suddenly and we knew something was terribly wrong. Sparky who had a ferocious appetite stopped eating unless it was from the palm of my hand. That’s when we found out he had developed Pancreatitis. Sparky had 1 bad week and the last night with us the vomiting started and he lost the glimmer in his eyes.

We knew then that the kindest thing was to say our goodbyes and let him go in peace. It’s hard to believe that having Sparky for a short 8 months that it would be so heartbreaking to let him go.

We are honoured to have had you Sparky and we wish that it could have been for much longer, you are so missed! Sparky you were a gem of a dog! See you again some day on the other side big boy. Because Sparky was elderly and had many health issues he was part of Westie Rescue of Canada’s (WRC) ‘Permanent Rescue’ €program.

Special thank you to WRC for supporting Sparky’s medical bills.