Sparky update

I guess I feel like I want to get this off my chest and since I had let everyone in on Sparkys plight I figured I should go ahead and say what had happened even if it was not exactly the rosey ending I had hoped for. I really worked hard and did what I could and I hope that it had a happy ending, but I am not sure if it is all over or if we will ever really find out what happened to Sparky.

Sparky is a dog that just spent a few minutes in my life, but gosh, he will haunt me forever and has really occupied my mind a lot the last few days wondering how something like this happens. I have always thought that it has to be rough to be a dog and totally dependant on what happens with your owners, and what is happening in their life. You could be the best dog in the world and wake up one morning out in the cold, even if you spent your early years as a very well off, pampered, cherished pet.

Sparky is the little matted, poop encrusted Westie that I found at the shelter. He had a tag with a phone number, although the phone number was from out of this area and disconnected. I went home and was not sure the rescue group would take him because he was a mess and not very adoptable in the condition he was in. He had really dry encrusted eyes, and the matting and the smell and he had little cataracts, but the tag thing haunted me and I worried that someone had lost him on vacation, or he had been taken and what if someone was looking for him, when I saw him it was his last day before he could be euthanized.

I went home and did a lot of searches on the Internet. I found a name that matched the address and phone number. There had been enough info on the tag that I knew it all matched up. Then I searched for more current contact info for people with the name I found that I was sure were Sparkys owners.

I asked the head of the rescue to help and she found an article in the LA Times about the people and their house. It was a HUGE, gorgeous house that I found had sold for millions a couple of years ago. These people own a very profitable chain of stores, so I was really hopefully Sparky was going to be reunited and live the rest of his days taken care of like he should.

The head of the rescue called the corporate headquarters and found the people had moved across the country a few years ago, and a few hours later a man called and said Sparky had been given to him...but he just pretty much let him run around and he did not feel he could go and get Sparky out of the shelter. Sparky was in bad shape and it was obvious he had not been taken care of in a long time.

The original owners called and this had been their baby. The lady took him to work and he stayed in the office with her all day, he had surgery to repair his ACL when he had torn that, he had chronic dry eyes and they had got him the care he needed for that, he was their treasured pet. So how did it happen that she felt it necessary to give him to one of their workers, along with money to take care of him- for his food, vet expenses, etc. She felt it would be best for him to re home him here rather then take him with them. And we found out Sparky was about ten years old.

I had told the shelter we would take Sparky before we had made contact with his owners, so I went on Friday morning to get him, and they told me he had been adopted. I can not imagine he was adopted out. He was a mess and he was not even in a place where the public could see him yet. They told me he was off getting neutered and that is why I could not check on him....well, he was neutered years and years ago....I think I had put the hold on him and looking at his condition and his chances of adoption they put him down and just neglected to note that we had said we would take him. I could be wrong, maybe he really was adopted but it sure did not feel right when I was trying to find out what was going on.

I really actually felt sad for his owner, I did not understand it, but I do know hearing from her that she was devastated by the pictures of what Sparky looked like, and how he had obviously been living. I would hate to have to live with that, and she sounds like she really loved him but probably for what ever reason felt it would be easier to go ahead in her life without Sparky and just trusted it would all work out for him-so she gave him to an employee that used to play with Sparky at work. Can you imagine though what type of adopter would take a dog and then not even change the tag for almost two years, he still had the tag from the previous owner which is how we found them. I guess that would be the kind of owner that would not look for the dog or refuse to go and sign him over or get him out of the shelter when he was missing.

I only wish now that I had been able to find and get ahold of the owners a tiny bit faster because she was totally willing to pay to get Sparky out and get him all the medical attention he needed, and I am not sure if she would want him back, but we had found him a nice adoptive home with an older couple that lost their dog and just wanted a dog to hang with them. I hope I am so wrong and Sparky did get adopted and the shelter just can not keep their dogs straight....if Sparky went to a home I hope they will make his last years better then the last few years have been. Like I said I think it has to be really rough to be a dog some days.

Saturdays Trial

We had a great time at the VERY HOT TRIAL. It was an AKC trial in Pasadena, CA, and it was so hot. It was getting close to 100 degrees and since this is our first real heat weave, we were just not used to the heat, and there was not a shade tree to be seen. Final tally for Saturday: 2 courses-one open jumpers, one novice standard, 2 clean runs and 2 first places, and ONE TITLE.


Breeze was a super star and got her Novice standard title, she got a first in the Novice standard run with a clean run. I was so happy because we met all my goals.


I felt really excited about our standard run because Breezes contacts were beautiful, the start line was awesome and I loved that it was a course I could really plan where I needed to go and be-so it was a fun course. I was able to send Breeze to the table when I was about at the broad jump, then I stayed by there to lead out from the table, not because I needed to but I wanted to see how she would do and to give her a little room on the table. She got onto the table and held her stay, then blasted off as soon as she got her release, that was NEAT. The only thing I felt like I got in her way before the weaves by standing on her path but she got them, and she stopped about two feet from the end of the teeter, way into the yellow but not where she is supposed to stop, we have been working on that but she did stop before she should have but stayed until I released her so something to keep training but not a big deal.

The one HUGE suprise was on the dog walk I got a beautiful contact...but it was a 2020. We do a four on the floor, and I sat and debated on the course with myself wondering if I should insist she does the four on the floor, but I figured this 2020 happened before the 4 on the floor would have happened...and it did not seem like she was trying to push it and disregard her contact...so I felt like that was ok, especially because she worked to make sure she stopped. It was just funny when I saw her in that perfect 2020 stance, I did not expect that.

I felt a little better-not AS nervous as I felt for the open JWW- I think I wore myself out with my attack of the nerves earlier and I felt I had a good plan. I hope I get better with the nerves over time and with experience because that is not a pleasant feeling, I did breathe during this run so that was a positive step, LOL. I do think/hope it is getting better with each run.

Standard course:(you can click on the imagage to make it bigger)







How we Ran the course!





In our Open Jumpers course we got a first place and our first Open Jumpers Q with a clean run. That one was a pretty flowey course and pretty straight forward, I got my confidence shaken last week with our first disasterous open jumpers course so it was so cool to have a nice flowey course that we could handle well. We had a fantastic start line and the only bobble was when I sort of panicked, I did a rear cross into the weaves, so of course Breeze was ahead of me and I had planned to say her name and get her to check her speed, but she did not need that, I was so nervous I was not thinking and said her name which she was just about to take the weaves but glanced back at me, Super Star Breeze figured out pretty quickly I was being a total doof and turned back and still caught the weaves, that made a tiny bobble, but we still got scored with a clean, fast run. So proud of my Breeze, what a cool dog.

I did not do as good with myself, I think in the jumpers run I remember making myself BREATHE after the tunnel, I was fine until we walked, the nerves started going off and then at the start line I got all freaky feeling and nervous, I was not thinking just reacting and I know for a part of the course I was not breathing, LOL, not a good thing.

Any ideas on Breeze's latest quirk?

Look in any dictionary and right there next to the definition for QUIRKY will be a picture of my Breeze. Breeze is a great dog but she does have her little quirks for sure. So the newest quirky is a twist on an old quirk.

I really could use some ideas on how to handle it so she does not get hurt and so this behavior doesn't become a ingraned habit that will be harder to handle. It is quickly becoming a habit and I did try to tell her to stop it, but she was not listening, LOL.

Breeze has always had a bit of seperating anxiety. She used to have some full blown seperation anxiety as a pup but I worked with it and she does fine when I am gone, but she will panic when I am leaving her say in a crate in the car when I take one of the other dogs out, or when I leave our little camp at a trial and she is in her crate and even the last few days when I walk the course in class. She was always a little panicky but did ok if I sort of covered her and did not make a big deal of comings and goings-the things we origionally did to handle her seperation anxiety as a pup. So that has worked fine until lately and now she is getting in the habit of sitting and rubbing her nose against the bars or side of the crate until it bleeds. It looks horrible and she is really making the cut deeper and deeper. This just started and I do not want it to become a real habit. She is uninterested in chewing on bones or anything like that when this is going on. I had the vet look at it yesterday and she told me what I could put on it, but it sure seems like it is quickly becoming a habit of hers. She has only been doing it a week or two but now she is doing it every time I leave her. Yesterday I had to leave her in the crate while I took Skyler in to get blood drawn and came out to fresh blood all over her now. I have thought of just mostly leaving her out on a mat in a stay for when I can do that but I can not do that all the time. Last weekend at the trial I put her in a soft crate and she still got her nose bloody.

As far as good news for the Breezie girl, ...I took her for her acupuncture and chiro adjustment and keep in mind she has been working more then she ever has...and Dr. Modglin said she feels more in alignment and better balanced then she ever has. YIPPIE, she is holding up really well even with the increased amount of agility. I think the warm weather is really helping.





SPARKY UPDATE-I have worked my little computer to the bone and think I may have found something to help little Sparky from my post yesterday. Please everyone say a little prayer because this could be cool for the little guy...I think I have figured out who his owner is and now just to find how to get ahold of them...and if I am right Sparky came from a very good life, so hopefully we can get him hooked up with is old life-I just have a feeling about poor Sparky so I am praying this all works out.

CHECK THOSE TAGS....your dogs life could depend on it...

This is Sparky, a purebred Westie. At least I am assuming this is Sparky....Poor guy has almost no chance of living to the end of the week ;-(-unless a little miracle happens, and that makes me sick to my stomach. Sparky STINKS to high heaven, I am sure with all that must have happened with him in the last few days he must have had a little upset stomach and so he had some diarrhea and his little butt is all caked with poo. And he really is not matted, his coat is actually in pretty good condition, he has been fairly recently groomed, and he is a little chunky, someone has been feeding him a little too well. Sparkys eyes are a little cloudy, but his teeth look like he is younger, like I am guessing about four or five???

So this is the part that makes me really feel sick. Sparky had a collar on when he got picked up as a stray. A collar with a READABLE tag, with his name and phone number and address. So WHY is Sparky still sitting at the shelter with little chance of walking out? Well, the tag has a phone number from a city about 1 1/2 hours away and it is disconnected. He was picked up in a Hesperia, CA. I spent all afternoon yesterday googling and I found what I believe is his owners name, but everything lists their address as the address that is on the collar, and I can only find the phone number that is on the tag and it is disconnected. I even talked to a mail man at agility class last night to see if he could help me find any sort of new address or forwarding info for these people. The shelter told me they sent a letter to the address on the tag and have received no response. What I am GUESSING is that these people moved and Sparky got out, but no one has come looking. It might be that they just are not that concerned but what makes me feel so bad is what if they do care? And Sparky is not going to get another home, this shelter is a very high kill shelter and he is stuck in the corner and he is pretty depressed, and he is pretty ugly looking right now.

WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP A TAG IN GOOD CONDITION ON THEIR DOG AND NOT UPDATE THE INFORMATION? Ughghghg. It could mean a dogs life, so I hope everyone will look at their dogs tags and make sure they are READABLE, CURRENT, and I really like to put a couple of phone numbers and even usually put a friends cell in case something happens on vacation or something like that. My favorite tags that I use for all my dogs now is the boomerang tags-I like the collar tags because they do not make noise, the dogs do not get them caught in anything and no chance of teeth getting caught on them when they are playing (I have wild players) and I have some of these tags that have been on my dogs for years and they look like the day I got them. I have never had one come off, and they are super easy to move from one collar to another if I want to change collars, so I got one of two or three sizes for each dog, then when I switch collars I just find the size for that collar stick it on and my dogs are all set with their ID. I can get a lot of info and numbers on these tags which is a huge thing. http://www.boomerangtags.com/






Another thing I wish people did is to make some sort of concrete plans for what happens to their dogs if the unthinkable happens and we are hurt or die. This morning I am taking Maynard whose owner died a couple of days ago, they had made arrangements for Maynard-another westie, a 4 yr old male. The son had been instructed to make arrangements for his breed rescue to take him and they left a donation to make sure he would get taken in. Two months ago I had a pair of female westie sisters that the owners loved. The owners were 80 years old when the family got them the two sisters as puppies for a birthday gift, ughghhg. One of the parents was taking care of the other who had altzheimers. The care giver spouses health was going down hill so they made arrangements for the rescue I work with to take the dogs in so the sisters who had always been together would get a good home and would stay together. The caregiven made a sudden down hill slide and had to go to the hospital and so the other spouse was sent to a home and the dogs were left in the house by themselves. The family who were put out having to handle their parents sudden change of circumstances went back to the parents home and just let the dogs out, loose to fend for themselves. I tried to catch the dogs but animal control got ahold of them first, and the sisters did find homes, I was able to get one for the rescue but another lady took the other one so they did end up seperated but at least they ended up safe. Anyway, always good to tell someone what you would like done with your dog so that they are safe even if we can not be there with them. Glad Maynards owners thought about him in advance and he will be going to San Diego today to be groomed then to meet his new adoptive family.

So what will happen to Sparky. I don't know. If this was my shelter that is by my house, I have worked there as a volunteer doing temperment testing and I know them and I know they would let me take little Sparky and get him cleaned up so he had a chance. This particular shelter will not let anyone touch the dogs. I talked to the kennel worker there and offered to pay for grooming, and she said that if the grooming van was able to get there she would try to get him in. Dogs like Sparky don't have a lot of safety nets, lots of people are willing to adopt young, great looking dogs, but poop encrusted middle aged dogs are not so lucky, and then there are dogs like Maynard that are the lucky dogs-that one is a good story I guess ;-).