The Day and the Life of Mr. Sparky
(adopted 2008)

The day and time that Mr. Sparky was born doesn’t really matter, but the fact that he believes and acts like a human being has earned him the right to use the title ‘mister’ before his surname.

Several years ago in the month of June, while temperatures reached 110 degrees by noon, this gentle soul found his way out of the dusty clay fields, towards the sounds of familiar barks from the SPCA compound in Fresno, California. Early that morning, the first volunteer to arrive looked over by the fence  to what appeared to be a stuffed animal.  Looking more carefully, he soon realized it was a dog sitting oddly on his rear-end, like a teddy bear, smack in the middle of a small piece of cardboard. The volunteer called over to this dingy-orange dog with a serious stare, who simply turned his head, like if he were asking, “Are you talking to me?”   He soon raised the back of his ears as if waiting for a second call, and when the volunteer crunched down and whistled, the dog instantly changed his serious look, to what appeared to be a smile and jolted up.   As he started towards the volunteer, his tail wagging like a small propeller, it was soon apparent the dog was in pain.   He struggled to walk, which later proved to be fox-tails that were buried and making its way through the pads of his infected paws.

Even though this dog was in extreme pain, he proceeded to show his gratitude by jumping up and repeatedly licking the volunteer everywhere he could reach.
The staff noticed he did not want to sit on the concrete floor and placed him in his own cage with a blanket.    It was apparent he was very different.    His attitude was optimistic, as he loved on everyone who approached his cage, but sadly, people who saw him, were critical.  They would always make a comment about his eyes.   For example, “He’s got human looking eyes. He’s eyes are too strange.  He’s scary looking. He has eyes like an old man. But the most common….He’s eyes are too creepy.”
As this dog watched his friends being adopted, day after day, week after week, his fate looked grim.    It was like he knew his time was running out, and it was.    He relentlessly ran to greet anyone who walked by…hoping for a kind heart.

On a June afternoon, as people were making their way to the kennels, he decided is was time to be aggressive like he had watched the other dogs do, who seemed to get adopted, and he quickly pressed his face against the cage looking up with his eyes as if saying, “Please take me home.”

A woman, who didn’t want to be there and whose husband dragged her in to get a replacement dog, after losing her beloved friend, stopped with amazement.  She stared and watched the desperation in this dog’s actions as he looked straight into her eyes.   She responded, “Look at you!  You look like a little human, begging for me to take you home.”    He looked so serious, even after opening the cage, as if he questioned her intentions and feared being rejected.   But the woman immediately fell in love with this little man who looked like a dog.

They would both have to wait two more days, so that he could get ready for his big adoption day.  On that special day, the woman was thrilled to see his transformation as he made his grand entrance into the adoption room.  He was once dingy-orange, sad and unsure of his future, but now he was showing off his beautiful white coat with confidence.  It appeared he had a smile on his face as he jumped up with gratitude as the woman bent down to greet him, licking her repeatedly on every place he could reach.


Years have gone by now, and this little ‘man’, named Mr. Sparky, is living the good life. He still sits on his rear-end, like a teddy bear, but only on chairs, as he wouldn’t dare sit on the floor. He’s a celebrity in his own right for having such human characteristics and is often photographed when he walks through Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Looking at him, with a red bow tie and his human looking eyes, one would expect that at any moment he would start talking……. It makes you wonder.
……Coming to YouTube soon……The Day and the Life of Mr. Sparky