Acupuncture for Sparky

Sparky had his first acupuncture appointment today. His Ch'i runs a little hot. His yin is good, but he could spice up his yang. He didn't really seem to mind the needles and he certainly liked all the treats. I hope all of this will help his back.

Take two asprin and call the accupunturist

Sparky went back to the vet this weekend. The vet thinks he might have a slipped disc. He was given some Deramaxx for the inflammation and arthritis. He is also going to start accupuncture next week. At least the nice weather perked him up and we enjoyed some long walks in the neighborhood.

Sparky's results are in...

Sparky test results are in, but are inconclusive "it is difficult to reliably differentiate between epithelial hyperplasia and benign and malignant epithelial neoplasia in this sample". A "biopsy and histopathology is recommended", so we made an appointment with a specialist.

He seem to be doing better in some ways, but he is also whining and crying alot, especially before he lays down.

More to come...

Bad Haircut get worse...Sparky goes to the vet

Sparky's bad haircut experience just got worse. One of the cuts he got looks infected and is still bleedy, so I took Sparky to the vet. Sparky is not happy with me.

Sparky had two wounds cleaned and examined. Unfortunately, the groomer cut a skin growth on his tummy. It's a large cut and while the vet was examining the wound, she became concerned about the condition of the skin growth. She took some cell tissue samples, and we are waiting for results. Meanwhile Sparky is on anti-biotics and wrapped up like a little mummy.

Bad Haircut Day

Sparky got a bad haircut today (okay, that's not him in the picture, that would have been better). Not only was the haircut not what I asked for (I requested a slight trim, not a summer buzz). It's still 40 degrees out, why would they cut it this short?!? But the worse thing is that they cut him in two different places, like, bleeding, ouchy, nasty cuts! I was really upset, and Sparky was even more upset (naturally).

He got his haircut at Kiki's Pet Groomers in Brooklyn. We have been there before, and in the past his haircuts have been fine, but this time it was a different groomer, and after this, I would NEVER go back again. Poor guy, now I got to go out and buy him a sweater.

Sparky is big in Scotland!

This is from the The Scotsman Newspaper. (Sparky has never been to Scotland, but I friend emailed this to us...Sparky is truly an international inspiration!)

Randsom Top Tens: Inspirational Cats and Dogs

March 14, 2009

1 JOE and Josephine French poodles that belonged to shlock novelist Jacqueline Susann, the woman who gave the world Valley of the Dolls. One dog inspired the short story Along Came Joe, while the bitch provided Susann with the idea for Every Night Josephine!, which went on to be a bestseller.

2 Bimbo, Fritzi, Nuggi and Mys Marina Alberghini was so inspired by Swiss artist Paul Klee's love of the above-mentioned cats that she wrote a book, Il Gatto Cosmico di Paul Klee, in 1993, in which these kitties featured.

3 Bettina, Chundo, Fay Wray et al The world's most famous weimaraners have been endlessly immortalised by their owner, photographer William Wegman.

4 Taki Raymond Chandler used to call this black, female Persian cat (above) his secretary, and he always read her the first drafts of his crime novels.

5 Catarina Another black, feline muse, she belonged to Edgar Allen Poe, who took her everywhere and allowed her to perch on his shoulder as he wrote – notably, The Black Cat, which was all about her.

6 Foss Beloved of nonsense poet Edward Lear, this pet not only featured in many a drawing collected in The Heraldic Blazon of Foss the Cat, it inspired him to pen The Owl & the Pussycat. Lear only outlived Foss by two short months.

7 Tulip Skittish and untameable, this Alsatian was the light of novelist JR Ackerley's life – his devotion was almost pathological – and inspired him to pen the memoir My Dog Tulip.

8 Boatswain Lord Byron was so overcome with grief when his dog perished that he wrote Epitaph to a Dog: "Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed beauty without vanity, strength without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices."

9 Flush Elizabeth Barrett's cocker spaniel and, allegedly, the bane of husband Robert Browning's existence, provided Virginia Woolf with all the inspiration she needed to commit the dog's biography to print.

10 Sparky Multi-media artist Nelson Santos lives and makes art with this adorable black and white mutt (above). Via The Sparky Project (www.sparkyandnelson.com), launched in 2004, more than 100 artists have created portraits of or tributes to this photogenic dog.

Sparky says, please click below to help feed a hungry cat or dog...

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