Unconditionally Sparky: A Tribute

Envoy Enterprises
131 Chrystie Street, NYC.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

One-day Exhibition: 12-6 PM
Including a selection of artwork from The Sparky Project
Reception: 6-8 PM.

Please join me in a time to remember and celebrate the lives of all our fuzzy friends that have shared their love unconditionally.

RIP Sparky

Words truly can't express how much I miss you with all my heart and soul. I love you Sparky.

Sparky's Massage

Sparky had his first massage therapy today. He seemed to quite enjoy it, and Lon Black (from Hope Vet) is very kind and talented. Sparky's back has been acting up again in the last couple of days, so I called Lon for an appointment. Yesterday, Sparky had a difficult time sitting down. He remained in downward dog position for some time, having difficulty in lowering his back legs. This morning he was moving very slowly on his walk, and when I can home in the afternoon, he had a hard time standing up. When he did finally get up, he immediately peed on the floor (unfortunately, in the house). After his massage, he did seem to loosen up, and is moving a little better. We have another appointment next week and hope for a speedy recover.

Sparky's tribute to Grace...

Sparky thinks this is a good look...

For those lonely dog nights...

DoggieLoveDoll

Bringing new meaning to the phrase doggie-style the world's first sex doll for dogs has gone on sale.The Doggie Love Doll is made for randy dogs ... and promises to save peoples legs, pillows and stuffed toys from over amorous doggie advances. Revealed in Brazil last week, it comes in three sizes and is made from soft rubber for the dog to get a good grip. Once, in position shall we say, there is a silicone hole for fido to get woofy with...

Continue reading here

Note: Sparky still prefers the real thing

Calming Needle

Sparky at his accupuncture appointment. He doesn't seem to mind, and I get better cell phone reception.

Sparky recommends The Really Big Mirabelle Show

UFO Festival Alien Pet Costume Contest

Meatball lets out a big yawn while awaiting the start of the 2009 UFO Festival Alien Pet Costume Contest at the Roswell Convention Center in Roswell, N.M. Read more here.

Sparky says "Happy Gay Pride!"

Sparky at BBQ Party

photo by John Sanchez

Pooches hang ten at Surf Dog competition

from News:lite

More than 60 dogs spent the weekend catching waves, rather than fetching sticks, at an annual US surfing dog competition.

The dogs competed in three different cat-egories for those under 40 pounds in weight, over 40 pounds, and teams, where humans joined the dogs on the boards.Some looked more comfortable than others perched on the surfboards, and while a few wore lifejackets, others were more than happy in just sunglasses.

Thousands of spectators turned up to watch the dogs - and no-one laughed at their doggy-paddling when they fell from their boards.

The event, Loews Coronado Bay Surf Contest, at California's Imperial Beach raised over $15,000 for charity. Kalani, a golden retriever, took first place in the large-dog category while Buddy, a Jack Russell terrier, won first place in the small-dog competition.

Sparky says congrats to Chanel - World Oldest Dog Turns 21

From The New York Post

By Adam Nichols

She's the world's oldest pooch, with 21 years under her collar, but she never learned how to beg.
"She's independent. If she didn't want to do something, she had a look she would give, and she usually got her way," Denice Shaughnessy joked of her aging dachshund, Chanel, whose 147th birthday — in people years — is Wednesday.

Chanel — named the oldest dog by Guinness World Records last year — is taking a rare trip from her Port Jefferson Station home in New York to mingle with canine buddies invited to her Manhattan birthday party.

The old girl's red hair faded to white a long time ago. Her cataracts force her to wear special doggie glasses and her bones feel the cold.

Her home is kept at a constant 72 degrees. She eats boiled chicken with whole-wheat pasta, and a specially selected soft treat designed for her ancient teeth.

And she spends her days relaxing at home, only taking walks in the summer.

Read more here

GLOW IN THE BARK BEAGLE

from the New York Post

By RITA DELFINER

Meet Ruppy, the glow-in-the-dark puppy.

The cloned beagle -- her full name is Ruby Puppy -- and four other pups glow because they have genetic information from sea anemones, a breakthrough scientists hope will help in the study of human diseases.

The pups produce a protein that glows under ultraviolet light, New Scientist magazine reported yesterday.

Researchers created the first transgenic dog -- so-called because it has genes transferred from another species -- by cloning and inserting cells that express a red fluorescent gene produced by sea anemones.

Scientists hope it will lead to transgenic dog models of human diseases, the magazine quoted one of the team members, CheMyong Ko of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, as saying.
"The next step for us is to generate a true disease model," he said.

The team that created Ruppy was led by Byeong-Chun Lee of Seoul National University in South Korea, who with stem-cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang was part of the scientific effort that in 2005 created Snuppy, the first cloned dog.

Greg Barsh, a Stanford University geneticist who studies dogs as models of disease, called it an "important accomplishment," according to the magazine.
But Nathan Sutter, a geneticist at Cornell University whose specialty is dogs, said "transgenesis is laborious, expensive and slow."

When the cost of tending to the animals and negative public impressions are factored in, few researchers might consider transgenic dogs, the magazine quoted him as saying. "It's not on my horizon as a dog geneticist at all."

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 says congrats to Bo

The First Puppy Makes a Big Splash, Bo, the Portuguese Water Dog.

The identity of the first puppy -- the one that the Washington press corps has been yelping about for months, the one President Obama has seemed to delight in dropping hints about -- leaked out yesterday. This despite White House efforts to delay the news until the big debut planned for Tuesday afternoon.

The little guy is a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog given to the Obama girls as a gift by that Portuguese water dog-lovin' senator himself, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The girls named it Bo -- and let it be noted that you learned that here first. Malia and Sasha chose the name, because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley, a source said. (Get it? Bo . . . Diddley?)

Bo's a handsome little guy. Well suited for formal occasions at the White House, he's got tuxedo-black fur, with a white chest, white paws and a rakish white goatee.

Read more here

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...

Just one click helps to feed hunger animals through The Animal Rescue Site.

www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Each click on the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at The Animal Rescue Site provides food and care for a rescued animal living in a shelter or sanctuary. Funding for food and care is paid by site sponsors and distributed to animals in need at the Fund for Animals' renowned animal sanctuaries (including Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in California), pet shelters supported by the Petfinder Foundation , North Shore Animal League , and other worthy animal care facilities supported by the GreaterGood.org foundation.

100% of sponsor advertising fees goes to our charitable partners.

You can also copy and paste the above link in an email and ask ten friends to ask ten others today!

Sparky says he likes Ankle Soup...

Pink dolphin appears in US lake

From the the Telegraph.co.uk
March 9, 2009

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.

Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter.

"It was absolutely stunningly pink.

"I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth.

(read more here)

NOTE: Sparky loves pink dolphins too!

Sparky is waiting for Spring...

Sparky is so over all this snow. He usually quite enjoys a romp in the white stuff, but today the snow was up to his waist and his ol' legs aren't what they use to be, so after kissing the snow with is face a few times, he was ready to go home...

Sparky gives face...

Okay, Sparky finally broke down and opened a facebook page. After his bad experience with MySpace (read details here) he wrote off all those networking sites, but he thought maybe he should give it one more chance (since his fans demand it). He is also sharing the page with Nelson. Sparky thought it would be best to start the page before Nelson turned 40 (any older and he'd look desperate). You can find them on facebook at Sparky n' Nelson Santos.

Let's be friends!

Sparky's Dizzy Spells

Sparky is having another case of the dizzy spells.

The veterinarian calls it Canine Vestibular Syndrome, which occurs frequently in older dogs. This is the third time in about two years this has happened to Sparky. It's very scary looking. He suddenly loses his balance, and falls down alot. He also tilts his head sideways, and is having a hard time keeping food in. The first time this happened, I thought he was having a stroke, so I rushed him to the vet and that's when they told me it was CVS. She said it's sorta like Sparky is on the teacup ride at Disneyland... They ran the usual test, which were all normal. I was told it normally goes away by itself after a couple of days. It did and I'm hoping Sparky will have another speedy recovery.

Meanwhile I'm keeping a close eye on him, and keeping him off any amusement park rides...

Sparky's friend Mirabelle

An Artist and His Nude Model

Be My Valentine

Sparky says congratulation Stumps

From one old dog to another, Sparky wants to congratulate Stumps for being the oldest Westminster Dog Show Winner! Not only is Stumps 10 years old, he also survived a severe illness years ago that nearly killed him. But as they say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger...

The only complaint is, that the Westminster show is still canine racist. If there was a Mutt category, Sparky would still steal the show...even at 17 years old!

Hello 2009!