my ball trick

Hi, I’m Sparky. I came into the world in April 2007 and met my amazing new parents at just 12 weeks old. They thought I was cute – boy were they in for a surprise. I would pretend at times to be potty trained – waiting by the door, but other times I would pee right in front of them. If they were at work I would hide my pee behind the couch – like a game of hide-n-seek; more fun for me than them. My mom loved me so much she felt bad about leaving me alone for hours – or she was tired of my pee game.

I got to play with the neighbor’s rabbit and the dog-sitter taught me to sit if I wanted a ball to play with. I would develop my first trick and my life long love; I now collect balls. As a puppy I would walk between my mom’s legs and sleep on her pillow. I would scratch her legs with my claws and freaked her out once when my mouth started bleeding. She simply forgot that I had puppy teeth to lose. She wanted to be my puppy tooth-fairy but my little teeth were too fragile in her rough hands.

that's me standing on the right, Piggy on the left

Soon I will learn to make all kinds of cool noises – most seem to annoy others but they are great at getting squirrels, cats, and small children to run so that I may chase them. I get taken to the park frequently to improve my ball-catching and speed-running skills; sometimes I have trouble using my brakes and have had a few torn pads. All the time spent in the car I will learn how to roll my window down. I jumped out after a squirrel, luckily at a stop sign, hit some rocks, and when mom saw blood she was nervous my brain fell out.

My parents travel a lot and love bringing me along to keep a snot-film on the windows to protect them from UV-rays. I like long walks on the beach and in the woods, except when there are ticks. I’m embarrassed of my mom’s love to play dress up – with me. It usually doesn’t take long so I sit willingly through most photos. I have been on a boat and flown on a plane. I’ve been driven across the country and don’t mind sleeping in strange beds.

I'm in a box!

(Seems someone is due to upgrade their account. I made a video of me and a turtle but am not able to load it, so I uploaded it to YouTube. I know soon this place will be covered in videos; I can’t wait.)

Sometimes my parents abuse me for my love of balls but usually what seems like abuse and torture to me means more delicious meaty treats when we’re done. I prefer to have my teeth cleaned than have my nails messed with. I know better than to bite, learned that as a pup, but I’ve been known to pinch. Not much for baths, but throw my ball in the ocean and I will be the first to rescue it. I may be a momma’s boy but me and dad have a love/hate relationship; and he throws the ball farther.

Sometimes mom goes on trips without me, or dad, so they decided to get me a girlfriend when I was three. She likes to eat and sleep more than I do and she is secretly crazy but I like having someone around that I can chew on. Dad made us some awesome coats for our wintery trips and likes to buy me bones to chew on so that I don’t chew the hair off my tennis balls. I also have ones that squeak and talk and will play with lemons, not for too long, and snowballs too. What’s your favorite toy in the world?

a sample of my toys