Category: Sparky (Page 5 of 18)

Sparky Takes Umbrage – Breakfast

Sparky is offended by the assumption that I got my cold from him.

Oh yeah, he finally got about of bed around noon.  That gave me time to consider adapting my cold mitigation protocol for him.

For breakfast, I gave him a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.  It’s the regular chicken soup, the kind you only have when you’re sick.  Not the good, chunky, kind with chicken and dumplings, or broccoli and cheese.

I was going to give him just a half-can, but there is nothing in that stuff, but broth and noodles.  He got the whole can, diluted with water.  Sparky lapped it up with no regrets. 

Don’t give me that bit about there being too much salt for dogs.  Sparky and I don’t go for that new age jibber-jabber.  If I can eat it, then Sparky can too.  It doesn’t go both ways, and that is where Sparky takes umbrage.

Sparky thinks I should at least try goose shit or raccoon tail.  I am unpersuaded.  He says that I don’t value his perspective.

That led to other issues that we had to hash out.

Sparky may have given me his cold.

I don’t even know if that’s possible, but with viruses, something isn’t possible until it happens, or everything is possible all the time.

Bird flu infects animals.

Just days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a new order that all raw (unpasteurized) milk must be tested for bird flu, reports have emerged of animals dying of the virus.

In Los Angeles County, the public health department is investigating the deaths of two cats that reportedly consumed recalled raw milk.

After drinking the milk, the felines displayed symptoms that included lack of appetite, fever and neurologic issues, according to a press release from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

That just doesn’t sound plausible.  Cows don’t even like birds.   Haven’t I seen articles about how milk shouldn’t be given to cats?  It’s sounds like fake news so the USDA can hassle people about drinking raw milk.  Isn’t it more likely that the cat ate a sick bird?

In the last couple of days, Sparky has been snorting quite bit.  Not an animal snort, that can mean anything, but a people snort.  The rapid inhale through the nose, while raising the head, to clear the sinuses.

When Sparky snorts, it’s pitiful.  He has to stop, looks down, and aggressively snorts several times.  He can’t keep walking or do anything else when he snorts.  It’s heart-breaking because I want to help, but there’s nothing I can do.

It’s like watching your girlfriend vomit.  You hold her hair and murmur something supportive because the entire situation is humiliating and you’d like to make it less uncomfortable.

Sparky sniffs with reckless abandon.   It’s surprising that he doesn’t suck up more debris and have to sneeze or snort all the time.  He doesn’t.  Most of our friends have never seen him snort.

Yesterday, he was snorting pretty often.  This morning, after he got out of bed, we chatted for a bit, went out for a piss, and he went back to bed.  That’s very unusual.  Typically, he would lay by the wood stove and dog nap.  

So, Sparky and I have a cold.  At least that’s my conclusion.  Sparky won’t mope or complain about it as much as I will.

Sparky doesn’t let me sleep.

I should be at Costco or Planet Fitness right now, but since I usually wake up around 7 am, an early afternoon nap seemed like a good idea.  Being a well-mannered pup, Sparky waits for an invitation to hop up on the couch.  He is far too cute not to be invited up.

Sparky likes helping me take naps, but if I stop petting him for 10 seconds or so, he squirms his way into an alert posture. 

If my eyes are closed, he assumes that I intend to sleep the day away and hops off in search of better opportunities.  If my eyes are open, he stares at me trying to hypnotize me again.  If I start petting him, he reclines back to his adorable lounging posture. 

Sparky sleeps all the time, so I asked why he was being a dick about me falling asleep.  He said that he doesn’t sleep during the day, but takes power naps.  He pointed out that his eyes stay open, which I knew, and he is only 80% asleep.

Sparky said the artist, Salvador Dalí, adapted his dog nap trick when he started taking naps while holding a spoon over a plate sitting on the floor.  He also said that Dalí had the original idea to paint dogs playing poker, but dropped the concept because dogs can’t bluff. 

As usual, I’m not sure what Sparky is talking about.

Sparky’s Christmas present.

It’s a good thing I ordered early.  Sparky would have lost all faith in my judgement.  The pet bed warmer I got for Sparky is completely ineffective.  I’d have better luck keeping Sparky warm by reciting bawdy limericks all night.

It has an Amazon rating of 4 1/2 stars with 7000 votes.  People are idiots or something.  The instructions recommend placing it under a couch cushion all night to test it.  The area gets about as warm as placing your hand under a couch cushion all night.  That isn’t convenient or comfortable, but it also isn’t very effective.  This pad uses 4 Watts of electricity. 

I bought it on reviews, and not the specifications, so my bad.

Instead, I bought him this heating pad that I didn’t know still existed.  It’s a Sunbeam old-style heating pad.  Old-style means that it just has a low-medium-high switch.  My heating pad is the modern variety that turns itself off after some length of time.  That is supposed to be a safety feature that i find very inconvenient.

On high, it uses 50 Watts, and is for when you really need heat.  For Sparky, it goes under the mat cover and is mildly warm on low.  Both pads are made about the same, and cost about $17.

I’m going to get a bigger one for myself, and throw the modern heating pad away.

Sparky and I are thinking about the future.

 

Maybe your brain works better.

When we go for walks, a recurring thought comes to mind.  Sparky likes to lead.  That’s good, his confidence is admirable.  I can’t help thinking how much Sparky, from this angle, resembles the X-ACTO model 1744 electric pencil sharpener I bought for my classroom. 

It’s not like I am ever going to get Sparky stuffed, with an electric pencil sharpener inside.  That’s crazy, right?  Still though, that would be a great pencil sharpener.

Sparky and I have a nice setup, but he thinks stupid, morbid shit all the time too.  When he looks down on the compound, he can’t help thinking about how he’s going to change things when I’m gone.

He wants to put in a creek that goes from the road to the land bridge, with some big rocks and a bunch of drain pipes that go off to the sides.

That’s all to say that Sparky and I are not sentimental, but appreciate the little moments as they come.

If I go first, I hope Sparky gets his creek and doesn’t get his fat ass stuck in a pipe.  If Sparky goes first, he said I can make him into a pencil sharpener if it isn’t too loud, but he wants to chew on the tail if I don’t need it for the pencil sharpener. 

Again, I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about with that last part, but he seems content.

Sparky wants to get a bunny.

I’ve been scanning and organizing old photos.

Sparky was getting bored with the project until we got to these photos from when I was an RA during my senior year at Ohio State.  I and the other new RA’s in the Barrett Complex where the fun group.  Lisa thought it would be a good idea if we got a pet rabbit.  Pets weren’t allowed in the dorm, so it seemed a little subversive.  Only a little because the dorm director and assistant dorm director were also new and in favor of fun.

It didn’t take much for Lisa to convince us.

We named him Travis, and rotated him around our rooms so housekeeping wouldn’t catch on.  He was smart.  Since we were RA’s, our residents came by pretty often.  We trained Travis to run into the bathroom if someone thumped on the floor.  He also did his dirty business in there.

Sparky thinks we should get a bunny.  I’m not so sure. 

Best Science Images of 2024.

Nature: Best Science Images of 2024

Take a minute to check out those images, they are quite splendid.  Well, a couple weren’t great, but the rest are amazing.

Sparky and I are relaxing with coffee, and he wanted me to post this photo of an ermine chimneying up a crack.  Sparky told me that if he didn’t have to be my spirit animal, he’d quite like to be a dog weasel. 

It was a bit harsh to remind him that I got him a weazel ball, and he is afraid of it.  A weazel ball is a little scary looking.  He doesn’t like how the weazel ball lurches around when it’s turned on.

Sparky was getting defensive.  He shouldn’t start the day in a grumpy mood, so I reassured him.  I said that when I met him at the orphanage, I thought he was a dog weasel.  That was two years and 5 pounds ago, but he is still pretty weaselly. 

That perked him up, and he thought we should try the weazel ball again.  This year, Sparky has gained experience with RC cars, so buzzing, lurching motion may not be as unsettling.

Sparky doesn’t understand Christmas.

My sister stopped by to make Sparky and I look silly.  That was nice.

Afterward, Sparky wanted me to explain Christmas.  He missed the point of the whole thing.  Now Sparky wants to meet a donkey so they could be friends, he accused me of making up camels because they don’t seem plausible at all and he wants to go to a stable.  With all that straw, there must be a bunch of mice, and chasing mice is even more fun than Mr. Moose.

Failing at the true meaning of Christmas, I switched to Santa Clause and gift-giving.  Sparky doesn’t understand gifts.  To him, if he sees a toy, he has a toy.  I asked if he wanted something special for Christmas.  Something that he always wanted, but that wasn’t a dead raccoon or rotisserie chicken.

Sparky wants a bunch of mice.  Not pet mice, but a bunch of mice running around the house.  I wonder why I even talk to him.

I’m getting Sparky a dog warmer.  It looks like this:

I’m not going to tell him about it, but just put it in his bed when he isn’t looking. Sparky would take umbrage at the suggestion that he needs pampering.

Sparky is fond of laying in front of a warm fire. The house is like 75o, but he loves sleeping in front of the wood stove.  When I pet him, he is really warm.  He’s a hotdog that looks like a haggis.

It isn’t pampering.  With the wood stove, the house is warm, but my bedroom is cool.  It’s great for sleeping, but Sparky doesn’t have a fluffy comforter.  He wouldn’t want one, he is not for burrowing in to sleep.  In the evening, he wants to sleep by the fire instead of going into the bedroom.  That’s okay with me, he can do whatever he wants, but he eventually comes into the bedroom in case I need him for something.

In the morning, his ears are often cold.  That’s how you can tell a dog is too cold.

I am an accommodating guy, but people who let their dog sleep in bed with them, seem gross.  Sparky farts out of his mouth and has some glands in back that I don’t understand.  He isn’t allowed on the couch until I spread out a blanket. 

Besides, my bed is elevated, like this.

Sparky would spend the whole time peering over the edge, trying to judge whether or not he could survive a jump to the floor.  Darn it, now I want to put Sparky in my bed to see if he would  jump or not. 

He would be polite about it.  When I put him in bed, he would lick his paws a bunch of times to make sure they were clean.  A bunch of slobber from a guy who farts out of his mouth isn’t my idea of clean, but Sparky doesn’t agree.  Plus, those butt glands.

If he decided not to jump, he would spend the night sitting next to me, wondering what is expected of him.  Sparky wouldn’t lay down because that would seem creepy, like he wants to spoon or something.

So, Sparky gets a bed warmer.  I hope he doesn’t get me anything. 

The “Isle of Dogs” movie is an 8/10.

Sparky and I are watching Isle of Dogs from 2018We are enjoying it, but it may not be for everyone.  Being directed by Wes Anderson would be quirky enough, but it’s filmed in stop motion animation.  It looks like an indie film, but has loads of voice talent.  The dogs are voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray , Yoko Ono, and others.

A corrupt government wants to get rid of all the dogs in the city.  To get citizen support, a government bio lab spreads snout fever and dog flu.  All dogs are confiscated and transferred to Trash Island.  A 12 year-old boy won’t stand for it, and flies to Trash Island to rescue his dog.  He faces danger and struggle, but won’t stop until he finds Spot.

It’s a poignant movie about loyalty and friendship.  Sparky and I were having a moment when I told him that I would always come looking for him, no matter what.  Sparky wanted to hear more about Trash Island.  He wanted to know if dogs could eat garbage whenever they wanted, and did I think there were raccoons there. 

I don’t know how I’d rate Isle of Dogs since it’s so stylized.  I liked it, so 8/10, but many people wouldn’t enjoy it. 

Sparky can play it all.

 

If Sparky was a SAG member, he’d be the Billy Bob Thornton of dog actors.

Billy Bob Thornton has a great range.

Sparky can do that.

We need you to be a greyhound or one of those skinny runners.

Can you do a thoughtful St. Bernard or one of those softball thick kind of dogs?

You’re a vampire, ready to strike.

The doctor says, “Say, ahhhhh.”

Give me inscrutable Asian dog.

Sparky can go all day.

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