Sparky Flake

10 August 2020, The saddest news

Sparky’s mum, Kathy said:

“I am sorry to announce that we had to say goodbye to Sparky on Monday 10th August.

Sparky was the brightest boy I’ve ever known, so eager to learn new tricks. He came to us with some behavior issues, but we worked on them until he was just a joy to be around. He taught me so much about dogs, and how to help them.

In 2014, we moved with Sparky to the United States, and four years later, we moved back to England. He was so happy to be back here, among familiar places. He was well traveled, though he always traveled better in planes than cars. I wrote the following after we got him, about the lucky day when he came to be with us. https://whatdoiknow.typepad.com/what_do_i_know/2013/09/sparkys-irish-luck.html

We both lucked out that day–the day our Irish luck kicked in! We miss him terribly–the house just isn’t the same without his big brown eyes staring at me from across the room.

Thank you to IRR for bringing this boy to me. He was the light of my life these almost-ten years.”

History

FIRST REPORT FROM HIS FOSTERER

Sparky is an 18 month old Golden mix, a gorgeous guy who looks almost all Golden. His huge “cartoon dog” eyes remind everyone of Doug, the dog from the movie Up.

Sparky has loads of energy, and loves jumping over the dry stream in the back garden. He might be good at agility, since he’s so slim and agile. It’s a joy to watch him run flat out in the garden!

Sparky attaches easily to people who care for him—on Day One, he hated to be far from me, but we’re hoping he’ll relax and let me out of his sight after he’s assured I won’t be leaving him. Although he’s got plenty of energy, he definitely has an off switch. He lets me work in peace at my desk, only coming alert when I rise to get food – his favourite thing—or to go outside.

He needs some training in good manners: he likes to jump up on people, but he seems to be quickly catching on that we humans don’t like that. A quick turn sideways and a sharp Off! are enough to convince him that being on four feet is preferred. He’s relatively well-behaved on a lead, however. After the first few minutes of trying to pull, he settles down quite nicely.

He barks vigorously at the postman and other voices from outside, but is quiet most of the time. He should settle down when he learns what are normal sounds. He greeted the gardener nicely once he knew he was a friend and not an intruder!

Since he was observed misbehaving around other dogs, Sparky needs a dog-free home. He’s not been observed around cats. He doesn’t seem to want to play much, so a home without children might be best, especially since he can be rambunctious and would easily knock over a little one.

It’s obvious Sparky was in a nice home situation at one time. His owner had to give him up when he found out he was dying from cancer. Sparky is completely house trained and has not had an accident.

UPDATE 2 NOV 2010

Sparky has made a lot of progress these last weeks. First, we’ve been working on his issues with other dogs. I’ve taught him to “Look at the dog” then “Look at me” when we see other dogs. Using this technique, he’s learning to pass other dogs with nothing more than raised ears. It’s not 100% yet, but I feel confident he’ll eventually learn that dogs are not a threat. We still haven’t tested him with other dogs off lead, but I’m hoping his issues are strictly leash related.

He’s also learning not to jump up on people. Every day we reinforce “Sit” and “Down”. Learning an alternate behaviour has increased the likelihood he won’t jump up when greeting people. His recall is near perfect when he’s called from familiar surroundings – inside the house or the back garden, and even in a churchyard where we let him drag the lead. He’s also learning to “Leave it”, though again, we haven’t been able to reinforce this in unfamiliar surroundings. His barking is no longer the issue it once was, though he still barks at strange noises.

Best of all, Sparky has learned to play with toys! He loves chasing his new ball! He’s quickly learned that it’s okay to chew his toys and balls, chase after them, and find us when we hide. His prime playtime is in the evening around 7 pm. He runs and runs, then is zonked by bedtime.

Sparky continues to have excellent house manners. He’s never once had an accident, and he doesn’t chew anything other than his toys. He’s completely reliable when left outside his crate while I go shopping, etc. He’s mostly quiet during the day. When he wants to go out or suspects it’s dinnertime, he comes to me, gazes at me with those huge eyes, and directs me to the appropriate door/feed bowl. What a smart dog!

UPDATE OCT 2011

Many congratulations – Sparky was awarded ‘Most Improved Dog’ Award in his absence at the 2011 IRR Re-Union! His owner says: “that’s so great – he certainly has improved since last year! He’s learned a lot but I think I’ve learned even more – thanks so much for the honour. It was such a surprise to get him then such a joy to keep him”!

Here is a recent photo of him, wearing his IRR tag. Today we walked at Black Park, and when we calmly passed a lunging and barking Boxer, I just smiled, knowing Sparky was exactly like that one year ago!