Time for a Check Up!

With the 4H fair approaching at a frightful pace, it was time to take my little boys to the vet. What an enjoyable and exciting experience, right? Two dogs at the vet, couldn't be too bad. Surprisingly, it wasn't.
My blue heeler had the joy of going first. The big baby couldn't handle a needle, though I don't blame him. I'm terrified of needles also. He yelped and snapped at the vet, causing my brother to have to hold his head. He refused to eat any of the treats that the vet gave him and was rather distraught after he got off the exam table. But everything came up clear and he got all his needed vaccinations to enjoy next weekend at the fair!
Sparkie was such a tolerable little boy when it came to the vet check up! He let me pet him and talk to him and was extremely cooperative. It might have had something to do with the fact he got to eat all of the treats that Blew did not. I was very proud of my little boy for doing so well with the vet, despite the fact Sparkie is not the vet's favorite patient, always getting a remark that he is "overweight." Today, to my surprise the vet did not say a word about Sparkie's weight. We had to check how his seasonal allergies are doing. Sparkie gets very watery eyes come spring and summer and his skin gets rather itchy. But all is well. He will be off doing what he loves; showing off at the 4H fair next weekend!
~Ella

Sorry for my Absence!

Oh my! I am so sorry for my absence. I did not get hit by a train, abducted by aliens, or chased by a panther. I promise. And as for the star of our blog, Sparkie is doing splendidly! The only major worry he has encountered in recent times is lightning. The Pacific North West is not prone to major lightning storms as other areas of the county is. I am not used to them, having lived her my entire life. But poor little Sparkie was absolutely terrified of the storm. A few weeks ago, we had a storm that started probably around 5 in the morning, and lasted until around 9 in the morning. I had both of the dogs sleeping with me on my twin sized bed. Our heeler was extremely stressed out, he didn't sleep most of the night. But Sparkie is known for sleeping throughout most of the night. At 6 am, we had lightning strike just off our road, it sounded like World War Three was taking place. The thunder had to have gone on for thirty seconds at least. It was one of the loudest noises I have ever heard. Therefore, dogs having more acute hearing than humans, probably heard it even louder than we did. Poor Sparkie! He was laying on top of my stomach, shaking, breathing so heavily that he was shaking my bed. So after that loud thunder, I gave up on going back to sleep. The rest of my family was already awake, so I went downstairs and joined them for coffee. In a half hour, we all decided that the dogs were too high strung to go back to our beds, so we all crashed on the couch going back to sleep. Sparkie is no capable of jumping on the couches to cuddle, and I couldn't find him when I lie down. I fell asleep on the couch. My mom told me when she was leaving for work. She had found Sparkie camped out underneath the couch (not the one I was sleeping on) and he was still so terrified. He followed her into the bathroom when she went to shower, and nearly jumped in the bath tub. When she left she put him on the couch with me. He did not go any further away from me than an inch until the storm ended. Even after the storm, he was nervous. Luckily, by the end of the day, he was back to his playful self. Lesson learned, Sparkie is not so fearless when it comes to thunder and lightning!

Food Bowl

Sparkie must be watching some Star Trek. He believes that food will now materialize. He spends ten minutes after he finishes his dinner staring at his bowl. He doesn't just stare though, she talks about it. He whines, barks, groans, and grunts about the fact that he won't get anymore food. Dinnertime is always interesting for Sparkie. It's a bit entertaining also.

The other day, I was watching a football game on tv, and during half time I fed him. Well the 3rd quarter began and his bowl is behind where I was sitting. Here goes Sparkie again, wanting the food to materialize like it does in Star Trek. So I turn around and try to figure out how to help him without giving him extra food. It turns out that the food was stuck in the corners of his bowl. He gets defrosted raw meat patties for dinner. So periodically, I turned the bowl around so he could possibly reach it. Still he couldn't, this was so disappointing for him, he had a lot to talk about. Dinner is never boring.

Sparkie enjoying his dinner, before the talking part.

Cuddle Bug

Here in Washington, we have been facing one of the worst storms the North West has seen. What we thought had been just a heavy snow storm, quickly turned to an ice storm. Sparkie, has been quite the brave soul through the storm.

Last night, I don't know if it was that he was cold or just his little cuddle bug self, but last night all he wanted was to be close. Now my dogs are extremely spoiled, and we allow them to sleep on our beds. Last night we crawled into bed, and Sparkie would not leave my side. I held him in my arms and he rested his chin on my neck. I couldn't move. I wasn't very comfortable,  so it took me a very long to fall asleep. He finally moved his chin off my neck, deciding to just rest his chin on my shoulder. He stayed close to me the entire night, whether I had my arm around him or not. Sparkie is my cutest, and favorite cuddle bug. He might as well be another blanket too, I might add. :)

As for the storm, Sparkie's "brother", Blew, hates storms. We had trees and branches falling throughout the day. Poor Blew gets extremely nervous. I had to hold Blew and sing to him to help him relax. He is very sweet. Sparkie on the other hand, just doesn't like the beeping noise right before the power comes back on. Other than that, Sparkie has been just fine with the storm, being his normal self.


Sparkie currently is playing with his favorite orange rubber football. I'm sure that tonight he will be tuckered out and be my little cuddle bug. He will keep me warm through the storm.

Meet Sparkie!

First, I shall introduce myself as the owner and best friend of my beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Sparkie, on his AKC papers his full name is Spark of My Life. He is a 5 year old little cutie, and a puppy at heart. You could say that his lacking of legs makes up with his very large amount of happiness and love he shares with the world.

His favorite color is orange, and his favorite type of ball is a football. Around Sparkie, even if you think he is sleeping, there are a few words to avoid saying around him. Walk, Ride, Go, Ball, Dinner, Cookie and Run are to be avoided unless you really want to get him hyped up.

I looked for over a year for what type of dog breed I wanted to get, it ranged from another rottweiler which I had grown up around, to a Newfoundland or  a Bernese Mountain dog, a Great Pyrenees, Shetland Sheepdog, a Norfolk terrier, which my father was against, and finally deciding the a Pembroke Welsh Corgi was the perfect fit for me. They are not extra large,  they are lively, smart, and wonderful companions. What truly was the tell-all for me that a Corgi was a great fit was when I was a a bi-annual local AKC all breed dog show. I met an owner/handler and her Corgis at the first show that year in January, spending most the afternoon socializing and getting to know the two lovely corgis and their owner. We went back to the show in June, and believe it or not, this Corgi literally remembered me. When the dog remembered me after 6 months, I knew I had to get a Corgi. We had been looking for breeders and one of the teachers at my school had recently gotten a Corgi. She suggested the breeder to me, and we looked up when she would have a litter ready. I turned eleven when that May, and a week after my eleventh birthday, Sparkie was the new addition to the family.

Sparkie is a fifth year member of our county 4-H club, Pups and Pals. He is one of the comedians of the club. He has gone to county fair five years, and state fair once. Sparkie enjoys every moment of the fair, getting to show off and getting attention are some of his favorite things.

Sparkie is a bit of my pride and joy I guess you could say. When I'm having a bad day, I just have to look at his smiling face, yes, my dog truly does smile, and happiness will have been returned. Every night usually consists of throwing a rubber dog sized orange football for him. Fetch is his favorite, though he still needs to work on that dropping it part... In the summer, he loves to run on the front lawn and sniff the air and smell the flowers. He enjoys the beach, and in the winter a little bit of snow doesn't bother him, as long as he doesn't bury himself in it. A day with Sparkie could never be boring.

I think it would be an understatement to say that I just love my dog. He's more than a companion, and a best friend, I just love and adore him.