Sparky arrived on 8/2/04. He had a severe paw injury that his owners "couldn't afford" to treat, so they let it get severely infected. He had to have his back left leg amputated. All the pain made him aggressive, so he was supposed to be a real "project dog." However, he's been very affectionate and not at all aggressive since leaving the clinic. We are doing behavioral therapy with him, though. His stump has healed well. He has a terrible cough that makes him sound like a sea lion. This means he and Chatka can't play yet. Poor Chatka.

Update 9/23/2004: Sparky was soon well enough to play with Chatka. We did behavioral sessions with him at the shelter to get him used to the facility and the people. After almost 2 months, Sparky was both well and well-behaved enough to return to the WHS. Actually, he was fine weeks earlier, but they left him with us for a while. We were sad to see him go. What a great little guy!

Sparky was the featured animal of the fall Wisconsin Humane Society Critter Chronicles. He was on the cover, on the next page, on the donations envelope, and in his own center pull-out. By this time he had actually been adopted. I had the pullout on the door of my office with a post-it saying "our foster!" One of my students saw it and we talked about him. Last night she told me that she got to meet him in person. She went to a party for the Native Plant Society hosted by Sparky's new family. They are really happy to have him and he's doing great in his country home. We were really happy to hear that! Update 7/2005: Sparky's "forever family" invited us out to visit him. It was great to see what a wonderful home he has. His family is great and he has lots of space to play. This is the big payoff of fostering.