My Great Canadian Adventure – by Sparky

All set to go on a Great Canadian Adventure.   

My legs twitched, my eyelids fluttered, my lips pulled back from my fangs. I moaned and groaned in fear. It was awful. 

Then Servant reached down to pat me, to stop my nightmare.

A month ago my humans, Driver and Servant, started packing their suitcases – and then a dog cage appeared. I didn’t like that one bit. 

The last time a dog cage appeared my roommate, Max, went away and never came back. Now there is only me living with my two humans and I was pretty sure that this carrier was meant for me.

Good view from upstairs on Ultramar

I had been having nightmares for several nights wondering where I was going to be sent. I really like living here, even though I am a bit of a Divo at times. I am a very picky eater. I like to sit beside my humans on the sofa. However, I do come when I am called - most of the time. Well, okay, I come if it suits me.

But all of a sudden we are all leaving, with suitcases, the pet carrier and me! Driver and Servant kept telling me we were going on a Great Canadian Adventure, whatever that meant.

First step was a golf cart ride with some of our human friends to the big blue and yellow boat. It’s the same boat my humans drive our winter friends to every April and then pick them up again in October. 

I usually get to come along to woof goodbye, or greet them when they return. My buddies Skipper the dog and Jax the cat met us at the boat with their humans. All of us four-legged folks were given the nice upstairs view seats, while some of our humans had to sit inside on lower deck.

On the big tube stuffed with people

Next was a ride in a big white van to a large scary place called the Cancun International Airport. I pretended I was an experienced traveler, and not bothered by the crowds and noises. I wasn’t even afraid of the weird little room with the sliding door that moved us to a different area. I think it is called an elevator.

Servant had to carry me through the Security area so that the grumpy people in uniform could check my tummy for recent incisions. People have a lot of strange ideas. They should have had the other dogs sniff me and confirm I wasn’t carrying anything illegal in my stomach. As if! Famous dogs like me don’t do bad things like that.

My bed and blanket kept me warm

Then we walked inside a big tube-shaped thing stuffed with people. I was a bit nervous for a few minutes, but the WestJet staff made such a fuss over me, telling me how good and brave I was, I pretended it was nothing unusual. Oh sure, I ride in jets all the time.

Many hours later, after a long and boring time without even one pee break we landed in a dark and cold place. 

I was sure we had travelled to the North Pole for a visit with Santa Claus, it was that cold!  Driver and Servant said we were in a place called Kelowna, and would be spending the night at Skipper and Jax’s house. I was so relieved to get to their house with the big yard, where I could pee, and pee, and pee some more.

View from our place in Westbank

Next day we moved to another pretty house in Westbank. 

Servant and I walked all around the neighbourhood, but I had to be on a leash all the time. We went every morning to a special park where dogs are allowed to run free and play. 

I met many Canadian dogs who loved swimming in the lake. I put the toes of my right paw in the water, then quickly pulled it back. Brrr, they must be nuts! It was freezing cold.

This water is cold! Not going in there.

Canada is not like my colonia in Mexico where I can run up and down the beach visiting my friends Izabella and Luna.

The funny thing was, my good friend Luna who we waved goodbye to the week before on Isla, was also living nearby. I really liked Luna’s yard! I spent one whole day playing with her while my humans did things they called appointments.

One of their 'appointments' was lunch at Quail's Gate Winery 

Driver and Servant took me for lunch with Servant’s cousins, then we drove for an hour up a mountain so that they could introduce me to snow. 

I was excited because I thought Snow was the name of another dog, but no, snow is cold sand. Very cold sand. I sniffed and got back in the car. 

Shut that door please!

Open that car door, and turn the heat on!

After teaching me about snow, we drove to another city, where we stayed at the Days’ Inn in Penticton. Servant used to work there before she and Driver moved to Mexico. The people there were very nice to me and the owners invited me to their house! It must be because they know how famous I am.

I also got to meet two more dog that my humans have known for many years. Cleo and Sophie were friends of Thomas the Cat when he lived in the nearby city of Summerland. 

I met the family, plus Caitlin who is missing from photo

We stayed several days while Driver had more really boring appointments. 

The really great thing was while we were there I got to visit with more of our family, John, Maia, Caitlin, Ethan and Evan. 

It was really fun to see them, and to meet the younger generation for the first time. I liked them a lot, and I think they liked me too. They gave me lots of tummy rubs.

Brrr. Still cold. But at least I tried it.

In Penticton I finally had a quick dip in Skaha Lake. 

It had been a month since we had arrived in Canada and with weather had warmed up enough that I decided to try a swim. Once! Still too darn cold for this low-to-the-ground Mexican.

After our time in Penticton we drove back to Skipper and Jax’s house in Kelowna. Lots of people, plus my friend Luna, came to a fun party to say Buen Viaje.

Nicole, Lawrie, Linda G., Kara

The next day we flew from Kelowna to Edmonton, where I got to stay in a beautiful hotel. 

Then we went through the same procedure of being walked through Customs, onto the plane and home to Mexico. 

The WestJet staff let Servant hold me up to see out the window, once!  Wow! What a sight, seeing my home from a way up there. It’s beautiful.

A quick peak out the window.

I am now back on our island, I’m happy to be running on the sand, swimming in the warm Caribbean Sea, and settled into my Divo routine in our little house.

I would like to thank everyone for their generosity, hospitality, and love on my Great Canadian Adventure.

Cheers

Sparky,

etuk twhered figure whoboat – tLynda and Lawrie

Caribbean Sea - flying into Cancun

~

Join Sparky on his Caribbean adventures 

in the Isla Mujeres Mystery series!

Available on Amazon as E-Books or Paperback.

Pirates, buried treasure, kidnappings, murder and mayhem on a tiny island in the Caribbean Sea.

Sparky, the almost famous divo of Isla Mujeres!

It’s finally happened. I’m famous, or infamous, or something similar. Being a dog I’m not all that familiar with the fine points of this language.

Just this week my action adventure novel – Treasure Isla - was published on Amazon e-books. Yep. That’s right – my novel. There are other characters in the book such as the two women who are hunting for buried pirate treasure, dodging disreputable men, and a killer. There are good guys and there are bad guys in the book, but in my opinion I am the main star.

Why can't I sit on the table? I'm famous you know!

My name is Sparky, or as I am known to my close friends – The Sparkinator! I am a pure-bred Mexican low-rider; a handsome combination of Jack Russel Terrier, a bit of Spaniel, and a touch of Dalmatian. I live on Isla Mujeres in a comfortable house right on the beach and I have two well-trained employees who cater to my every need.

The first employee is Servant. She is the ghost writer for my novel. Servant also serves my meals, cooks my special requests, and takes me out for walks or golf cart rides to whatever location on the island that I wish to explore. She also likes to teach me new things. Just this morning while she was making me a very special meal of chicken bits and other stuff, the container slipped out of her hands and the hot ingredients splashed across the kitchen floor and onto the cupboards. She said some new words that I hadn't heard before. I need someone to translate for me.

Servant also frequently refers to me as a ‘divo’ which I think translates to special, or very special. For some reason she shakes her head and rolls her eyes when she calls me a ‘divo.’  I shake my head when I get ear lice, so perhaps she has ear lice.

Pet buffet

My other employee is Driver. He gives me lots of pats and enjoys my company on any one of our sofas, or beside him in the bed. He also acts as my alternate chauffeur when Servant isn’t available. Until recently Driver drove me around the island or in the city of Cancun in my dark blue, Mini-Cooper S convertible. Then one day Driver sold my hot little car. He said I wasn’t using it enough to justify having both a car and a golf cart. We still have the carito de golf for my daily excursions, but since he didn’t have my permission to sell my sports-car I am considering docking his pay for the next several months. It is so difficult to get good help these days.

Sold the Mini-Cooper S

My novel is only available on e-books, so I won’t be able to paw-print a copy for my many fans. When my second novel is published in 2017, I am going to renegotiate my contracts with Servant and Driver. They just aren’t treating me with the respect that I deserve.

Hasta Luego

The Sparkinator    

(Lynda & Lawrie)

Random thoughts from paradise

Headed our way!

It’s a random thoughts kind of day; thoughts of weather, knees, a novel, and a dog.  

Connected right?  Only in my mind.

It’s the tail-end of hurricane season in the tropics and we still obsessively check the weather forecast, to ensure we don’t get caught unawares.  Zero percent chance of rain, the webpage stated, as we watched a huge black cloud slowly slide towards our house.  When the curtain of liquid hit we scrambled to slam windows and patio doors.  Fortunately our casa was designed as a beach house, tile floors, outdoor Sunbrella fabric covering cushions on concrete sofas, and a wooden dining set that was originally intended to be patio furniture.  Even our artwork is photographs printed on waterproof canvas.  So other than a few puddles to wipe up, rain inside the house is nature’s way of washing our floors.

Zero percent chance of rain  ..... 

Several parts of the island got the same deluge, while it completely missed other neighbourhoods.  One friend said she encountered flooded intersections where the water was half-way up the large tires on her Jeep.  Others had small rivers running through their homes, leaky windows, and flooded pathways.  Fifteen minutes later the rain stopped.  The sun reappeared, heating the freshly washed air.  Just little tropical tempest to keep us on our toes. 

A short time later the rain returned while I was walking Sparky, our Mexican-lowrider rescue dog near Playa Media Luna.  As I dashed along the beach headed for shelter, my foot landed off-kilter in the sand.  By the time I returned home the knee was swollen and not functioning.  I must say, I am particularly fond of wearing a black knee brace paired with large clunky-soled athletic shoes.  It is such stylish look in a culture that worships thin and lofty stiletto heels.

One caring friend, who has had several knee operations, suggested that I should not do stairs with a sore knee. Good suggestion, except our designed for outdoor-living home has a stairway leading from the living/kitchen/pool area to the two bedrooms and upper patios.  Nineteen steps up and of course nineteen steps down.  Need a cup of morning coffee?  Feed the dog?  Let the dog out for a pee-break?  Make lunch?  Answer the door?  Glass of wine for sundown?   Lawrie has been an absolute sweetie doing the fetch and carry thing, but I occasionally need a break from the computer.  

Photo for cover - Tony Garcia

Which segues into the novel part of my random thoughts.  

I started writing a book, called Treasure Isla, a few months ago.  It’s a fun adventure set on present day Isla involving pirates, buried treasure, and islanders hunting for the loot. 

Creating a community populated with fictional people leaves me preoccupied with ideas, descriptions and phrases.  Occasionally when chatting with friends, my thoughts drift away, as I wonder how my characters would react in a similar situation.  

What would he or she say?  Feel?  Do?  These other people have invaded my brain. 

When do I get to paw-print books? Photo by Tony Garcia

And, of course, there is a dog in the story.  

A pure-breed Mexican-lowrider rescue dog, by the name of Sparky.  He is the doppelgänger for our little mutt.  

After Tony Garcia did a photo shoot for the back cover of the book, Sparky has become an impossible divo.  He is anxious to have his own book signing party.  Hopefully the book will be ready for release as an e-book in mid to late November.  The printed version … well, we’ll see. 

Cheers Lynda & Lawrie

& The Sparkinator

I' want to be more famous than Thomas the Cat