SPIRITUALITY
Doggone, But Not Forgotten
Sparky's Pals endowment fund will keep
JAS residents in touch with pets.
Remembering Sparky are his owner Pete Wurdock of Jewish
Apartments & Services, Phyllis Newman of Bloomfield Hills and
Judy Newman of Farmington Hills, who says, "Sparky uplifted
people and touched so many people's lives."
Sparky became a friend to all.
Pete Wurdock
Special to the Jewish News
F
rom the time he was
born until the time
he was almost 2, a
Golden Retriever named Sparky
was doing one of three things
— eating, running or sleeping.
He was a puppy who went to
obedience school twice because
he ate his diploma the first time
Who would have guessed he was
destined to have an impact on
the lives of the Jewish elderly?
Certainly not me, and I was his
best friend.
When I began working for
Jewish Apartments & Services,
Sparky and I took to the job
quickly and easily. His infec-
tious smile and happy-go-lucky
swagger walking through the
Hechtman Apartments in West
Bloomfield made him a celebrity.
Residents would laugh as I'd
introduce them to my "Shana
boychik" — of course, a lot of
older Jewish women laugh when
a Methodist guy half their age
tries to speak Yiddish.
One of my co-workers "depu-
tized me" as a social worker,
explaining how therapeutic it
was for the elderly to visit with
us and how the time together
was enhanced simply by having
physical contact with Sparky.
Without knowing it, he became a
therapy dog. He had an immedi-
ate effect on the residents and
you could often measure his suc-
cess by the amount of lipstick on
his head at the end of the day.
A while ago a resident asked if
I was going to have a bar mitzvah
when he turned 13.1 jokingly
said, "Let's make it a bark mitz-
vah," and the idea was born. But
I decided to take it a step further
and create something that would
last by starting an endowment
and forming "Sparky's Pals:' a
program that will support pet
therapy and related programs for
residents of JAS.
Sparky turned 13 in May, but
died unexpectedly of cancer four
days before a Sparky's Pals fund-
.
raising event was planned June
30. Through laughter and tears, it
went on as planned.
As he aged, I learned to better
understand how seniors' lives
change as he experienced every-
thing they do. We discovered how
spending time, even a few min-
utes a day, with an elderly person
improved their quality of life tre-
mendously. I knew it to be true
by the way it improved ours.
Adele Bayer of West Bloomfield eats a carrot, one of Sparky's
favorite snacks. "He was so full of life," she says. "He made us
feel loved. It's wonderful for residents to have animals around. I
always had a dog when I had my own home."
❑
Pete Wurdock is marketing director
for Jewish Apartments & Services.
To become a member
of Sparky's Pals, you can
make a donation with a
credit card by calling (248)
592-1101 or by sending a
check made out to JAS to:
JAS, Attention Sparky's
Pals, 15000 W.10 Mile, Oak
Park, Ml 48237. JAS is a
501-C3 nonprofit and dona-
tions are tax deductible as
allowed by law.
Eve Lieberman of West Bloomfield says, "I loved Sparky. I used
to bring him carrots whenever he was here. He was a very gentle,
sweet dog. I used to be very fearful, but Sparky made me see the
light."
July 13 a 2006
29