Brooke's Journey

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Brooke's Journey This is Brooke. Brooke, along with at least 50 other dogs was a victim of neglect from a large scale breeder. She was adopted by her foster family.

12 years ago, this girl had just been rescued.Thanks to her rescuers, she’s enjoyed 12 years of winters indoors. She’s g...
26/01/2026

12 years ago, this girl had just been rescued.

Thanks to her rescuers, she’s enjoyed 12 years of winters indoors. She’s gotten top-notch veterinary care for congenital issues. She’s made friends, barked through Zoom calls, mugged me for treats, and snuggled a million times.

This life of hers wouldn’t have happened if people hadn’t made a big deal out of what her former owners felt was “adequate care” - living in uninsulated blue barrels behind electric fences, only dragged in by hooks on their collars for “care”, starving, worm-ridden, frostbitten, unsocialized. 12 years of love, care, and joy would not have been possible if no one spoke up.

If no one made other people uncomfortable with how loud and angry they were about the injustice these dogs were treated with, these dogs would not have experienced care.

If everyone shrugged and said, “well, it’s just how we do things here”, Brooke would not have had a life beyond a cold piece of ground behind an electric fence.

If people didn’t push for answers and justice on behalf of those with no voice those many years ago, she would not have a favorite bed… a preferred treat… someone to count her old age lumps and faithfully take her to the vet to examine each one.

The calculus of the Sprakers dogs is that rescues and rescuers took on the bulk of the expense and work to save these dogs, day by day, sometimes hour by hour. Owners like myself took the privilege of ensuring their safety and comfort in following years. It is a burden I’d bear a thousand times again. But this cycle repeats every time greedy people choose profit over humanity. Our country still lags behind in the laws that protect these animals and holds people accountable for the lifelong harm they inflict.

My request on Brooke’s behalf: Be loud. Make people uncomfortable with their injustice. Call them to account for inflicting harm upon others. Don’t give up, and don’t be silent. Every voice, every pair of hands was needed to save Brooke
and her family. Every voice and pair of hands is needed to save other animals from the same plight.

Brooke would like to wish everyone a happy new year! She’s been on a “health journey” of sorts since her cardiologist ap...
01/01/2026

Brooke would like to wish everyone a happy new year! She’s been on a “health journey” of sorts since her cardiologist appointment where we’ve tried a half dozen new meds and she hated/her body hated all of them. We’ve had a bout of pancreatitis, discovered low B-12, and are maybe (maybe cautiously) on the mend? Maybe? (Knock on all the wood for us, haha).

We’re now back on the original dose of her heart meds with plain low fat kibble. We might try to increase the dose but for right now, after a month and a half of struggling to get Brooke to eat enough, struggling to contain diarrhea or vomiting, a couple of days of her eating without complaint is a blessing. Here she is, barking her new year blessings for everyone. ❤️

Brooke would like to thank everyone for the well wishes. The cardiologist noted some small changes from last year, so we...
21/11/2025

Brooke would like to thank everyone for the well wishes. The cardiologist noted some small changes from last year, so we have a new med to try and increased dose on her pimobendan, but otherwise she’s doing okay. She is back to “doing her mail” and back on the confetti production line, getting a jump on the New Years Eve order. Thank you all again for your well-wishes ❤️

Brooke would like to wish everyone a happy almost-Thanksgiving, and make a special request from her fam. Brooke has CHF ...
19/11/2025

Brooke would like to wish everyone a happy almost-Thanksgiving, and make a special request from her fam. Brooke has CHF due to a congenital valve defect, and we’ve been successfully treating her with pimobendan. She has her annual cardiologist appointment and echocardiogram tomorrow, and would love some good wishes and good vibes if you can spare them. She’s been (mostly) good and has only ripped up a moderate amount of mail and stolen half the shoes, she says, so she thinks she deserves them 😂

11 years ago today, I met Brooke as her foster. She is still pretty sprightly, still steals the mail, still makes weird ...
04/03/2025

11 years ago today, I met Brooke as her foster. She is still pretty sprightly, still steals the mail, still makes weird haunted house noises when she would like attention. She’s been on pimobendan now for about six months as she has a mitrial valve issue thst appears to be hereditary. She also has decided only eat her kibbles with the finest lean ground beef tossed with jasmine rice (IDK, it’s Brooke, what can I say). I love her endlessly.

Brooke would like to remind everyone that it was ten years ago that she and her family were rescued in New York. She has...
06/01/2025

Brooke would like to remind everyone that it was ten years ago that she and her family were rescued in New York. She has spent ten years as part of a family. She’s had four different couch corners, and recently upgraded to an orthopedic bed in the bedroom. She’s kind of getting to be a bit of an older lady, with a heart murmur and some thyroid medicine. She follows her mom around the house since one of her adopted brothers passed, and is now the designated Waiter Outside The Bathroom. She DOES NOT LIKE the winter weather, at all, and prefers an instant snuggle under the blankets after going out to do her business.

She is a poster child, in a way, for “see something, say something”, and for all of the rescuers, “don’t take no for an answer.” Thank you to all who keep fighting the good fight for all the Brookes of the world.

Brooke is transitioning into her rainbow cloud form for Halloween…
31/10/2024

Brooke is transitioning into her rainbow cloud form for Halloween…

Got brushed into cloud shape. 0/5, did not enjoy.
22/06/2024

Got brushed into cloud shape. 0/5, did not enjoy.

Got a bath. 0/5 stars.
22/06/2024

Got a bath. 0/5 stars.

When Brooke wants attention, she makes noises like a haunted house. Moaning, creaking loudly like an ancient door, howli...
19/03/2024

When Brooke wants attention, she makes noises like a haunted house. Moaning, creaking loudly like an ancient door, howling, whines that make your hair stand on end… the repertoire is endless. Will she do it if she hasn’t had attention in hours? Yes. Will she do it if you just stopped giving her attention a nanosecond ago? Also yes. Conference calls? Yes. During dinner? Absolutely. Have company? She will bring you a leaf and serenade you with her best grating door hinge sounds. Haunted house. All. The. Time.

Happy LEAP Day! (This is an old photo of Brooke from 2016, but it’s very apt for today!)
29/02/2024

Happy LEAP Day! (This is an old photo of Brooke from 2016, but it’s very apt for today!)

10 years ago today, the photos of Brooke and her family living in blue barrels in New York were big news in the border c...
08/01/2024

10 years ago today, the photos of Brooke and her family living in blue barrels in New York were big news in the border collie rescue world and we were in the midst of some of the coldest weather we’d seen in awhile.

Hard to believe it’s 10 years. That means that 9.85 of those, Brooke has been in her forever home. She’s made new friends, always been the first to greet new foster dogs, gone on trips and howled at least once a month for no reason at all (or because she would like whatever you are eating). She rolls in the grass or leaves (or dirt sometimes) at least once a day, then comes inside for a snack. She has been a beloved and treasured member of our family for nearly a whole decade. She’s still sometimes skittish but after she hit around age 8-9, she decided she’s not going to be that girl anymore and will investigate new things and strange noises with the best of them. She is our perfect girl and we couldn’t love her more.

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