Photo: James Rojas
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Pedestrians walking down Elm Street near Porter Square in Somerville can be greeted by a friendly face sitting outside her home—Sparkle the dog.
Sparkle is an 11-year-old Corgi-mix who loves to sit out on the front porch of her Somerville residence and greet any passersby, even in a global pandemic. Her owner, Melora Rush, told WBZ's James Rojas she came up with a fun way Sparkle can say hi to neighbors while also staying safe.
"We figured out a way to keep her outside, which was putting up signs and the hand sanitizer," Rush said. "People were really happy [and they would] tell me how much it meant to them."
The signs in the yard tell those walking past about Sparkle's recent diagnosis—she has incurable cancer in her upper jaw which has caused her snout to be swollen. But that isn't hurting Sparkle's spirits, the sign asks visitors to give her "extra love" with gentle pets.
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Sparkle recently got her moment in the limelight though. A tweet with photos of Sparkle went viral on Twitter which lead to an outpouring of love and support from strangers online.
"She's developed a fan base over these years," Rush said.
Sparkle even has a new Twitter account where she is dubbed the Mayor of Somerville. The account retweets photos and videos from Sparkle's many fans.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasWBZ) reports.
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