Heart of the City by Steenz for February 23, 2012

Wait WTF???

I just knew Mark couldn’t do it. But I couldn’t figure out how he was going to get out of it.

There is a God, even in the comics.

BRAVO!

I don’t think so. That would just be too cruel – not only to Dean but to us as well.

even if it is A dog and not THE cat.. i feel sorry…

Whoa! Talk about a 180! How in the world could they mistake Spock for a big dog?? If I remember right, Spock is a rather small cat. Hooray for Dean, but very sad for the dog’s people. Was the point of all this to teach kids about something all too likely to happen as our animals get old or sick, only to make it a bait and switch at the end? I’d love to know what MT was thinking about with this. Maybe I’ll drop him a line if I can.

Wh…?!

@sue, yup lets go to court it’s the American way. People make mistakes, it’s called being a human. I’d just be so thankful that my pet was ok and I’d feel bad for the owner of the other pet but to sue someone over it (eye roll!)

appreciate your loved ones now. (joy!)

Thank you Mark. I am optimistic that Spock will be fine. Dean – you are a brave boy!

AAARRGGH! Tatulli, have you been yanking our emotions all week? Is Spock down to 7 lives, but still hanging in there?

If this is another case of mistaken identity by medical personnel, I think Heart ought to alert CNN to this heartstrings-pulling story. I can just see the headline on the CNN Video page….“Vet hospital breaks little boy’s heart, then says ‘Oops – wrong pet’”

I was wondering where Dean’s parents were in all of this.Also, I’ve always loved the way the cat was drawn. Mark Tatulli, sir, you are a stinker…

I refuse to comment further until this arc is over. Sheesh!

This was a good way to bring the topic of death into a non-linear strip. Since no one can ever age or die in this strip, this plot twist was necessary to let Mark show a greater range of emotion in his characters, as well as express his grief over the recent loss of his beloved pet cat. And mistaken identity is better than some hokey miraculous recovery…

I knew it!

Marmaduke…? NOOOOOooooooo!!!!

Whoa. I was not expecting this.

Spock Lives!!

It’s not Spock! It’s not Spock!

Thank GOODNESS. I was so upset that poor Spock was gonna be gone. I love that little weird kitty! And no – We’ve seen Dean’s parents. Not sure if he has one or two. We haven’t actually SEEN Spock in a while. Come on guys – show us a happy reunion!

Hope…

Did someone order the deus ex machina?

yay (?)

I had the idea of a mix- up a few days ago. Let’s see how this plays out before I gloat.

As the co owner of a vet clinic I have to say making an error of this type would result in someone getting their walking papers. I have been agonizing enough over the death of a cartoon cat, imagine how a person would feel about a real pet mistake such as this. We do have issues because people name their pets all the same thing. Every third Chow is named Bear, and there are a ton of Labs and Goldens named Aspen so proper companion identification is a MUST!

Last week Dean was told Spock was" a very sick kitty." That somehow precludes the animal about to be euthanized being a dog. I have to also add (as a longtime grade school teacher) that Dean’s parents are sadly lacking in this case – after all, Spock got sick while Dean was at school, so SOMEBODY took him to the vet. Then they went back to the trombone section with the Browns and Van Pelts, apparently. Of coure, there is some artistic license allowed here (Yes, as has been pointed out, we know it IS a comic strip!)I’m still not ready to celebrate yet.

Darn it Mark.All that pain,sarrow and drama and you rob me of the satisfaction of a good literary tradgedy.

What a twist.

It’s possible that the dog is also named Spock. Both were both in the same day. The dog Spock was to be euthanized and the doctor told the receptionist to call Spock’s owner. Unfortunately the wrong owner was called.

A pet cremation costs as much as a human cremation. I was charged the same amount for the cremation of my late wife as I was for my cat.

There was a similar mixup on another one of Spock’s visits to the vet. November 20, 2001

I was going to put up a great big Yippee, hee haw, etc. but after reading all the comments, I think I will reserve judgment here before I get too excited. YOU SIR, ARE A CRUEL MAN! :-D I’ll give you this, you know how to keep your readers in suspense! If you ever decide to stop drawing strips (DON’T YOU DARE!) but just in case, you would make a great suspense novelist!

Thank you for the reference to the 2001 strip – very similar – and I can relate to trying to get a pill into a cat! I am holding my breath waiting to see what happens tomorrow.

My cat’s vet came for a house call this afternoon. She took a blood sample and a urine sample, and the test results should be available tomorrow. Otherwise, he’s doing rather well considering his age (17) and his infirmities (his hind legs were damaged some years ago (not my fault)).

i must say that i am happy about this turn. as i said before, i just became a fan. i would hate to lose out on such a wonderfull character before i got to know him better.

SueB1863……. come on, it’s a cartoon!!! ;)

Did the Vet clinic confuse “Spot” for “Spock”?

Aha!!! The plot thickens!!!

Reminds me of Star Wars Episode IV because it’s “A New Hope”.Thank goodness I snuck in that special intention for Dean’s cat during Ash Wednesday Mass.

If there was another animal named Spock that caused this mixup, Dean should change his cat’s name to one that no one would mistake…TRALFAS.

Eh?

Told ya…

What I love about this story line is how much we’ve all really gotten into expressing our concerns for Dean and Spock. Kinda sweet, really.

I hope Dean’s parents show up and explain something.

KNEW IT! My theory was wrong, but the outcome was the same! What a waste of time.