I learned this week that Sparky, beloved member of the Hofmann family, Mozilla icon, and all around good dog, has passed away.
He's seen as much of Mozilla as any one, from the Netscape campus, to our space on Villa Street, to the Landings buildings, and most recently, downtown Mountain View.
He was with us for the first Mozilla releases, for Firefox 1.0, and up through the most recent Firefox 3.5 release. He was known to many at Mozilla as a tenacious, and scrappy but fun terrier with a fiery (as in Firefox) personality.
We miss you Sparky, and we're thinking a lot about your human family and their loss. We love you all.
Rest in peace, Sparky.
Sparky, covering my duties at Mozilla while I take a break.
Posted by: Chi Iron | September 16, 2009 12:27 AM
Thanks for honoring him Asa. He was a great dog and a witness to just about every major (and minor) Mozilla achievement. It was hard to see him go, and we miss him alot.
-chofmann
Posted by: chofmann | September 16, 2009 6:25 AM
That's so sad! RIP, Sparky... A big hug to your human family!
Posted by: Tristan | September 16, 2009 7:06 AM
Flash Video ist the best.
Posted by: Mary | September 16, 2009 12:37 PM
Always sad to lose a member of the family, including the furry ones.
-Dane
Posted by: Dane Jasper | September 17, 2009 10:19 PM
I have fond memories of Sparky from the Villa St. office, sorry to hear this. He loved watching our putting tournaments and riding around in the car.
There are many instances of r=sparky in Mozilla commit logs. Great reviewer, that dog.
Posted by: Josh Aas | September 17, 2009 11:26 PM
Besides being one of the best reasons we had a "dog policy" at Netscape, I'll always remember that he provided much better security than our corporate security staff.
Posted by: Ben Chuang | September 18, 2009 9:13 AM
Stumbled upon this blog post today... So sorry to hear that Sparky, the legend, has passed away! :( I'm having vivid memories of Sparky effortlessly standing on all feet while his master is driving his convertible on Shoreline.
chofmann: I feel the pain and wish I knew when I met you in Prague.
Posted by: David Tenser | October 7, 2009 6:46 AM
Real life observation tells us that, more often than not, those who work the hardest achieve the most.