Heart of the City by Steenz for February 18, 2012

It will get better, Dean. There are always more pets that need to be adopted and loved. Spock will be with you forever.

poor Dean

I think Sunday will be the sad goodbye for Spock.

i have ben archiving this strip.its wonderfull how incredibly cute Spock is portrayed. i am sorry to see anyone loose a pet. even if it is “just” a “character”.i miss my little Punkin, still.

I just let my wife read all of this weeks Heart of the City and she immediately broke down in tears and had to go hug our 18 year old cat Hobbes. :-(

… or you’re lost!

This is killin me

My Dad always says if anything ever happened to my scrappy, they would have to bury me to.

Mark: Don’t do it. Spock is one of the best things in this strip. It’s a COMIC STRIP! Spock doesn’t have to die. There’s still time.

I help with a cat rescue and have fostered many, many, (TOO) many cats and kittens, many of them too weak to hold their heads up. Losing one, even knowing it didn’t have a chance, is absolutely heartbreaking. But there’s solace knowing that they were, warm, dry, loved, and taken care of when they passed. I have a great Tux cat named Baxter that Dean can have…

I’m with you. Not happy with this. Maybe it will be like The Buckets where their dog made a miraculous recovery.

In a land of makebelieve, I too see no reason for Spock to die.

I agree – my Dad died suddenly and unexpectedly when I was 11, and my Mom lingered with cancer(by then I was 43), so I have “been there done that” too. But losing a loved animal companion is right up there. We “know” it’’s"just a comic strip. We are just weeping for ourselves and our memories again. Everyone mourns in their own way; no “wrong way” to do it.

As soon as I saw Dean crying on the porch I knew it was Spock. Please don’t take him away. There’s no need for death in a strip where the children don’t age! =*(

I think this is something Mark needs to do for himself. A catharsis (literally, I didn’t mean it to be a pun.) You have the right to grieve in your own way, Mr. Tatulli.

This week’s strips are hard to read. My cats ARE my family. It has been nice to see a little boy enjoy his cat. Pets make life better, they know our hearts and we are all they have. I agree, let Spock recover. You have given us all a lesson in appreciation.

I’m 71yrs old. Lost my little dog “Iggy” last Nov. Had tears in my eyes when I read about “Spock”.The thing about pets is they love unconditionally if you treat them well, in some cases even if you don’t. To lose one in youth is almost as bad as loss of a loved human. I’ve lost plenty of each, pets are “family” too.

Those of us who are already mourning Spock should probably be grateful to feel that way. There are places in this world where losing a loved one is practically an everyday occurrence. And they would woder what the heck our problem is.

So I guess I’m lucky that todays strip has me in tears.

Friend, sometimes fictional characters are more real than living ones. Cartoons are a shortened-time version and reflection of life, they allow us to review and think (and laugh) at the foibles of life.I am old enough that most of my friends and loved ones have gone on and I still grieve for them, but our four-footed loved ones are so very special in our hearts that even fictional ones can bring laughter and pain. Never denigrate ANY form of love, it is too scarce.Mr Tatulli, I do add my voice to those who wish you to spare the cat. I believe you have made your point in this strip that you can effect emotions; with the point made let us return the strip to happier times…

Not Spock! This is just too sad! Maybe he will rally when he sees Dean? (I hope, I hope)!((I can’t believe I’m upset about a comic strip cat!!!))

PLEASE do not kill Spock ! ! Give him a “miraculous Recovery” He’s too cute and important in Deans life !

To Mark: Thanks for making me cry, you jerk

i stand with the artist and his work. i don’t know his reason. its his reason, and his world. Heart and Dean are his children, and Spock in his pet. i, for one will not try to second guess his reasoning. i will continue to enjoy the stories he tells. the way he tells them.

Why should we keep a perspective when you have spent your life without one?Families, children, relatives, neighborhood, job, leisure time, society, pets – these are the things of life, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN!In the midst of all of this, we are in death, which makes death a part of life!!! Yes, it is a long walk, but a part of life none the less!I hope you went childless for good reasons, and not foolish ones. Sorry, this type of thing always sets me off and I end up saying too much, so, God Bless you and show you Mercy.

Dean adopts Cibyl!

If dean gets a new cat,maybe he could name it scotty or sulu or kirk? …just a suggestion! (R.I.P. SPOCK) :(

This time your catchphrase is not funny.

I’D HOPE HE DOESN’T DIE, OR THAT HE GOES TO HEAVEN. IN 63 YEARS I LOST A LOT OF LOVING PETS, AND I DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT CAN LOVE EVER CEASES TO BE.

THIS IS A KIND STRIP THAT HAS A GENTLE SENSE OF HUMOR, BUT THIS WEEK VERY SAD.

As sad as I am to read of Spock, what I like is that it allows parents an opportunity to talk about loosing a pet with their kids or even death in general. It is part of the kid’s landscape and being able to bring it up in the safety of a comic is, I believe, a good thing.

RIP Spock. We won’t forget you. You brought much to the lives of the Dean and Heart.

This reminds me of when Lynn Johnston had Farley die in “For Better or For Worse”, and drew the wrath of “Sparky” Schulz.

I’m so sorry you lost your cat, Mark. This was an elegant way of expressing your grief. Not the way I’d like, but…Through your creativity you’ve made your characters come alive—a real talent. And you’ve acknowledged what many of us know: That these are not ‘pets’, they are companions.

@bigG3469 : I’ve buried a grandmother, mother, a 15 year old dog, and just 4 months ago, an 11 year old cat. I know a thing or two about loss, so bite me.

SPOCK CAN’T DIE!!!!!!I LOVE Spock!!! :(

This is so sad! I may have to put down my cat soon too.

I know Dean’s pain…but at least he gets to say goodbye. We got my puppy when I was in the 4th grade and 10 years later she developed liver cancer. We put her down when the breathing .became difficult and knew it would ease her pain. I was at school a state away and my parents called me. It was 2 weeks before I could get home. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my 1st pet. I was heartbroken.

We have a new pup now, Soprano, and are taking every precaution possible with her food, but I will never forget my baby dog, Jasmine.

Yeah, the more this is drawn out, the less I believe Spock is really getting killed off.