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Friendship Darcy Makena AX AXJ CGC
Darcy is no longer by our side, losing her battle to
fibrosarcoma. The slide show above is a glimpse
at her life's journey. And, her
Memorial Tribute page
provides more of her story.
Friendship Darcy Makena was our first Golden gal. An actual cousin
to Ollie, Darcy came into this world on May 5, 1996. Darcys mom, Jazz, came from
Tricia and Neill Robsons Friendship Golden Retrievers, which is in West Friendship,
Maryland. They too loved Mistfield Goldens, and had two wonderful Goldens from this line.
We were so excited to find a litter that came from this line as we were determined to find
a treasure just as sweet, smart and noble. Darcys father, though, was not a
Mistfield Golden. He was a famous dog from the Pebwin line: Am/Can. Ch Pebwin Excel,
Am/Can. CD, OS. These titles tell you that Excel was both smart and handsome. Living to
almost the grand age of 14, he was an outstanding sire, being daddy to lots of champions as well. And,
Jazz remained a wonderful lovely gal until the age of 13.Friendship Darcy
Makena (or Darcy) was named for my mother Doris, a very special lady loved by all who knew
her. Much of the time, I called her Darce, drawing it out so that it more closely
resembles that of Doris. The name Makena is shared by a beautiful beach in Maui, Hawaii.
Truly a girl to the core, Darcy truly relished in finding any surface which held her
reflection. Then, she was able to marvel at how adorable she was. She even took the $100 2nd prize in
Vanderbilt Books' Beautiful Dog Contest (with this flower photo below), her
winnings donated to GoldHeart Golden Retriever Rescue.
Darcy had a major crush on Ollie,
who she so very much adored. So she picked on and annoyed him to get his attention. Of
course, Ollie said stop kissing me, stop trying to wrestle with meI just want to
rest. It is a little hard for Darcy, as she always got compared to her cousin Ollie who
was so very smart and polite and gentle. Poor Darcy, she was just a tomgirl who loved
to get into things that Ollie never even dreamed of. An interesting eater, though, she
loved carrots and asparagus, and had been known to dig up sweet potatoes out of our
garden. Darcy also was addicted to TV. She loved any show that featured animals, and really
was taken with the 101 Dalmatians movie. Often, Darcy couldn't believe what she
was
seeing, having to get as close as she can to the TV set to investigate further.
Darcy loved her agility training
and gained her first AKC title at only her second Agility trial. She even came
away with a first class ribbon and prize, for earning a perfect score of 100 and
completing the obstacle course in only 50 seconds (71 seconds was the amount of
time allowed). But, it was much tougher at the higher AKC Excellent levels, even
though we did manage to get these titles.
Darcy followed in Ollies
huge paw-prints, doing Animal-Assisted Therapy, Therapy Pet visitations, and classroom
demonstrations. She simply lived to be loved, and would seek affection from all. Being an
Agility title holder, we additionally would bring along equipment to show youngsters how
wonderful this sport can be for building a relationship with their canines. It also
provided an opportunity to display positive training methodology (food
and toy reinforcers, clicker training). Darcys Golden deeds were featured in the media
as she was
televised on WJZ
Television Channel 13 on April 27, 2000 during a demonstration for the Williams Scotsman
Corporation in White Marsh, as part of their Take Your Daughters & Sons to Work
Day. Ron Matz did a beautiful story, easily falling in love with our Golden girl. He
was touched by the childrens love for her and the petting power that she
had. And, Ron was amazed by her agility and flyball skills as well. Darcy was also
featured in an article in The Sunpapers (Anne Arundel County) on
May 11, 2000. Joni Guhnes article is a wonderful one, as it clearly detailed
Darcys accomplishments, as well as providing information about Golden rescue.
We actually mailed off the
videotape of Darcy's performance—and it
traveled to Golden lovers all around the world. On Mothers Day (May 14, 2000), Darcy did a grand job with a large group of 4th, 5th
and 6th graders at a local temples Sunday School. The demonstration served as part
of their continuing studies about Mitzvahs and Tikkun Olam. When one does Mitzvahs, they
are doing good things. And, Tikkun Olam refers to fixing up the world with whatever
talents and resources we have as individuals. After the talk/discussion and demo were
completed, a remarkable thing occurred. An 11-year-old youngster came up and told me about
being interested in the animal-assisted therapy work that I described. He thought getting
to work with Darcy by his side might make a difference. As a result of that conversation,
this youngster did get to work with me, with Darcy at my side. Oh, how her spirit cheered
and bolstered this young boys confidence.
What an exciting day for us folks at the Land of PureGold on
December 7, 2000. That is when our Darcy
helped out her Golden
friends Bailey and Patty Kennedy at the U.S. Senate.
Patty, who is Mom to Bailey Bymyside, also title to the book that she authored
about her lovely gal, works for Virginia's Senator John Warner at the U.S.
Senate. So naturally, the U.S. Senate Gift Shop requested that she do a Book
Signing for her latest book,
Bailey
Bymyside: Golden Lessons for Life. |
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