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. Darcy’s mom, Jazz, came from Tricia and Neill Robson’s 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. Darcy’s 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 me—I 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.

A Golden TeamDarcy followed in Ollie’s 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).
   
Darcy’s 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 children’s 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 Guhne’s article is a wonderful one, as it clearly detailed Darcy’s accomplishments, as well as providing information about Golden rescue.

We actually mailed off the videotape of Darcy's performanceand it traveled to Golden lovers all around the world.

On Mother’s Day (May 14, 2000), Darcy did a grand job with a large group of 4th, 5th and 6th graders at a local temple’s Sunday School. The demonstration served as part of their continuing studies about Mitzvahs and Tikkun OlaBailey's Mom and our Darcym. 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 boy’s 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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