Darby update!

For those of you who don't know of Darby,  click HERE and roll down to Darby for a cliff notes version of her. Darby is the reason I started blogging - I needed people to see all of Darby and what she was capable of.  I didn't want people to be put off or feel sad for her because she was blind.
  
The blog is the reason Darby (and many of our other special needs foster dogs) have been adopted.  Using this tool I can show and talk a lot about the dog and an applicant/adopter can see the journey the dog has  been on while in foster care with us.

Darby in foster care 2012

I recently received an email from Darby's dad and here's the poem he wrote about her.  Darby lives with her dad, 2 dog siblings and 2 cats.  Beware, you may want tissues close by!

The Mystery of Darby

 

Where does she go in her mind when darkness is her constant companion?

 

When she sleeps she utters little cooing noises that speak sometimes of

complete contentment and more rarely of mild fright and uncertainty.

 

When she wants to play and wrestle, she seeks out Butch and they do their

faux-fighting dance and cover as much ground as possible.

 

When she needs non-human comfort, grooming and warmth, she goes to

the big shaggy body of Jango who caresses her with his paws and configures

himself into a large comma so she can snuggle close and fall peacefully

asleep in his powerful embrace where she feels safe and protected.

 

When she feels the need for exploration and freedom, she romps the fields

and woods fearlessly in her darkened world, sightless but alert never disturbed by obstacles that impede her progress of seeking out a new world to experience and embrace. 

Her joyful approach to life is most evident

under these circumstances of unlimited, unimpeded adventuring.

 

There are those times, though, when it is with me that she seeks assurance and

stability. She knows these times and comes to where I am either asking to

snuggle against my leg while I sit in my lounge chair or parking her warm

body on my lap as I watch TV or entangling her self under my feet as busy

myself with chores or engage in a long walk. She knows what goes on between

us and it is that bond of thankfulness and trust that we have developed

between us.

 

She knows she is loved and has finally come home to where her persistent distant calling has led her.

 

Darby is no longer that pathetic blind canine who escaped death by needle.

She is what all dogs long for, and that is to be part of the human experience

of being seen as a faithful companion, giving more than she receives and being

known as a member of a living team of trusting partners.

 

There is no joy as wonderful as this: A free spirit that allows herself to be

shared, enjoyed and loved, who gives unselfishly and is devoid of all judgment.

Darby & D'light when we were out visiting!

If you want to see more of Darby here's a post of when we went out last summer to visit her and her family. 

Again stories like this is why we foster and why we can let the fosters go. Darby has an amazing family and we feel lucky to have played a very small role in helping her to find happiness, love and adventure.