Darla

I just finished taking care of my mom’s dog Darla at my house while my mom was out of town. She is on the left couch pillow above Stitch Murphy and next to Freya. Its funny how the little girl dogs do some of the same exact things. Darla can be somewhat dog-aggressive but when she is with my dogs she’s an angel and never shows aggression of any kind. I like having her over for extended visits. When you have three dogs already, throwing another little one in the mix is hardly noticeable.

Darla has come a long way. Eight years ago, when I had just started in the veterinary field, my manager at the time spent a good hour in a suburban neighborhood trying to catch Darla. She saw some people chasing after a dog and decided to help. It turned out that those people were not Darla’s owner and she had been running around the neighborhood for a few days. I know from personal experience that Darla is very difficult to catch. When I was still living at home, she escaped a few time by bolting out the door. Darla stayed in the kennels at my work for several months and nobody ever claimed her. Finally, I decided to take her home for a weekend with no intention of keeping her, but just because I felt bad for her. Eventually, my mom fell in love with her and the rest is history.

At the end of Darla’s stay with me I brought her to work for a proper dental cleaning. Surprisingly, she has great teeth for her age. I’m such a brat, I took great pleasure in taking pictures of Darla looking wasted while waking up from anesthesia. I sent this one to my mom.