Darby’s Tail

Chris Ann had a bobbed tail that was like a metronome on high speed, Mitzi had a foofy tail, the tip of which, when her tail was curled, would touch her back as she pranced; Darby, our tan shepherd – lab mix, had a long tail that was mainly straight, but with just a little bend upward when she walked or ran.

You may recall that shortly after moving to Richmond that Vickie and I discussed getting another dog and that we decided against it; and that within weeks I arrived home on a Friday to find Mitzi keeping Vickie and Chris Ann company. For the next three years it was Bob, Vickie, Christy, and Mitzi; and while Mitz could be temperamental, by and large the four of us got along pretty well. Then one day I arrived home, walked through the kitchen and into the dining room, and there was Vickie with a puppy.

A coworker had found a litter of puppies in the woods around her home, brought them into work in a box, and one of them somehow picked Vickie as her new mom. By this time of life and marriage I was smart enough to know that I had no say in the matter of yet another dog.

A couple of nights after the puppy’s arrival we were out to dinner (that is Vickie and I were out to dinner, not the puppy and I, not the puppy and Vickie and I…just Vickie and I) and were discussing what name to give the puppy. We asked the waitress what she thought and she said she’d give it some thought. Later that evening she told us that the matter had been put to the staff in the kitchen and that Darby was the name they agreed on – since Darby seemed like a fine name to us, Darby it would be.

Darby, with her straight tail, would be Momma’s dog unlike any dog we’ve had – she loved Vickie; oh she loved me too, but she loved Vickie. Wherever Vickie went Darby went, from a puppy to an old girl. Darby is kind of a link in our dog family – Darby knew Chris Ann and she knew Mitzi, and she also knew Lina (our basset mix); now we have Lina and Lily – so Darby is the link in the chain of dogs. Darby could pass on to Lina what she knew of Chris and Mitz, and Lina could pass on to Lily what she knew of Darby and what Darby told her about Mitz and Chris. If you are not a dog person this will make so sense – but try to enjoy the ride.

There is another thing about Darby, not to be discussed here in detail, maybe another time, but for the record I’ll state it: Darby was with us during some great times and low times – she traveled with us from Richmond to the Boston area and then to Western Mass and then back to Richmond; then to the Shenandoah Valley that turned out to be a valley of the shadow of death. Darby died shortly before we moved back to Richmond – I think she had done all she could for us and that the old girl just couldn’t do anymore. My how we loved her! We’ve loved them all, we love the two we have now – they are all special – but if a dog can have an old soul then Darby had one.

As I said, Darby was Vickie’s dog, she was Momma’s dog – as long as she could see Vickie she was content – it’s good to be loved by a dog.