Dufenhof Swissies

Darla Jean, the Dancing Queen. Or maybe Darla Jean the Jumping Bean. Either one would be accurate.

Darla was the only surving girl in her litter and was quickly dubbed "Darla" after the pretty little dark-eyed girl from the "Our Gang" series in the late 1930s, Darla Jean Hood.  Like both her namesake and her mom Katie, Darla was both feminine and strong. They had no trouble keeping up with the boys, often out-doing them altogether, but always making sure they still looked pretty doing it.

When Darla was young, just getting her to stand still could be a challenge. She just never seemed to run out of energy and like her Aunt Mimi, she would rather leap over something instead of going around it. I can remember vividly her routine of jumping off of a retaining wall with a drop of several feet because it was the most direct & exciting way to get from the patio door to the back fence. It is a miracle she never hurt herself and I held my breath when it was time to get her xrayed for OFA knowing the pounding her joints had taken. Thankfully all went well in that department.

Darla was never one to do things the way anyone expected, but then with Darla the unexpected should have been the expected. At one of her first dog shows she decided to upset a couple of other exhibitors by not just winning the points, but also winning Best of Breed from the classes. Apparently she really liked those big purple & gold rosettes, because she did it more than once, defeating more than one nationally ranked champion in the process. Of course you could just say that Darla was doing her part to keep up the family tradition as her mother, grandmother and some aunts & cousins all did the same thing on their way to becoming champions. And of course also keeping up tradiion, I always showed Darla in Bred-By Exhibitor class.

After attaining her championship Darla retired from the show ring and eventually found her way to the whelping box for two lovely litters. 

True to form, Darla decided to have her very first puppy while I was trying to get everyone else fed breakfast. After spending a sleepless night watching her snore and occasionally grunt as she slept , she'd made no indication that she was ready to actually have a puppy. After making sure the other dogs all got outside after breakfast I walked back in to see Darla on my bed staring at her newborn puppy. She was looking quite pleased with this little creature, but rather unsure about what she should do with it. Thankfully she was more than happy to let me get the puppy warm and clean and we moved the action into the whelping box.  From then on Darla seemed to understand what puppies were and she was a doting, gentle mother.

She absolutely loved having her puppies to nuzzle and care for, though she did frequently whack them with the thumping of her tail. Darla tried, but that natural excitement just can't be totally extinguished even when caring for puppies. She was so good with them once they started exploring the world, but I had to be careful when we ventured outside that she didn't decide to take everyone on a jaunt through the woods.

Darla is living the good life in her retirement.  She is spending her days with her brother Heckle and half-sister Schubi near Baltimore. Ever the happy girl, she enjoys getting way too many treats and all the love & kisses she wants from my friends Tom & Diane.

To see some of Darla's puppies click here

Darla's titled offspring include:

Tommy, Ch Dufenhof Presumed Innocent

Rico, Dufenhof State's Evidence, CGC

Darla

Ch Dufenhof Simple Serendipity

Breeder: Ellyn M Signet

Date of Birth: August 31, 2004

Darla's Health Clearances

P2Y12 Status: Untested (1 offspring tested: 1 Carrier) 

Sire: Ch Hamilton's Gone Fishin'

Dam: Ch Dufenhof Toil-N-Ttrouble

Darla's Pedigree

 Darling Darla