Our Dog Darcy

In the midst of a very busy month we made the decision to adopt a new puppy. Call us crazy, and maybe we are, but when the right one comes along, well, you just have to take a chance. 

When our son and daughter-in-law moved from the farm with their border collie/Leonberger mix last summer, we began looking for another companion for our Great Pyrenees. Maybe we were personifying Samson, our Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD), but he genuinely seemed to miss the constant companionship of his buddy Roe.  

Houston and I researched online and reached out to the local rescues we’d used in the past. There were some characteristics that were especially important to us. We wanted a female Great Pyrenees. She needed to be good with our guests, especially children. And ideally, she would already be trained to protect - not attack - our fowl. 

At the end of December someone in our community reached out to let us know a couple of Great Pyrenees puppies had been dumped near her property. Within days someone had come to get the male and Houston picked up the female. He then made the drive to Lara’s House, a rescue in Mexia. (Both Samson and Dewey - one of our “indoor” pups - had come to us through Lara’s House.) Upon arrival, she received the necessary shots and dewormer, was weighed (close to 40 pounds) and was determined to be around four months old. The staff member also confirmed what Houston had already suspected - she was most likely 100% Great Pyrenees.

Houston pulled onto our property later that morning, where we immediately introduced her to Sam. He was VERY interested. They got along just fine. This pup, who we named Darcy, seemed to tick all of our boxes. Not only was she a female, she was also the right breed for our farm. We had a farm tour a few minutes after she and Houston arrived and she did great with the family, including young children. And last week I caught her napping with our resident rooster pecking right next to her. 

The first week we let her and Samson spend some time together at intervals throughout the day, but with one of us nearby. Mostly, though, we kept her with us. Houston’s intent was to make sure she knew we were home base. She slept inside in a crate at night, which we’ll continue to do for a while. The second week we began leaving her outside with Sam all day. She follows him around most of the time. Darcy protects their food from the donkeys and barks whenever Samson barks, reinforcing the alert that something is up. 

I’m sure there’ll be some missteps - on her part and on ours - but for now she is doing great. And we couldn’t be happier with this sweet puppy who was dumped and left to fend for herself. We’re committed to providing the very best home for her on our farm. 

This piece first appeared in Sherry’s column, Finding Myself in a Small Town, in the January 20, 2024 edition of the Corsicana Daily Sun.