Will Social Media Save Darby? The Saga Continues
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Since I first blogged about Darby the (female) German Shepherd, there’s been a lot of interest in her and her situation. There are so many people who have helped spread the word, and continue to do so, that I couldn’t begin to list them all here. But you know who you are, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As an aside, almost all of you have connected with me through Twitter – what an incredibly effective communication platform (and guess what, Darby decided to get on Twitter too).
A few more details on Darby have emerged in the last few days, as well as answers to questions I’ve been getting. So here’s the Darby FAQ (remember, I’m not a dog trainer or behaviorist and am simply telling you what I’ve been told – any of this could change based on the environment Darby is in):
What’s the deal with the aggression?
A better way to describe this, according to the trainer at Townhouse Pet Care Center, where Darby is currently being cared for, is that she has a strong “prey drive.” This isn’t PR-speak; if you’re familiar with Shepherds (I grew up around them) and similar breeds, you know it comes with the territory.
The people who have had the most contact with Darby – the folks at Townhouse, my friend Susan Ragan and a good friend of our late uncle, all believe Darby can be re-socialized with the right attention and training. In other words, it’s highly unlikely that she’s un-rehabilitable.
What are Darby’s vital statistics and history?
Darby was adopted by our late uncle three or four years ago from a shelter. So she has the same history as just about any other shelter animal – not much. She’s a smaller GSD (between 60 & 70 lbs), spayed and from all indications in good health – she shows no signs of dysplasia, etc. But I don’t have access to any records on her, other than what Townhouse might have. Like any shelter animal, what you see is what you get.
Is Darby good with kids? What’s her temperament?
Yes, by all accounts she’s extremely loving and people- and kid-friendly. Like most GSDs, she’s extremely intelligent as well. She’s well-behaved, housebroken, and does not bark excessively.
Does Darby need to be an “only pet”?
I certainly think that would be an ideal situation, since she’d be in a non-threatening environment. However, if she does go to a home with other pets, she will likely settle down with the right amount of attention and training. I can’t promise you anything, though.
Have I tried to contact breed-specific rescues and other groups?
Yes. So far I haven’t had any luck in reaching them, other than the Oregon German Shepherd Rescue, who have acknowledged my emails and phone calls, but who have not made direct contact with me yet. (And yes, I’m still trying). The Oregon Humane Society has been extremely helpful in directing me towards certain rescue groups as well.
What if someone outside of Portland, Ore., wants to adopt Darby?
If this is the right fit, you bet I’ll talk to them. The folks at PetRelocation.com saw my earlier post and have made the incredibly generous offer of transporting Darby to her new home, wherever that might be, free of charge. So now we just need to find a home for her.
What’s going to happen to Darby in the next few days?
The perfect solution, of course, would be to find a “forever home” for Darby and move her there. Failing that, we need to get her into a foster home – of which there are potentially two right now – and continue the search for permanent placement.
Practically speaking, this would be a foster home in the Portland area. The folks who have stepped up so far, including her caretakers at Townhouse, have been incredibly generous with their time and support, but I would like to stop being a drain on their resources as soon as possible.
A couple of folks I’ve connected with through Twitter – both outside of Portland – are considering giving Darby a home as an option of last resort. But – and I can’t stress this strongly enough – they both have constraints and nothing is a done deal. So it’s critical that we keep looking for a home for Darby.
If someone’s interested in Darby, how can they contact me?
Email me at info@shonaliburke.com; if you’re on Twitter, tweet me. If someone you know or have passed the information along to wants to talk to me, please ask them to let me know how they got the information.
Will social media save Darby? I don’t know … yet. I certainly hope so; it has certainly been extremely effective in getting people around the country – and the world – talking about her.
I might add that Darby’s got more gumption than most people I know (including myself); she’s been hitting up Ellen, Oprah and Rick Sanchez as well (no response so far).
I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful we are for your support and concern for Darby. I hope you’ll continue to help put the word out there, however you can – by tweeting and re-tweeting this post, spreading the news among your online and offline networks, posting to your Facebook pages, etc. – so that we can put social media to use for Darby’s good.
Thank you.
Darby’s photo courtesy Susan Ragan
Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?
I love social media and networking. No surprises there. What is especially fascinating to me is their potential to bring together people who are virtually unknown [sic] to each other, and set the stage for something unique, something unintended and, quite possibly, something very, very good.
There are several examples of virtual “strangers” banding together to make a difference; certainly for non-profit organizations and causes, but also in response to personal appeals. Remember Beth Kanter’s birthday fund raising drive which raised thousands of dollars for kids in Cambodia? And how about the British teenager who was literally “saved by Facebook“?
I thought long and hard about doing this, and finally decided that if Chris Brogan can ask you to shave your head for charity (which I applaud, by the way) I can ask you to try to save a life.
Darby’s Story
My husband’s uncle died suddenly while vacationing in Panama a couple of weeks ago. To say it’s been a huge shock would be putting it mildly.
We are still not out of the rain forest, so to speak; unless you’ve been through it, you have no idea how much there is to deal with – or how complicated and arduous the process is – when a family member dies abroad.
Be that as it may, our uncle left no progeny behind… but he did leave a dog.
“Darby O’Callahan” is a spayed female German Shepherd, about 7 years old. I’ve never met her, but from what I hear, she is extremely affectionate towards people, healthy and quite a beauty. She’s also one of the few dogs I know who has her own Facebook page.
Should be a cinch to get her adopted, right?
Nope. It seems that Darby has lately been showing aggression towards other animals, which means she needs to go to a home where she’ll be an “only dog.”
Now, it’s quite possible this is a result of Darby’s recent stress, and her strong prey instinct (which is what the manager/trainer at Townhouse Pet Care Center, where she’s currently being boarded told me she probably has) could be trained out of her over time.
After all, if your “dad” had suddenly disappeared, and you’d been in a kennel for 3 weeks+, you’d be pretty ornery too… if you were still sane.
(Disclaimer: Much as I love them, I’m not an animal trainer or behaviorist, so I’m providing the information given to me by people who are more qualified than me in this area.)
I’ve been trying to contact a few different rescues in the Portland, Ore., area (which is where Darby is), but so far we haven’t had any luck placing her; I had a potential home for her which fell through when we heard about the aggression issue, which I was heartsick over. Several of my friends and family have received an email plea for me. Some of my Tweeps have been trying to spread the word.
Well, now I’m throwing it open to YOU. Can you help get the word out about Darby? Forward this post, tweet it, share it however you can.
The folks most likely to adopt her will, of course, be in the Portland area; can you activate your network(s) to see if we can reach people there? Perhaps even the media?
Those are horrifying statistics in a country where almost two-thirds of households have pets.
I don’t want Darby to become another statistic.
Can you – the embodiment of social media – help find Darby a home? Anyone who’s interested, or wants to know more, can reach me at info (a) shonaliburke.com.
We would be so grateful. And I truly believe our uncle’s soul would be at rest.
Many thanks to the inimitable Susan Ragan for her great photographs of Darby, and to the folks at Townhouse for taking such good care of Darby while we try to place her.
