Darla was a busy girl when she was brought into the Humane Educational Society as a stray... she had seven puppies with her.
Happily, all seven of them got adopted. But that left Darla with nothing to do and lots of time to do it in.
Shelter staff discovered that she was really good with the other dogs during play group time, was loyal to her humans, and she liked toys. But as a 66 pound, 3-year-old pit bull mix she just wasn't drawing the attention of potential adopters - and she needs a family - and surely there's a family out there that needs her too.
One shelter staff member, Kate Andrews, volunteers at Southern Kingdom of Diving Dogs, where her former shelter dog is a stand-out diver. She and other staff members decided that it would be a grand idea for Darla to learn to dock dive for many reasons - not just because she'd like it, but just maybe a shelter diving dog might draw the attention of a potential adopter.
Angie and Brian Young, owners of the Southern Kingdom venue, were immediately on board with the novel idea.
Darla (AKA Moo) took to dock diving like a champ. After some weeks of training, she competed in her first ever tournament, earning her Dock Novice Title and is currently aiming for Dock Novice Advanced Title.
If you want to add a heartwarming champion to your family, come meet Darla!
You can also visit HES's Facebook page to watch the videos of her dock diving journey.
