Daisy is a 48 lb. female mix breed (A mix of what, were not completely sure). She was a stray taken to the pound, in the hopes they would find her a good home. She had been adopted out several times, but always returned back to the pound. Daisy is very kind in nature, good with kids and great around other dogs. However, she is also a high energy dog and can be destructive, if that energy is not channeled to something else. Not everybody has a place in their home for a dog like Daisy.
After being shuffled from home to home, Daisy was about to run out of options, and when you live at the pound, being out of options is not a good thing.
Daisy didn't know it, but her luck was about to change. A man, by the name of Matthew Duncan, had recently lost his dog (Sadie) and was considering adopting again. However, his situation isn't like everyone else's. You see Matthew is handicapped. He was born with Spinal Bifida and is confined to a wheel chair, therefore he did not take lightly the decision of taking care of another dog. After giving it alot of serious thought, Matthew decided that he really missed the companionship and liked the idea of being able to give a needy dog a home. After checking the local newspaper and the humane society he finally came across Daisy. When he called the Humane Society, he was disappointed to learn Daisy had already been adopted. A little discouraged, he went back to looking. About three weeks later, he received a phone call, the family who had adopted her had brought her back. The Humane Society was calling to see if he was still interested in adopting her, and of course he was.
After Matthew got Daisy settled into her new home, sadly enough he started to see for himself why people kept taking her back to the pound. She was about five months old, larger than he'd expected, and had an unstoppable energy level. Daisy spent her spare time chewing on the household furniture, Matthew's favorite pair of Oakley sunglasses and pretty much anything else she could get her teeth in to. Matthew had the back yard fenced in hoping to help her exert some of that energy, instead she tried to dig holes to china, and barked excessively. Not wanting to send her back to the pound, like everyone else, but thinking she was more than he could handle, Matthew wasn't sure what he should do, and that just maybe, he was in over his head.
Matthew would throw the tennis ball for her sometimes, just to help her spend some of that energy. During that time, is when he came up with what he hopes was a solution to his problem. Daisy enjoyed retrieving and Matthew and Mark (Matthew's Brother) have always had an interest in retrievers. So to give the furniture a rest, they decided to work with her some. Starting indoors they worked with her on training dummies (she loved it). Later the sessions moved outside and she continued to progress (She still loved it). Still not really expecting anything from her, they decided to see how she liked the water. Once again she came through, she loved that too, and to prove how much, she jumped right in, without hesitation.
Daisy would retrieve in the water or on land, it didn't seem to matter. It didn't take Matthew and Mark long to realize, this dog from the pound, with to much energy, had potential. They continued working with her, and meanwhile, she was adapting to her new home. When the brothers traditional hunting trip was drawing near, they didn't want to leave her behind. They decided to take her with them, so she wouldn't feel abandoned once more, besides as much as she enjoyed retrieving, she could even be a benefit to them.
Mark's Chesapeake (Gunner) would also be going , and hopefully Daisy could learn from his many years of experience. So here was Daisy going from, the pound to the Pamlico Sound.
On two recent hunting trips to Cedar Island in 2008, Daisy proved her worth. No, she is not the dog you will see on TV, nor is Matthew or Mark, the Dog Trainers of the year, but it doesn't matter Daisy enjoys retrieving and doesn't ever have to worry about going back to the pound. On the two hunts in 2008, she was able to pick up birds, and chase down cripples.
2009 and 2010 - Daisy can now take hand signals, and make blind retrieves. She now gets to go on geese, dove, and duck hunts. Over all she's an all around good hunting companion.
Who would of guessed? Daisy may not of been, the right dog for alot of people, but she was obviously the right dog for Matthew Duncan.
Update: Matthew Duncan passed away in December 4th of 2009. Mark Duncan is, and will continue, to take care of Daisy. If you see Mark, you can count on Daisy being close by. She is healthy, happy, and still loves to retrieve.
The Final Chapter.
On February 2ND 2011 at the age of four Daisy's life comes to a sudden end. The Vet's speculated heart failure. Her last year was her best and she went out with a bang. She retrieved 29 geese, 91 ducks, 12 doves, and one crow. Not bad for a dog from the pound.
Thanks
A special thanks to Tracy Hayes for all the help he gave in making Daisy the fine dog she became.
