Jim Kofron Photography

It's been over a year an a half since a particular field spaniel came to grace us with his presence. Sonya shipped Mr. Darcy to us so that Grace would be able to show Darcy in juniors and the breed ring—as well as to give her some relief from Mr. Darcy's issue with puppies. When he came, it was pretty clear that he didn't care much for men. He bonded quickly to Jen and Grace. With me, he was just generally distrustful. Eighteen months later, I'm missing my best friend—Darcy is traveling to Canada to reunite with Sonja.

How he became my best friend—I'm not really sure. He's a sweet dog to everyone he meets (puppies and a certain pointer excluded). Over the course of the first few months, he got to trust me (I fed him every morning, after all), and then he'd move up to actually liking me—sitting on the couch by my side while I rubbed his spaniel-ly ears. But this affection accelerated to unabashed infatuation on both sides—he'd jump up on our bed at night and crawl into my arms, put his head on my pillow, and make snorty spaniel-pig sounds (until he'd start spaniel-snoring). What a lovey dog!

I knew that I had made it when I could call to him at the same time that Grace was calling him (who do you love more?), and he'd come to me. On weekends, he was her dog as they traveled all over the place. But during the week, he was my pal! What a great treat—it was so special to have him stay with us, and I'm going to miss him dearly. Thanks Sonya for giving us the opportunity to get to know such a cool dog!

And Darcy—the pointer says 'Buh-bye...'