Darcey, the blonde rocking the Hollywood shades below, makes her cinematic debut at Doggie Shorts: A Furry Film Festival at the Loft Cinema this weekend.
She can attend the event on Saturday, April 9, which is otherwise closed to canines, because she is a trained service dog.
The festival features some of the best shorts from The Bow Wow Film Festival, along with curated dog-themed, short-film favorites from all over the world, and five locally produced film shorts . Organizers hope to make it an annual event.
A portion of the proceeds benefits Handi-Dogs Inc., which is where Darcey worked with her family for seven months to learn how to retrieve items for her dad, Nash Lopez, and to detect through scent when his blood sugar falls dangerously low.
The training often takes more than a year, but Darcey had already aced obedience and loves to work, said her mom, Sue Lopez.
The plot of the film that stars Darcey, “Where I Belong,” is to show a shelter dog’s transformation into a service dog.
It largely mirrors Darcey’s life. “We rescued her as a puppy,” Sue Lopez said.
The couple used to have pugs, but after their last dogs passed away decided they were done with the heartache.
Then, six years ago they heard about a person in St. David who had rescued a pregnant dog. They paid a visit after the pups were born and selected a male they named Dexter. But Darcey “followed us out to the car. She pushed the gate open,” said Sue, who decided to take both puppies once she held Darcey in her arms.
Darcey was the obvious choice when the couple heard about the diabetic-alert training Handi-Dogs offers. “Dexter doesn’t want to be a service dog — he’s a very laid-back dog,” Sue laughed.
Darcey knows it’s time to work when she wears her teal service vest. When she detects low blood sugar, she’ll start poking Nash’s leg with her nose.
The shepherd mix also picks up things for him, such as house keys and pieces of paper, and can retrieve his cellphone. “She can pick up a credit card off of a tile floor,” Sue said. “She’ll work at it and work at it and work at it until she has it.”
Handi-Dogs has also been really good at answering questions as challenges arise, Sue said.
Darcey will demonstrate her skills when Sue takes a turn as one of the volunteers answering questions about Hand-Dogs at Adopt Love, Adopt Local at the Tucson Expo Center April 16.
Since 1978, the Tucson-based nonprofit has helped older adults and people of all ages with disabilities gain independence and self-esteem by helping them train their own dogs to be their service, therapy or well-mannered pet dogs.
Part of the program is that people need to recertify every year. “We really want an ongoing relationship with that person and dog,” said JoAnn Turnbull, Handi-Dogs president and CEO.
“I thought it was fantastic,” Turnbull said of the inaugural Adopt Love, Adopt Local event, which featured a variety of animal-centric activities and services in addition to adoptions.
“A lot of people don’t realize they can train their own dog to become their service dog. That said, you have to have the right dog.”
Darcey was probably also the right dog for the film project “because she’s a very patient dog who doesn’t mind doing things over and over again,” Sue said.
“When her vest is off, she’s a totally different dog,” she said. “She’s a very playful dog.”
