Lucky dog is a TV star!
Darcy is quite the doggy diva on the set of his TV show Pooches At Play. “Even if he’s not supposed to be in shot, he’ll find a way to get on camera,” says his owner and co-star Lara Shannon. “He adores his fame.”
But life wasn’t always so glamorous for six-year-old bitzer Darcy. “His first two owners were unable to keep him,” Lara says. “The first one had him for a year but moved into a rental that wouldn’t take pets, while his second owner moved overseas.”
TV producer and certified dog trainer Lara says she had an instant connection with “smart and loving” Darcy. “I knew his previous owner and when I’d walk past he’d be waiting at the gate for me,” she says. “We always had an incredibly close bond.”
In April 2017, when Darcy’s second owner moved, it was decided the “scruffy furball” would live with Lara permanently. “I think he and I were meant to be.”
After he moved into Lara’s Melbourne home, he also joined her on Ten’s Pooches At Play, the show she created. “Darcy was an instant natural on camera,” says Lara.
But before he made his screen debut, he had to undergo a mini-makeover. “When I first got him he looked like a rat with a fur coat,” laughs Lara. “People used to say, ‘He’s so ugly!’ but some grooming transformed him into a handsome boy.”
Now Darcy’s just about to film his fourth season of Pooches At Play and he’s quite the celebrity. “He’s got 2000 followers on Instagram and he gets stopped all the time for pats,” says Lara. “He loves the attention.”
‘When I’d walk past he’d be waiting at the gate for me’
Darcy’s a supporter of Second Chance Animal Rescue. “He’s a great ambassador for dogs who’ve been handed around,” says Lara. “There’s a misconception they’re badly behaved but like Darcy, they often lose their homes through no fault of their own.”