Hi. My name is Duffy and I live in I’on. When people first see me, they often think  I’m

some kind of “doodle” mix, but I’m not. I’m a Lagotto Romagnolo. Some people have never

heard of my breed and joke that it sounds like an Italian sports car or a pasta dish. As you may

guess, my breed is from Italy, where they often use us to hunt truffles. While I’ve never found a

truffle, I do enjoy digging holes and am pretty good at it. I have an Irish name because my

owner “mom” is of Irish descent, and it makes her happy to think I may have some Irish blood.

My job at our house is to protect my owners by barking at walkers (especially those with dogs),

landscapers, delivery persons, or anyone else who may get my attention. In my spare time, I

love chewing on bones, taking naps, and swimming or sunning myself at the pool. The most

exciting time of day is taking walks around Westlake or on the nature trails. I’m very good at

spotting squirrels, creeping up to them very slowly so as not to alert them and then running as

fast as I can to catch them. I’ve never really gotten very close, but maybe one day I’ll get lucky!

I’ve been the only dog in my family until recently, when I was joined by Darby, an Irish Jack

Russell puppy. Yep, there’s that Irish thing again! At first, I thought Darby was a real nuisance.

He has way too much energy and everyone thinks he is sooo cute! But over the past few

weeks, I’ve really begun to like the little guy. We go everywhere together, and love to

wrestle and play tug-of-war with our toys. I’m doing my best to be his big brother by teaching

him everything he needs to know, and he’s helping me to be more active and even lose a

little weight. They say that “good things come in small packages,” and Darby may be the best

thing that’s happened to me in years!

Finally, I have to tell you how much I love it when the grandkids visit. Gracie, Charlie, and Carter

live in Charleston and come to my house to play, swim or have dinner. When they are eating, I

like to lie by their feet because, occasionally, they’ll drop some food on the floor and I love,

love, love to eat! Those kids are very cute and I love to be with them.

If you happen to be walking by my house and see me in the courtyard, I hope you’ll stop to say

hello. At first, I’ll probably bark while wagging my tail, but I’m really a nice guy and I may even

introduce you to my little brother, Darby.