When you spend time with animals, you strengthen communication and responsibility skills.
Many who grow up with pets learn their unique needs, like how to feed, shelter, and care for them.
Central to Their Childhoods
Animals have been central to Darcy and her family their entire lives. Point to any animal you find while hiking, and Darcy can come up with fun facts about the creature you ran into.
“I feel calmer when I’m around animals,” Darcy says. “Sometimes, when I don't feel like doing anything, I pet them, and then they can bring the best out of me.”
Across the Pond...
Darcy grew up with dogs, cats, and birds at home, and her family spent about 11 years living on a farm outside of Yorkshire, England.
“My sister Chelsea and I almost got in trouble when we played with the sheep,” Darcy says, laughing. “We learned that we had to never touch the sheep when they were pregnant, and we had to run away if the mother was taking care of her lambs!”
Chelsea, whose similar passions led her to working at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, often takes her sister to Frying Pan Park in Herndon.
The family-friendly park hosts farm animals like horses, pigs, and goats, and the sisters try to pet them when they have the chance.
“Seeing the animals with my sister brings us closer together. When I foster animals for work, Darcy can take some responsibility off my shoulders and care for them. I learn more from her every time she visits Mom and me.”
There are also many events for visitors, including horseback riding for people with IDD.
Darcy says riding can be therapeutic for people with disabilities because the activity improves social and emotional well-being.
“I’ve been riding at the park for over ten years,” Darcy says. “Some of the riders are children, and many look up to me as an expert with horses.”
Once she’s home from riding or work, Darcy often pulls up YouTube and watches National Geographic and Dr. Pol during her downtime. Just as Gabriel Homes learns more about animals through Darcy, she learns something new about them every day.