Ever wonder which Milwaukee public figures are dog lovers? Find out with Famous Fido. Heather Darbo, LVT, VTS (ECC) is the Blood Donor Program Coordinator at the Animal Emergency Center in Glendale. She grew up in Hokes Bluff, Alabama and earned her Veterinary Technology Degree from Snead State Community College. During the course of her career she has worked in Chicago, the Milwaukee County Zoo and New York City. While in New York, Heather completed her Certification as a Veterinary Technician Specialist (Emergency and Critical Care).

She loves playing recreational sports with her friends, visiting her family and spends her free time working or playing with animals. Heather shares her house with her husband Don McClellan, their three Dachshunds, Tootsie Roll (13 year old miniature Dachshund mix), Jelly Bean (13 year old miniature double dapple Dachshund) and Jabba the Mut (10 year old miniature Dachshund mix) plus Charlie Brown, a five year old German shorthaired pointer. Here’s a bit about Heather and Don’s “crew:” The dogs are spoiled with: Tootsie Roll says: I get to help with cleaning the dishes. Me, Jabba and Jelly Bean are really good at licking the plates clean. I love to take road trips. I have been to Florida, Georgia and Alabama. I love going hiking and on canoe trips in the summer.

In their backyard, Heather is holding Jabba and Jelly. Don has Charlie and Tootsie.

Jelly Bean says: I get to sleep on the bed when no one else is allowed. Since I’m the smallest and the neediest, I pretty much get what I want. I have to be picked up a lot since I have a history of back surgery. I needed back surgery and my previous humans where going to euthanize me. Thank goodness Heather was a Vet Tech and adopted me. She helped with my surgery and recovery and now I’m okay. Except that I can’t jump up and I have to be carried around a lot. Doesn’t sound too bad to me!

Jabba the Mut says: Lots of kisses. Even though my breath stinks ‘cause of my geriatric dachshund teeth, I still get to sneak a kiss in here and there. In the summer I get to play outside all day long. I wouldn’t come in if they didn’t make me. I love looking for rabbits and mice. I get a lot of belly rubs ‘cause I’m so cute when I roll over on my back.

Charlie Brown says: I have hit the jackpot and get to run around a two acre lot most of the day. I love tracking any new scents of animals (rabbits, squirrels, and sometimes deer). I also love going for car rides with my head out the window the whole time. Heather and Don think it’s really funny because my big ears and jaws flap in the wind. On weekends I like to go to Granville Dog Park and Katherine Kearney Carpenter Park and run the trails.

Where do they all usually sleep?
Tootsie Roll says: I sleep in my own bed with Jelly Bean, and my son Jabba the Mut.

Jelly Bean says: I sleep in my own bed, under lots of covers with Tootsie Roll and Jabba the Mut.

Jabba the Mut says: I sleep in my own bed with Jelly Bean and my dog mom Tootsie Roll.

Charlie Brown says: I sleep in my own bed in the same room as my dog mates.

Their favorite activities include:
Tootsie Roll says: I love hunting with Jabba in our prairie, but more than anything I love chasing stuff - like tennis balls, apples, rocks, etc. I love it even more when my humans throw them into our pond. I will wait as long as it takes for whatever they threw in to come to the side so I can get it. I only swim when it is really hot.

Jelly Bean says: My favorite activity is sleeping in the sun in the summer and under a lot of covers in the winter. Sometimes my humans have to check on me to make sure I’m alive. ?

Jabba the Mut says: My favorite activity is playing outside in the woods. I love digging holes and sometimes I get in trouble because they are so deep. I have traveled a lot with Tootsie Roll and Jelly Bean. When we go canoeing I love to sun myself on the top of all the supplies. One time the canoe hit a log while I was sleeping and I fell in. I learned to swim really fast. My human (Heather) almost jumped in for me but I finally came up. Afterwards everyone thought it was funny that I fell in. I didn’t think it was funny at all.

Charlie Brown says: I love going for long walks through the woods. It gives me the chance to look for birds. Most of the time I get distracted and find lots of other things instead, and then I like to run around like a crazy dog.

Anything else we should know?
Heather says about Tootsie Roll: When I was in Vet Tech school my classmates told me about this little dog that was sleeping on their front porch. I grew up with a Dachshund and when they told me the dog was a Dachshund mix I knew I wanted her. The day they brought her in I had already thought her name, “Tootsie Roll”. She was perfect. Now 11 years later she is still perfect, just with more gray hair, like her human mom. She doesn’t act a day over two, just like her human mom, ha!!

Heather says about Jelly Bean: Jelly Bean is our special needs dog. She is so cute that she gets away with anything and everything. She is always at your feet when cooking, waiting for something to drop. She is the perfect angel!!

Heather says about Jabba the Mut: Jabba the Mut is Tootsie Roll’s little boy. He had to be born via C-section with the help of myself and a vet tech friend assisting the DVM. The first few days of his life Tootsie rejected him and I hand fed him. Finally Tootsie decided she liked him. My mom kept him in Alabama and he grew up there until she passed away in 2002. He then moved to the big city. That is one reason he loves to play in the woods.

Heather says about Charlie Brown: I was volunteering for the Wisconsin German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue when they told me that they needed me to meet the Illinois GSP Rescue to pick up my first foster. At the time his name was “Lucky” and he was in a shelter. They didn’t know his history. We had him for several months and decided to change his name to “Charlie Brown” aka “Charlie”. Of course at that point we had to keep him. He is a very energetic dog, which most GSP’s are by nature. He learns very fast and graduated from Dog Manners Classes at the Wisconsin Humane Society. He is in the Blood Donor Program at the Animal Emergency Center and has already saved a life with his first donation. Now the sky is the limit!

MilwaukeeDogLovers.com says: We recently spent an afternoon at an event with Heather. We were extremely impressed by Heather’s devotion to the well-being of dogs and knew that she needed to be featured in Famous Fido. Please help Heather in caring for Milwaukee dogs and cats by donating to the Blood Donor Program. All the details can be found here.