Dr. Heather, Jackie and Jennifer with beloved father and husband Edd Darby June, 2005

On July 3rd, 2005, my father, Edd Darby passed away while fishing on Wildcat Creek near our home in Lafayette, IN. Our family was devastated by the loss of such a wonderful husband and father. The following Christmas, my sister Jennifer had an extremely vivid dream that Dad had left our family a gift on the doorstop of our family home. The card on the gift said "Do not open for 110 days and 10 hours." We got out the calendar and looked and the date was early in April. It was a weird dream that made no sense to any of us.  I had always dreamed of running my own veterinary clinic for years, but I was afraid of drastically changing my life. Dad had always encouraged me to follow my dreams and start out on my own. Dad's death taught me that life is too short to waste time. Live while you can. Our family opened a house call practice for small animals. We chose the name Wildcat Valley Animal Clinic in memory of my father. On April 8th, 2006 a neighbor called me. His dog had been hit by a car and he had heard that I was a vet. Wildcat Valley Animal Clinic was open for business!