PEOPLE OF INTEREST
The
GOAT TENDER
BY JANIE GOULD
On the whimsically named
76
Doll Babies Farm west of
Vero Beach, former banker
and drag racer Darlene Dollins
labors contentedly, raising a small
herd of Nigerian dwarf goats and selling
soap she makes from their milk.
The six females, or does, live in
an immaculately clean and sweetsmelling
barn and sport such names
as Lulu, Coco and Mercy Me. Two
bucks in a separate enclosure go by
Heart Throb and Hoosier Daddy.
When fully grown, the goats are
about the size of a large lap dog and,
indeed, often chill out on Dollins’
lap.
“This is my little family,” she said.
“They give me peace. If you’ve had a
bad day you can come out and plop
down on a bench and somehow
they’ll exude peace. They’ll plop in
my lap and we’ll just mellow out
together.”
Most of the goats have brown
eyes, but they now share barn space
with three blue-eyed does.
“Blue eyed goats are gaining
popularity, so I make sure I have
the opportunity to bring blue eyes
into the herd,” she said. “People like
beauty, and blue eyes are beautiful!
Blue eyes are mystical. They’re
stunning, especially on a dark goat.
But, like my mentor said, blue eyes
never put any milk in the pail. I like
udders, a good capacity and an ease
of milking.”
A New Jersey native, Dollins
moved to Vero Beach as a child and
graduated from Vero Beach High
School in 1977. During her career in
banking, she worked as vice president
and commercial loan officer at
Indian River National Bank.
As a drag racer, she was on a nationally
televised racing show called
“Pinks all Out” in 2007. She says she
always found racing to be exciting,
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JANIE GOULD
Darlene Dollins gave up the fast-paced life of banker and race car driver to raise goats on her farm in
Indian River County.