- March 19, 2026
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At 88 years old, Marge DeSimone, who has never learned how to swim, approached a pool anyway.
She is leading Nikki, a 7-year-old bordoodle (a border collie and poodle mix) while providing the dog with encouraging words.
Nikki is about to show her skill in the sport of dock diving.
“You can do it Nikki, make me proud,” she said before letting the dog loose.
After 58-year-old Courtney Barr took her under her wing, DeSimone has become part of the dock diving community at K9 Sports in Myakka City.
The purpose of dock diving is to measure how far dogs can jump. Nikki’s record jump is 17.1 feet as part of Team Barrdoodle.
DeSimone acts as the “releaser” and holds Nikki until she feels the dog is totally locked into the task. Being a member of Team Barrdoodle has kept DeSimone active, engaged and surrounded by excitement.
It has been good for Nikki, too. Barr said if Nikki didn’t have some sort of activity such as dock diving, she would “drive her human insane.”
Barr described her as a “soft dog” in the sense that she is gentle and will not cause trouble for her handlers. Away from the dock, she doesn’t bark and lies down quietly when they go out to dinner.
That calm also makes her perfect for DeSimone, who might not be a good fit for a dog always pulling at the leash.
DeSimone has spent a fair amount of time around dogs in the past, but her relationship with Nikki is different. Nikki provides her with love and support without even trying. DeSimone describes her as affectionate and a “smart cookie.”
“She's such a wonderful dog,” DeSimone said. “She is apt to try different things. I just love her to death.”
Nikki's handlers were introduced because Barr was good friends with DeSimone’s late son, Peter Desimone, who died in 2014.
Barr got to know Desimone at the Celebration of Life and they kept in touch afterward. DeSimone’s husband, also named Peter, died in 2017. They had been together 55 years.
“I was a little depressed at that time and I didn't know what I wanted to do,” DeSimone said. “I had the whole house to myself, so it was lonesome and it was depressing.”
In 2024, DeSimone moved from The Windsor of Ocala to The Windsor of Lakewood Ranch. She felt she needed more help and companionship.
Barr brought Nikki for a visit and she could see how it affected DeSimone in a positive way.
“I've always been single myself,” Barr said. “My parents have passed and I have no siblings, so I don't know who's going to help me when I'm her age. I feel I'm paying it forward. I told her this from the beginning, that I treat her how I want to be treated.”
When Barr approached DeSimone about involving her in dock diving, there was some hesitation and shock. DeSimone wasn’t sure what her responsibility would be and whether she could handle it. Barr assured her that it wasn’t a difficult task.
“I would definitely say we had a rough start because we both didn't know what we were doing,” Barr said. “I think now, Marge is much more confident, as I am and Nikki is as well.”
Barr said the three of them are like “The Three Musketeers."
“She (Barr) has done so much for me,” DeSimone said. “She's very talented, she's well educated, and she has helped me tremendously health wise, and by getting me out, doing things, and not feeling sorry for myself.”
On top of competing in dock diving together, the two women have also gone on multiple trips, including visits to Costa Rica and Ireland. Ireland was especially important to DeSimone, because her father was from there and she had never visited.
“We're all going to die someday, but until I do, I want to be out there doing and learning different things,” DeSimone said.
