One month after Michael and I were married we decided to get a dog. We went to the SPCA in Harrisonburg and found the cutest little puppy. I didn't want a male or a big dog, but this puppy changed my mind. He was the sweetest thing. It was love at first sight. We brought him home in a milk crate. His name was Domino. He was black with white spots and a white tip on his tail. He was our first child.
He loved to play. He would play fetch with a ball, stick or a frisbee. He could play for hours. He especially loved frisbee. He would alway chew on the frisbee so we would go through them very fast. I still have a bag of them hanging in the garage that he didn't get to use. He loved to play in the water. We would take him to the "slab" in the summer. He loved it there. We even bought him a kiddy pool for the back yard.
When he was two, he was playing frisbee with my parents dog, Poochie, and broke his leg. My mom and I had a hard time trying to get him in the car. My dad came home and he jumped right in for him. I helped the vet take the Xrays, since the office was closed. He had to have a cast. He was in it for four weeks. He looked so funny. We moved our bed to the floor because he slept on the bed with us and couldn't jump up. He always slept on the bottom of the bed.
He loved to eat. His favorite food was watermelon. He got some for his birthday, Aug. 1, every year. He was know to eat anything. He would sneak into things while we were out. He would eat things and hide the evidence. He was always getting into things he shouldn't. I don't remember how many times we called poision control because he ate some kind of pills out of the bottle off the table. He even ate a candle off of the table once. Wick and all!
He loved his ears rubbed and there was one spot on his back that made his leg move so fast when you scratched it. Sometimes if you rubbed in his ear just right, he made a mooing sound like a cow. We would always laugh at him. He didn't care, it felt good. I think one of the things I'll miss most is how his fur feels. I loved to pet him.
When we had Blake, everyone said we would have to get rid of him. He did fine. He didn't really care for this noise new thing we brought to the house, but he did fine. Later on, he was protective of Blake. If he thought he was being hurt, you better watch out. I can remember saying to him, "let's go wake the baby for school", and he'd run in Blake's room and bark until Blake got up.
Then we brought home Buttons. He was not happy. This little dog was up in his face and wouldn't leave him alone. She loved him so much and just wanted to play. He began to soften up. We they would go to sleep, he would let her lay up against his back. He did like to chase her around and bark at her.
We were blessed to have him for 14 years. He was the best dog anyone could ask for! We had special names for him, Dommy or Felly. He was our dog, our first baby, he protected our family, gave us joy, and loved us for who we were. We will miss him so much and he can never be replaced! We thank God for allowing us to share our lives with Domino.
