Domino's Journey

I haven’t updated in forever!!

A lot has happened since my last update unfortunately. As far as life on three legs, Domino is doing amazing! He’s now 3 years and 4 months a Tripawd and with regular rehab exercises he’s doing great on three legs.

However a few months ago I noticed a hard bony mass on Domino’s lower left jawline. At first I unfortunately didn’t think much of it. When I did take him to the vet, the vet agreed that it wasn’t painful or worrisome and he agreed maybe it was an issue from his car accident (it’s on the same side as his amputation). So I waited a few weeks and then took him in for a routine dental cleaning and the doctor was going to xray his jaw while he was under. I dropped him off and then got the call I dreaded most. Domino’s jaw was indeed abnormal, and actually he had no bone left on the majority of that jaw bone, it was all tumor. The doctor cleaned his teeth and woke him up and referred us to a dental specialist.

Dr. Duncan at UVS is a wonderful doctor, our consultation was good, but she agreed we needed to biopsy and see exactly what we’re dealing with. While waiting to do the biopsy we hit another speed bump. Domino’s jaw had started to drift to the left and his teeth were hitting each other. I sent a video to Dr. Duncan and she agreed we needed to act sooner rather than later, and possibly more aggressively than we thought. Her concern was that he already had a jaw fracture or severe bone loss further back. We got his surgery for his biopsy schedule asap for Tuesday Sept 19th. The plan was to go in, pull the majority of the molars over the tumor and take enough sample out for a good biopsy.

Once Domino was under and Dr. Duncan was able to take xrays and do a good oral exam we decided to go ahead and  do a total hemimandibulectomy, which is basically taking that entire side of his lower left jaw, all the way back to the joint. She discovered during his exam that his jaw joint had major bone loss and was unstable. It’s a major surgery and very scary. He had the surgery and stayed the night at the specialist. I’ll be honest, I was terrified to pick him up. He was going to be missing half of his face, how that’s scarier than missing a leg I don’t know, but it was. But when I picked him up I cried happy tears, he is still my happy wiggly whiny boy. Im shocked at how good he looks and how well his recovery is going. We are now 4 days post op and Domino is eating great, drinking water just fine, and is mad that he can’t play with his brothers and sisters. It’s amazing to watch him learn so quickly how to do things all over again. It’s like watching his amputation recovery all over.

Now all there is to do is wait. We should have biopsy results in about 10-14 days. My fingers are crossed for good news, but I’m also trying to mentally prepare myself for bad news. No matter what happens I believe I made the best decision for Domino. He seems just as happy as ever.

I’ll try to post another update as Domino’s recovery continues!

Cassie and crooked faced Domino

We are just shy of the 18 month mark!!!

The super cute three legged spotted wiggle butt has wiggled his way into a special place in my heart. There is something about this dog that I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing with another pupper. Obviously I absolutely adore my entire pack, they all mean the world to me. But 18 months ago I saved his life, and he spends every single second of every day making sure that I know that he’s grateful. He says it with his beautiful brown eyes, or his annoying yet endearing nose bumps, in the way he follows my every move through the house and the way he so lovingly plops on top of me every night.

It just a few short weeks it will be Domino’s 18 month ampuversary. It sounds like such a short amount of time, but I really can’t remember my pack before he joined it. He’s brought life and goofiness to our trio.

As far as his well being and tripawdness (lol) he’s doing amazing. His weight is staying steady and I’m keeping him lean, even though I’m sure he’d accept more cookies. We play fetch everyday, and try to keep it as low impact as possible, although man can he jump! We go on walks, as long as his front leg will allow. I will have to admit there have been times that I’ve been over ambitious about his stamina… but I recognized my mistake and he got carried to the car, no matter how far. We are hoping to soon meet with a Rehab Therapist and get into some more FitPaws exercises and workouts.

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve been on here! I really hope everyone is doing well and that of your puppers, both Tripawds and quadpawds are doing amazing!

Until next time

Cassie and Domino

Domino Playing Fetch

We had a blast this past weekend in Fredericksburg!!!!

This was my vacation to live and be more dog! We took this vacay solely for the dogs… a first for me. But whatever the dogs wanted they got, we walked for miles, we rolled in grass, we (they) peed on everything, they sniffed more butts than I can count, we slept in, we woke up early, the list goes on and on! It was nice to do things just for them.

We got to Fredericksburg Friday night and relaxed at the hotel. Saturday morning we decided to check out the Chancellorsville battlefield. It was there that we did a 4.2 mile walk! The puppers had a blast!! I’m pretty sure all of the trees on that battlefield now belong to Finn and Domino lol. Then we rushed to the hotel to get ready to head to the Hartwood winery. While getting ready we got a great surprise and ran into Sally, Myrtle and Frankie outside of the hotel! Myrtle and Frankie are two of the sweetest pups and my dogs loved them. And Sally has to be the nicest person I’ve ever met! She got their first greetings on video thank goodness.

Once at the winery it was all about wine and puppy playtime. The dogs lounged, Frankie howled and the people had a great time. The dogs were exhausted from their 4 mile walk, so we skipped the party at Deb’s rental house 🙁 I wish we hadn’t, it looked like so much fun!

Sunday morning was lazy, we slept in and were lazy until time for the big party. Once there we participated in the blessing of the hounds before heading out on the scavenger hunt. Another nice long walk for the boys to help wear them out and relax the rest of the party lol. After that it was nice to just hang out with everyone! Then door prizes and raffles…. lol we may have won a lot. We won the door prize basket, the odd item basket, then I won a raffle for a beautiful Tripawd necklace made by Rene, and a raffle for a bottle of wine from Greyt Heart Service Dogs. The memorial bonfire made me cry, which gave Domino reason to cheer me up, which he did by rolling and flopping all over me on the ground! I hope someone got it on camera because it was hilarious. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we had an amazing time. I can’t wait until next years party already!

This weekend really opened my eyes even more so to my dogs. They had the best time just being around us. I see many more vacations just for them in the future.

Here are the few pictures and videos I got, I was too busy having fun to snap pictures apparently lol.

Cassie, Domino and Finn 🙂

Relaxing at the hotel

Where am I supposed to sleep!?

Battlefield

Worn out pups

Finn at Hartwood Winery

Domino at Hartwood Winery

Frankie and Myrtle!!

Roscoe and Tanner

My favorite picture of the boys this weekend

My beautiful necklace!

On the ride home 🙁

One year. It still sounds crazy to say! Domino has been in my life for one whole year. We have had our ups and downs together, but I wouldn’t trade him for all the money in the world. Last Wednesday the 13th was his 1 year ampuversary. I brought him home the night of his surgery and both of our lives changed forever. Domino has changed a lot in the last year and so have I. Domino went from a scared outside farm dog, to a spoiled rotten couch potato. He’s become way more confident in himself and more trusting in people. I’ve helped him master his fear of cars and strange men and he has helped me learn to be more patient and understanding.

We celebrated last week with cake and party hats, there were frisbee’s thrown and lots of tennis balls to catch. Our big celebration will be getting to go the to East Coast Tripawds pawty next weekend in Virginia. It will be a full four days in a row dedicated to my puppers.

I hope our next year together will be as memorable as the first 🙂

Thanks for everyone’s support during our first year together! We wouldn’t be here without all of you!

Cassie and Domino

Domino pre surgery the day he was surrendered.

Domino on his 1 year ampuversary

Wow. 9 months! Really? Could it possibly be that short of a time!? Domino celebrated his 9 month ampuversary last Friday the 13th! It feels like he’s been a part of the family forever. I couldn’t possibly imagine our pack without my precious Tripawd. No matter how bad of a day I’ve had, there’s always a bouncing hoppy wigglebutt at home to greet me.

Domino is doing incredibly well. He’s getting better and better about being around strangers and wants to go everywhere I go. Everyone that meets him is amazed at his resilience and perseverance.

We’ve had several fun journeys recently and a few more starting soon. A few weekends ago Dom went on his longest walk since I’ve had him! I’ve had a good friend move back in town and we treated the pups to a 2 hour!! walk at the local botanical gardens. Domino did very well, we made pit stops every 15-20 mins for him to rest his leg and get some water, but he loved every second of it! He would have gone longer if I had let him. It makes me really look forward to spring when the weather will be perfect to be out there. Our newest journey will begin on March 2nd, which will be Dom’s first Nose Work class! We’re taking a 6 week Nose Work class at a local training facility that looks amazing. And the trainer herself has a tripawd Jack Russell! I’m really hoping that the class will help wear Domino’s mind and body out since I worry about him injuring his front leg with really active play.

This past Saturday we went to the vet clinic where Domino had his amputation to visit with some of the technicians and assistants that helped with his procedure and recovery. He absolutely adores going to see his favorite hospital worker Penny. She played a big part in his life when he was in the shelter at the clinic and the couple days he was hospitalized after surgery. He will literally run and jump into her lap and start to whine and hug her, its precious!

Today we’re enjoying some lazy time since we have a snow/ice day. We went out to play in it a bit. It’s Domino’s first snow/ice with us 🙂 At first he was apprehensive and a little uneasy. But after a minute of reassurance and watching his brother Finn bounce in it he jumped right in too.

For now I’m gonna go cuddle with the puppers and settle in for a movie. Until next time !

Cassie and Domino

Hi all! It’s been too long since our last post so I thought I would update you guys on all things Domino! Dom is now right in between his 4 and 5 month ampuversary. He continues to sail along like three legs was just meant to be. I recently got a new job, which means longer days away from my puppers, but more days off during the week which is nice. So yesterday to celebrate we went to our local kennel clubs responsible dog ownership day and had a blast! I even got Dom to go through the weave poles on the agility course. Afterwards we went to Petsmart to pick out a new toy, the local dog bakery for some yummy treats, and then to the ice cream place for some “doggie treats” and ice cream for me. Overall it was a great day and the weather was amazing.

Today we had our monthly nail trim day at the house, much to the puppers dismay. And Domino got his monthly tail and feet trimming so he has a bit more traction.

Dom’s fear of men is greatly improved and he is very willing to meet new people while we’re on the go. We’re still entertaining the idea of joining the local therapy dog group, but with his random fear of men it worries me to put him in a situation that might set him off. I have learned that he is definitely my dog. I still live at home with my mom and step dad, yea I know… it sucks. And while Dom likes my mom and tolerates my step dad, he wants to be glued to my side! Yesterday at the responsible dog owner day proved that. It was the first time I had taken Domino and his big brother Finn to an event together. Since Finn is so large I took on the task of walking him while my mom walked Domino, and Domino couldn’t stay close enough to me. He pulled and tugged until he was near me. So that’s something we’ll have to work on.

So the update wasn’t so quick as I thought lol. I hope you all had a great weekend! Thanks so much for your support!

Cassie and Domino (and Finn and Bounder too!)

We’re almost to our 3 month mark! But today marks 12 weeks since Domino had his amputation and came to live with me.

Things have been amazing and definitely changed for the better. I was skeptical at first about adding a third dog to my pack, but he fits in wonderfully. Our first 12 weeks have been full of firsts for us both. Domino has learned to trust me as I have him. He now “sits pretty” (sits up) for me to put his Webmaster harness on, and waits for me to lift him from the van. I now know that I can do just about anything to him without worry of his reaction. I dremel his nails by myself, apply his foot lotion, massage him all without him thinking twice about it. It’s hard to believe that just 12 weeks ago he was a forgotten outside dog scheduled to be put down.

This past Friday Domino graduated his beginner obedience class! He passed with flying colors and now we’re just waiting to sign up for intermediate. Hopefully we’re only about 4-5 months away from taking his therapy dog test.

Hopefully our next 12 weeks are as fun as the first!

Cassie and Domino

Not much has changed since our previous update, but I figured I would update y’all on all things Domino!

We have about 2 weeks left in obedience class and Dom is doing great! He’s turned out to be a very quick learner and very eager to please. We are still going to work towards our goal of him becoming a certified therapy dog. Our local group requires that you own a rescue or adopted dog for at least 6 months before taking the test. We also have a couple more obedience classes to go and our CGC test!

Dom continues to amaze me daily. He gets around incredibly well and seems to be loving life. He did get his first post amp boo boo this week. It looks like he fell onto his wrist and has a decent sized scrape there, but it’s healing fine and wasn’t too bad. Domino and his big brother Finn continue to bond really well. His big sister Bounder is very unbothered by everything that’s going on and tends to relax and watch the young guys play (she is 14 and cannot be bothered by the childs play). Finn and Dom love to wrestle and play tug of war, which then sounds like a herd of elephants running through the house!

Domino also seems to be maintaining his weight very well. He was fairly skinny when I adopted him and was only about 31lbs. We now have him at a fairly steady 36-37lbs and he’s staying thin and healthy.

Much to Dom’s enjoyment, he is continuing to sleep in the bed with me at night. He stays put all night and is a great cuddler. We spend most of our nights hanging out and watching a movie before bed (101 Dalmatians and Beethoven are his favorites lol).

10 weeks sounds like such a short period of time. It feels like Domino has always been here. I can’t really remember life without him here. Hopefully life with him continues to be a blast, we make sure to live each day to the fullest and enjoy every moment.

Cassie and Domino

I know this is a late post, but it’s been a busy week! This past Tuesday was Domino’s 7 week ampuversary! So, to celebrate we took a walk at the local Botanical Gardens!! Granted, it was a short walk, but it was a blast. It’s my favorite spot to walk Finn, my big guy, and I’m glad that Dom get’s to experience it too. We walked for about 10 minutes then took a 10 minute break, then another 10 minute walk and a 15 minute break. It was a fun trip. He got lots of attention from people we passed. One lady put a big grin on my face, she kept going on about how happy and well adjusted he looked. And she couldn’t believe that his surgery was just 7 weeks ago. I can’t wait for it to start cooling down so we can walk there more often!

Cassie and Domino

Since a couple of people were having trouble viewing the previous videos, here they are again!