Here is my 13 year old man, Domino.
Backstory:
When my I was little, my grandma got a puppy. The story goes that when I was two, I named him Domino because I had just learned about dominos
. In 2014, my grandma and grandpa split and my grandma moved to Florida, leaving Domino with my grandpa. My grandpa didn’t really want him at first, but he kept him because he was my grandmas dog. Over time, he grew to love Domino, and Domino adored him. However, my grandpa didn’t have much money, and didn’t know how to properly take care of a dog. When Domino barked at strangers, instead of teaching him not to bark, he would yell and put him outside, sometimes for hours. He bought the cheapest food you could buy at Walmart, and rarely took him to the vet even when something was wrong. Domino never got a bath or a haircut except when my mom or uncle paid for it and took him, so he always was super matted, with heavy dreadlocks hanging off of his body. One time, my grandpa tried to cut his fur by himself and accidentally cut the tip of Dominos ear off
. My mom rushed over and took him to the vet, which she and my uncle paid for.
Despite all of this, Domino loved my grandpa. In 2016, my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer. He moved to a small apartment, where there was only one window high in the wall in the room where Domino stayed. He didn’t think of leaving a light on for him, so he would be in the dark all day while grandpa was at an appointment or the hospital.
In 2018, grandpa lost his battle with cancer. My dad was very skeptical about taking in Domino, but my mom couldn’t bear to see her dads dog go to a shelter, where he likely wouldn’t have been adopted because of his age. He came home September 15th, 2018.
Care:
He gets taken outside 4 time a day every 4 hours, because he’s getting old and can’t hold it as long anymore.
He gets Authority grain free dry kibble in the morning and evening, and Nulo wet food at lunch and dinner.
He gets a bath and a haircut roughly every 4-5 months or so, with oatmeal shampoo to keep his skin from getting dry.
He gets chronic ear infections regularly, because of the crappy food grandpa fed him, and the non-existent vet visits didn’t help either. To help with this, I give him ear drops for 7 days whenever I see an infection start, then wipe out his ears with cotton. He also is on grain free, much better quality food and that seems to help as well.
Other info:
Domino loves to look out the windows. He’ll jump up and put his paws on the sills and just look out at the back or front yard, barking furiously at cars or passing people.
He loves to sleep in an old beanbag chair that we got from my grandma before she moved. We have it by the fireplace, and he’ll snooze in it for hours if nothing disturbs him.
He’s scared of men, especially big/tall ones. This is probably PTSD from my grandpa yelling at him all the time. He never hit him or got violent, but his demeanor would have been enough to scare Domino. If you keep your hands up and ignore him for a while though, he’ll calm down and be the sweetest dog you’ve ever met.
I’m his alpha. He always has to be where I am, doing whatever I’m doing. It gets a little annoying sometimes (especially if I’m doing water changes!) but I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He’s my boy, my pupperioni, my doggo. I will never be the same once he passes away. I love him so much, and I’m glad I get to spoil him more than he’s ever been spoiled before.
I hope you love him as much as I do!