This is the story of our Dominic; the gentle giant, the bestest boy, the most handsomest boy in da whole world. That is normally how we greet him at least.

Back in December 2016, my mom had just gotten out of a 5-day-long hospital stay after having a heart attack, when I suggested we go to Pasadena Humane to look at dogs, thinking that would make her feel better (like.. she had JUST been released). When we arrived and started to look around, I lost my mom for a while. I didn’t think much of it until I turned the corner and saw my mom kneeling down in tears over this beautiful doggy soul. My mom instantly fell in love. We joked that coming here after she had a heart attack was not the best idea, considering the thought of leaving Dom behind was breaking her heart. We called my brother to discuss adopting since he was the only one not working full-time at the moment and would now have three dogs to look after for most of the day. We could not get Dominic out of our heads or hearts, and two days later, we adopted our handsome boy, and he instantly became best friends with our maltipoo Bryan, my princess pit Lola, and our human brother Mando.

We all lived a happy life together until our boy Bryan passed in July 2024 after a nasty battle with cancer while in the middle of us all moving away. However, Dom is still doing great and lives with our brother Mando and his wife, while my Lola and I live nearby. Our mom drives into town a few times a month to take him for the weekend, and we are all still a loving, happy family. Dominic was the greatest addition to our home and the best thing to come out of my mother’s heart attack. Thank you for the work you do. It truly changes lives.

The first photo is of Dom sad in the shelter. The last photo is of him and Lola the other week taking over my bed. Seeing the grey on his face makes me sad, but also reminds me of how many amazing years we’ve gotten to love each other. I pray for many, many more to come.