09/28/2026
I lost a piece of my heart and soul on Friday 💔
I came to Houston to visit my family with no idea that less than a week later, we’d be saying goodbye to Domino.
If you’ve been around here for a long time, you probably know who Domino is. He was the first puppy I raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind — the puppy who sparked my passion for volunteer puppy raising and made me fall completely in love with Labrador retrievers.
In fact, this account started because of him. Before Hearth & Howl, it was “Days With Domino,” a place where I documented our everyday life together as I raised him to hopefully become a guide dog.
That career ultimately wasn’t meant to be for Domino, so my parents happily adopted him, and for the next 12 years, he filled an even more important role as our beloved family dog.
Everyone who met Domino loved him, which came as no surprise because Domino loved everyone just as deeply. He was gentle, endlessly patient, and went on to be the best mentor to several puppies over the years.
And when the guide dog life didn’t work out, Domino found his true calling… swimming. The pool was always Domino’s domain. If there was water nearby, that’s where he wanted to be. So it feels especially fitting that during his last few days, all he wanted was to spend time in his pool.
We had no idea when we came to town that we’d be saying goodbye to him. As heartbroken as I am, I’m so incredibly thankful that I happened to be here and that I got almost an entire week with him, loving on him, swimming in the pool with him, and being there for him when he was ready to go.
Domino was by our side for so many chapters of our lives. And looking back, I realize just how much of my own life can be traced back to that little lab puppy I brought home all those years ago.
He gave us 12 years of the very best kind of love. But somehow, it still doesn’t feel like enough.
We love you forever, Domino 🖤🪽🌈 thank you for being the beginning of so much. Counting down the days until we can swim together again.
September 1, 2014 – September 25, 2026
