I don't think I ever officially shared Domino's story on here, just on my blog, so here it is for any who want to read it.

I'm a Vet Tech at a growing vet clinic in South Carolina. Earlier this year we had a client bring in a super cute 1 year old Australian Shepherd named Domino after being hit by a truck. What we assumed was a recent injury, we found out had happened 1-2 months previously. He was completely non-weight on his front left leg so we figured it was a fracture healing improperly. We proceeded to take xrays and found nothing. Other than some muscle wasting the leg appeared normal. After running a few more tests we discovered that he had permanent nerve damage and would likely never use the leg again. We gave the owners the options, amputation, euthanasia, or see where we were at in a couple of weeks and go from there. They chose to give him a few weeks and see how he did. Through this whole visit, the dog was quiet and shy, he sat perfectly still for all of our tests and xrays. He was terrified once on the floor and refused to walk (hop/hobble) through the clinic. I carried him back to his owners and off they went.

2 months later I was browsing the appointment schedule for the day just to get an idea of what we had coming in. As I scrolled down I saw that we had a euthanasia on the schedule. I always stop to see who the dog is and why it's being done. I was shocked when I saw that it was Domino. To me it didn't sit right, I know we had discussed it with his owners at the previous visit, but other than his bum leg he was perfectly healthy. As the day went on the feeling in my gut got worse. Finally about an hour before he was scheduled to come in I went upstairs to talk with our office manager to see if anything could be done. I discussed the situation with her and let her know what was going on, she agreed that the bum leg wasn't a good enough reason to put a young healthy dog down and agreed to take him into our no-kill shelter at the clinic if the owners were willing to surrender him. I rushed downstairs and told the vet that would be seeing him. I kept my fingers crossed that the owners would agree. Sure enough, an hour later the owners agreed to surrender him and admitted the only reason they were euthanizing was because they couldn't afford further treatment. Domino was now chewing on his leg and they knew it was getting worse. 

After the paperwork was signed I went up to the lobby to collect our newest shelter dog. He was still shy and wouldn't walk, he was covered in dirt and mats and his leg was in a word disgusting. He had indeed been chewing on it, he had several bones and tendons visible. We gave him a good once over, running a heart worm test and cleaning up his leg. I took him over to our hospital side and brushed him out as much as he would let me, then I plopped him the tub. Through that bath something happened. He stood for the whole bath with his head resting on the side of the tub just looking up at me. That was the moment I knew that I would try to adopt him. 

The following week as we were doing our rounds, one of the vets and I looked at Domino's leg, it was getting worse and fast. He had alot more missing skin than the previous week and it was starting to get infected despite antibiotics. He decided that the surgery needed to be bumped up and we scheduled it for the following day. That evening my family finally said yes, that he could join our pack. So the following day, after his almost 3 hour surgery, Domino made his first trip home with me. It was a rough night, but it was the beginning of something wonderful. 

Domino is now 2 months post amputation and I couldn't imagine my life without him. I still get chills when I realize that he was a mere hour from death when he got his second chance at life. I saved his life, but he continues to enrich mine every single day.

http://dominosj.....pawds.com/

Cassie and Domino