TRIBUTE TO DOMINGO
I have sat down to write this tribute a dozen times. I wasn’t sure how to start or what to say. So I figured I would just talk from my heart.
We lost Domingo last fall. He died suddenly from heart failure August 2, 2002. Domingo was ten years old. He was a very happy boy who lived life to its fullest.
Domingo was born April 10, 1992. But in a way he was really born much earlier, in the heart of a 12 year old girl who dreamed of having a palomino named Domingo. That little girl was me. I realized my dream 25 years later when Domingo, a beautiful palomino, was born in our barn, in Wasilla, one chilly April morning.
Domingo was a planned baby. We arranged to breed our mare, Bonita, with stallion Max, owned by a friend of ours. It was a long, agonizing 11 months of gestation, as I waited impatiently through the winter of 1991-1992 for his arrival.
I loved Domingo very much. From the moment he was born, I ached with the love I felt for him. None of us knew it at the time, but Domingo would live a very special life.
Domingo grew up very healthy, happy and loved. He liked to learn and was up for any adventure that came along. Sometimes he would create his own adventures. Such as the time he figured out how to open the corral gate and let everyone out for a walk around the neighborhood, stopping here and there to munch on a neighbor’s garden.
There was the horse back camping trip to Caribou Creek that my husband, Dan, and I took in 1994. We took all five of our horses with us, two for riding and two for packing. Domingo, who was only two years old, tagged along. It was 10 days of adventure. Domingo loved the vastness and freedom of the country we were in.
A few years ago Domingo spent six weeks up at a friends ranch outside of Palmer, Alaska. Domingo, being low guy on the totem pole, took up with the other geldings. Although they were in a 300 acre area, living off the land and drinking from a creek that ran though it, Domingo and the geldings managed to find a way to break out and graze on the neighbors property. Maybe the grass IS greener on the other side of the fence.
Domingo enjoyed his life at Rancho Domingo, our home in Wasilla. He loved to engage his elderly equine family in play. They would chase each other and run, buck and have a good time. Domingo was a ray of sunshine and he spread joy all around him.
Domingo had a few toys that he loved. A horse ball we bought for him had a handle on it so he could pick it up. He would get a hold of that handle and chase the other horses with it. If the older horses weren’t in the mood for play Domingo would take the ball and bonk them on the butt until they gave in and played.
I think Domingo’s favorite toy was his deflated inner tube. He would chase the other horses with it, trying to put the inner tube over the heads of the others or get them to play tug-of-war with him.
Domingo could entertain himself with the most simple of things. It could be a broken stick or a piece of rope that he would hold in his mouth and get it twirling around and around. Or it might be your hat or glove that you forgot and left within reach of Domingo.
One of the neatest things that happened to Domingo was the day he was noticed by the camera crew from ELLE fashion magazine in November of 2001. The magazine did a photo shoot at our house, and Domingo, wearing his santa hat, was immortalized within the pages of the December 2001 issue.
The last time I saw Domingo, he was in his 8-acre corral on our forty acres. I told him that his mane was looking really nice, and that he would be going home soon so he shouldn’t be wrecking it by rubbing against a tree. I was looking forward to brushing out his long mane and tail when he got home. Then I told him that I loved him, kissed him on the nose and he went back to grazing.
Domingo was buried in the big pasture that he loved. A huge boulder we found on the property has been placed at the head of his burial site. This spring we will plant flowers and an apple tree in Domingo’s Garden.
Domingo gave so much joy to us, our friends, and even some strangers during his lifetime. It was not unusual to see a car pull into the driveway because someone just wanted to take a closer look at the “big, beautiful palomino.”
God has a plan for each of us, and His plan for Domingo was to show us all the real truth through friendship, loyalty and just plain old love. Domingo’s mission in this life was to make us laugh with his silliness. I believe he is in heaven now, making everyone laugh with his jokes.
Many of our family and friends have a story to share about Domingo. For example: Remember when we…….or That was Domingo……..or Remember the time Domingo…….. Whatever it was, whether it be told or you hold it in your heart, it will always remain.
Domingo’s sudden death shocked and saddened more than anything ever has. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. The memories help keep me going. To go on living, that is what Domingo would have wanted. Part of me is angry that I couldn’t hold on to him, and my heart is broken, but I do know one thing, I am thankful for the ten years I had with Domingo. I’m happy for the special adventures we had, and the times I cried in his mane. He was my anchor, always there no matter what. He was like a child to me, and he was my friend.
God gave me ten years with a remarkable horse. My special angel Domingo will always be with me because he lives on in my heart.
I found this poem and thought of Domingo.
I want to share it with you.
“I’ll lend you for a little time, a child of Mine.” He said. For you to love the while he lives, and mourn for when he’s dead. It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three, But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for Me? He’ll bring his charms to gladden you, and should his stay be brief, You’ll have his lovely memories, as solace for your grief. I cannot promise he will stay, since all from Earth return, But there are lessons taught down there, I want the child to learn. I’ve looked this wide world over, in my search for teacher’s true, And from the throngs that crowd life’s lanes,
I have selected you;
Now will you give him all your love, not think the labour vain Nor hate Me when I come to call, and take him back again? I fancied that I heard them say, “Dear Lord, Thy will be done,
For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we’ll run. We’ll shelter him with tenderness, we’ll love him while we may, And for the happiness we’ve known, forever grateful stay. But should the angels call for him much sooner than we planned, We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes
And try to understand.”
-anonymous
With Love,
| Domingo |
| 2, Aug 2002 |
| Patty and Dan |