Chloe Oliver of Foxworth writes a community column for the Marion County Informer. Her column appears every Wednesday.

 He was beautiful in every way. Although I have loved many like him, he had but one equal, Sambo, who lived a long life, but passed away four months after Hurricane Katrina.
   He was literally dropped in my lap by my daughter’s friend.She hurried in my kitchen and just as hurriedly made her exodus saying “if you don’t want him, give him to somebody else.”
   I might as well have had a neon sign around my head flashing the words: “I am a sucker.” Of course, he stayed.
   It was decided that his name would be Domino. He had long black and white hair and a little curled-up tail from which the hair hung quite majestically.
   One ear stood up and the other down. He most closely resembled a breed of dog called Papillon.
   Every step I made, he followed. When I was gone, he followed my husband.
   He slept in bed with us and would growl at or bite anyone who dared to disturb our nocturnal bliss. A most perfect combination of velvet and steel.
   According to my husband, Domino would perch himself on top of the couch by the window about 20 minutes before I would arrive home.
   As if by some internal clock, he retained this perch each day before my arrival. What greetings I received! There were yelps of excitement and delight. I would have thought myself royalty if greeted in like manner by humans.
   He even learned to spell! Since he understood much of our conversation, my husband and I began to spell words such as b-a-t-h or s-t-o-r-e. Domino reacted appropriately by hiding under the bed at bath time or running to the door in order to hitch a ride to the store.
   The usual yelps of glee did not greet me on the afternoon before Thanksgiving.
   Although I have seen him cry only  three times in 30 years, it was the guttural sobbing that emanated from my husband that greeted me that afternoon. Domino was gone.
   My husband and I had known for several months that this day was fast approaching. Domino was just a few months shy of being 14 years old.
   Lord Byron once stated that his dog had all the virtues of man without his vices. Ditto for Domino. There are some who do not understand such sentiment.
   Nevertheless, Domino enlarged the caverns of our hearts and made us better.
   He will forever be missed and always remembered and loved.