🐾 Domino: The bonus pet behind Cotl
✨ A special series highlighting Cotl’s namesake pets ✨
Sometimes, pets are brought into our life very intentionally. We see a post or we visit a shelter, and we decide: that’s my pet.
Other times, it may be more circumstantial: maybe the pet needed a new home or we found them all alone.
Does that mean we love them any less?
For Sean, the pet he never planned on getting was the one he needed most.
Everything aligned to bring Domino home
“She’s exactly the kind of dog I felt a connection with. I really cared about her and was really sad thinking I couldn’t see her again. It was one of those situations where the timing and everything felt right and I decided I would bring her home.”
Sean’s love for Domino began before she was even truly his.
Belonging to a nearby friend, she often tagged along when Sean came by to hang out.
Immediately, Sean admired her playfulness and energy–it seemed like she always had such a zest for life.
So when Sean learned his friend could no longer keep her, he stepped in.
The situation and timing were perfect. Domino had already met Sean’s cats, Loki and Thor, and got along with them perfectly.
And just a few weeks prior, Sean had closed on his house. There was a nice big yard with Domino’s name written all over it.
The way everything fell into place almost seemed too good to be true…
But then came the challenges Sean wasn’t expecting.
He was committed to giving this sweet girl the life she deserved, so instead of letting these challenges defeat him, he figured out how to overcome them.
The bond that… Didn’t come?
“I didn’t feel super bonded to her–and I don’t think she felt super bonded to me–for probably 6 months. I liked her, I loved coming home to her, we loved playing… But this attachment that we have now didn’t happen quickly.”
Before Sean’s friend adopted Domino, she hadn’t experienced much stability in her life.
She had been placed with various fosters and then just when she finally thought she had her “furever” home, that ended too.
By the time Sean welcomed her into his life, trust didn’t come easy to her anymore.
This often showed up in her successful attempts to escape, darting out the door and running around the neighborhood.
“It scared me and it was also very frustrating. I kept thinking, ‘Why is she running away? I have a yard, a big house, and all this stuff for her.’ But the challenge was me learning to accept what she actually needed–not trying to make her be okay with what I was giving her.”
Sean stopped chasing her down the street every time she ran and instead, would just sit on the curb with her favorite treats.
Eventually, she realized Sean was a safe space. He wasn’t trying to trap her and take her somewhere else.
With a consistent routine, and lots of love, their bond slowly started to form.
And Sean realized, not only did she stop running away, she could now be off leash and would choose to stay by his side. She wanted to be with him.
Once she felt safe, they were inseparable
“She’s what I imagine having a daughter would be like. When we’re driving on an adventure and she’s sitting next to me in the car, I just look over and smile, ‘Hi girlie!’ and she just looks back at me so happy and content.”
Domino stopped running away because Sean started listening–and giving her the things she so clearly needed.
He began dropping her off at doggy daycare a couple times a week for extra stimulation and attention.
He takes her on hikes and outdoor adventures so she can experience new places, sniff around, and explore.
And as he started to become more attentive to her, that’s when the bond formed.
Now, she constantly checks in on him–whether they’re out and about or enjoying a day at home–as if she’s making sure he’s always okay.
“I can’t imagine feeling closer to a dog than I do with her. She brings such an energy and silliness into my life. Where the cats are very grounding, she brings me outwards and inspires more playfulness and lightheartedness in my life.”
The things that make Domino so special
Sean considers himself a cat person to the core, but Domino brought a much-needed presence into his life that his cats couldn’t. And it was one he really needed.
“Domino is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. She’s so special to me and our energies just match so well. She can be calm and chill but also loves to play. I can come home and play with her and just immediately feel so happy.”
During more challenging personal times, Thor and Loki gave Sean a sense of peace and helped him be present. They helped him love himself again.
After working through that rough period of his life, it’s as if Domino was the one who said, hey, it’s okay to play and have fun too!
She’s the kind of dog who loves everyone. Any time she sees people out on their walks, she excitedly wiggles and greets them. It’s inspiring for anyone around.
Even at home, she’s always so joyful, loving, and silly–and she knows exactly how to make Sean feel the love she has for him.
“There’s been so many special moments of just sitting or laying on the couch and she's curled up. She's the perfect size where she just fits right in my torso. She'll be looking up at me and I'll look down and notice that, and say, ‘Hi, honey!’… and then she'll just lay there or fall asleep while we're doing that.”
She’s the kind of dog who will make intense eye contact, and through that, you can just feel her love.
And because she gives him so much, Sean’s committed to doing anything he can for this special dog.
Becoming a more attentive pet parent
“Charlie had a lot of anxiety, and between that and then working through my own anxiety, I was able to see the needs Domino was having. And that’s one thing I really appreciate about the way I’ve handled the relationship with her… I care about her and I’ll listen to what she actually needs, and then get her that.”
As we walk through life with our pets, we’re often able to learn about ourselves too. That, in turn, allows us to show up better for them.
For Sean, that meant being mindful of Domino’s needs, making sure Domino had the stimulation and socialization she needed to be happy.
She gets to enjoy time at doggy daycare, eating her meals out of a puzzle feeder, enjoying treats on a lick mat, and getting her favorite: peanut butter and green beans in a frozen Kong.
She also gets to enjoy time snuggling on the king sized bed Sean bought to accommodate his growing pet family!
Sometimes, that means accommodating the growing pet family by upgrading to a king-sized bed.
Besides the tangible differences, becoming Domino’s dad brought out a new side in Sean.
When challenges arise, he now works to identify what’s really going on.
For example, Domino becomes very upset during thunderstorms and barks like crazy, as if she’s trying to defend her family from the sky.
Instead of telling her to stop barking, he worked to find something that made her feel more calm: A thunder jacket and a Kong.
“Rather than punishing her or feeling like I was taking her behavior personally if she wasn't calm or something, I went through that process of figuring out how to help her.”
With this newfound understanding of Domino, he could also then be more attentive with the rest of his pets too.
Because of them, home now feels like a place to truly be happy.
The story behind "Booper"
“She'll run around and she likes to boop things, like the couch or the chair, especially when she's excited. She'll bump into them with their nose. She'll do it to people, too or she'll do it to the side of the cat.”
After seeing how much Domino liked to “boop” things when she was happy, she quickly earned cute nicknames like Booper, Boops, and Booper Girl.
Sean already had the name Cotl in mind, and adding a “D” for Domino would be one too many consonants for one word!
Instead, he decided that honoring her with the law firm Cotl partners with would be perfect, hence the name: Booper Legal.
She’s also the silhouette in the Cotl logo, with Loki and Thor on either side of her.
There’s quite a contrast between Sean’s pets. The cats have been important during periods of his life where he needed to be more calm and present.
Now, Domino welcomes more energy and playfulness.
He’s seen firsthand just how important pets are in our lives. They give us so much, yet they rely on us to keep them safe.
But that could change in an instant.
That’s why he created Cotl, to ensure that no matter what happens to him, his pets would be in loving, caring hands.
And now, it’s a service available to pet parents, just like you, who want to make sure their pets always have the life they deserve.
If something were to happen to you, do you have a plan in place?
