Smiles Dominique visited a group of children on 10/2/23 at the Camden, NJ Ronald McDonald House.
The little girl in her pink party dress and unicorn headpiece was celebrating her 4th Birthday!
Jill Siragusa, Chief Marketing Officer at Horizon Structures, one of our generous sponsors, enjoyed her first visit with Dominique handing out a plush Little Dominique to every child!
Horizon Structures is one of Dominique’s Sponsors.
Dominique’s visits are back after his serious bout with colic in the Spring and the operation that followed!
Once again Dominique delighted the children and their families with a special visit.
Parents whose children had to remain in the hospital were given a plush Dominic to take to their child. It meant so much to the families to be included and have something fun to bring to the hospital the next day. They loved taking pictures of Dominique to share with, and brighten up, their child’s day.
His visit was at the Brownbacks UCC Young At Heart Club in Spring City, PA on 9/14/23.
A question and answer session was followed by Dominique personally meeting each and every member.
He was then treated to a wonderful massage by a nurse.
A group picture followed along with a special kiss from the Birthday Girl that celebrated her day with Dominique!
Dominique had a bellyache. It’s called colic. He was in a lot of pain. He even had a temperature. His regular doctor had visited him earlier in the day to treat him. She performed a scan and found three sections in his small intestine were blocked. He was treated and we hoped that would make him feel better. His doctor placed a call to New Bolton Center — one of the finest large animal hospitals in the world — and notified them that Dominique might be coming later that evening. Meanwhile, the horse trailer was hooked up so it was ready for the hour-and-a-half trip if it was suddenly needed.
There are many causes and types of colic and all should be taken seriously. Horses have long intestines, they cannot vomit and when something in the stomach hurts, they roll around on the ground. This in itself can cause problems, such as the intestines flipping, twisting and cutting off the blood supply.
That afternoon Dominique seemed a little better but by the middle of the evening he was shaking and in pain. Time to go! I called his vet and told her we were on the way to New Bolton Center.
A little after 11 pm Dominique arrived and Dr. Alicia Long and her staff were there to welcome him. He was scanned, blood was drawn for tests, and he was given fluids along with a very thorough checkup. By the time I left for the farm, he was in his stall in the Critical Care Center and would be closely monitored throughout the night.
The call came the following morning. Dominique would need surgery to remove his impaction. Hopefully that would solve the problem.
…
The surgery was a success! His intestine was healthy and nothing had to be removed other than his blockage. Impactions are caused by many events. This seemed to be hay and perhaps he didn’t drink enough water even though he always has fresh clean water. It happened quickly and, fortunately, it was caught in time.
Dominique in his stall a few days after surgery. He is on intravenous fluids and has a belly band covering his surgical incision to keep it clean.
Everyone in the Critical Care Center came by to check on him and give him a few pats. He was very popular! He was at New Bolton Center and stayed in the Critical Care Center for one week until he was eating his usual serving of Timothy hay.
He was now able to go on quiet walks to the mailbox three times a day. He also visited his friends. Snuck On You and First Twilight were glad to see their little buddy.
After his stall rest for a week, he was able to go in his paddock under the watchful eyes of Daryle and Barney! Of course, walks are always needed, along with visits to his big friends. He will not be ready until August to begin his exercises pulling his little cart. Dominique looks forward to bringing love and smiles to everyone on his visits again.
Now Dominique can tell the children he visits, that he too, was in the hospital!
Dominique wants to thank everyone for the good care he received, including his doctor at the farm and all of the doctors and staff at New Bolton Center.
Ronald McDonald House programs, located near top children’s hospitals, allow parents who are far from home to stay close to their hospitalized child and benefit from the comforts of home without incurring hotel and food costs.
SUPER DOM arrived to surprise the children, parents, and everyone on Halloween at the Wilmington, DE Ronald McDonald House!
This was Dominique’s first Halloween gathering. He proved to truly be a SUPER DOM BRINGING SMILES AND HAPPINESS to all!
Ronald McDonald House programs, located near top children’s hospitals, allow parents who are far from home to stay close to their hospitalized child and benefit from the comforts of home without incurring hotel and food costs.
Mick and Sabina Rodgers, owners of Outback Survival Gear and Saratoga Saddlery are sponsors of Dominique’s Smiles. He designed and, along with his family, gifted the 8” plush Little Dominique’s that every child visited receives.
For the first time, he was able to go with Dominique to personally hand each child this gift and witness the joy it brought! The morning of his visit, he wrote messages on every Little Dominique he would be handing out. The smiles tell it all!
Ronald McDonald House programs, located near top children’s hospitals, allow parents who are far from home to stay close to their hospitalized child and benefit from the comforts of home without incurring hotel and food costs.
Dominique visited the gang at the Camden, NJ Ronald McDonald House on the evening of September 29th. He was greeted by 20 happy children from all over the US, Trinidad, and South America.
The little plush Dominiques will soon have homes all over the world!
Heather wanted to surprise her 95 yr old Granny who is on hospice care. Everyone was disappointed when we arrived because they could not wake her.
All of a sudden she woke up and was so surprised!
The photo of Dominique’s head in her hands shows the love all three were sharing.
Dominique and I enjoyed meeting all the nice people at the White Rose Senior Center in York, PA in August.
Gretel, my daughter, and Connor, my 5-year-old grandson, were visiting from CA. Gretel took photos while Connor gave every member Dominique’s card and autograph. It was such fun to be able to share with him how Dominique brings smiles on his visits!
Everyone had so many good questions about Dominique that we just stood up front with a microphone
and answered questions along with telling a few short funny stories. Dominique was still getting hugs as we left!
