Domus Cavela is the father of Rissa Cavela and the owner of the Wide Acre Ranch in the Ricovia Book Series.
Domus Nicola Cavela was the oldest of three children born to a suburban lower-middle-class family in Ricovia Province. He spent much of his early years fighting between poverty and complete boredom. Although he attended the Ricovia Primary Institute, he never cared much for school. This was reflected in his low grades, and he nearly flunked out of the Ricovia Institute for Secondary Education. If it had not been for his sister Elisabeth, he never would have graduated. Domus had a wild spirit that was difficult to tame. Elisabeth, on the other hand, was a kind hearted and compassionate woman. Even though she was two years his junior, she was often the more mature and intellectual of the two.
Domus grew up in a suburban trailer park and spent as much time as possible with the boys of similar age also living in the trailer park. Most of the families living in the park were of similar economic and social status. Some of the boys had one parent, while others had two, but all of them worked at least one job trying to make ends meet. The boys were often left alone for much of the daylight hours. Their lack of discipline and supervision was not lost on the local neighborhood. The cadre of trailer park boys ranged from fifteen to twenty at any given time. While they would often confine themselves to the park and surrounding fields and pastures, sometimes they would visit the shops and businesses. Unfotunately, they did not always have the financial means to pay.
Domus was reaching his teenage years when his younger brother, the youngest of the three, joined the trailer park boys. Domus’ fascination and enjoyment with this wild lifestyle came to an abrupt and tragic end one summer afternoon when the cadre went down to the river. The boys were splashing, swimming, and playing on a hot sunny day. Life was good. Domus lost track of his younger brother in the yelling and running crowd of boys ranging from five to sixteen. Play time came to an end when one of the boys found Domus’ brother trapped underwater. He was not breathing. His foot caught in the vines growing along the riverbank. He could not free himself and drowned. He was only six years old.
The death of his brother changed Domus forever. He blamed himself and his undisciplined passions for the loss. He stopped hanging out with the trailer park boys almost entirely and started taking small jobs around the neighborhood. After graduating from the twelfth grade, he left home and started working as a ranch hand outside of the city. It was during this time that he discovered his love for animals, and he also met his future wife, Margaret.