Day 201 - Independence Day

Now that Unleashed has gone out of business, we spend a lot of our free time on weekends looking for new dog parks. Friends have told us that the the new Wagging Tail Dog Park on Keller Springs Road in North Dallas is very nice, so we drove up this afternoon to see for ourselves. Taking Dash anywhere more than a mile or two away is a major undertaking. He is terrified of riding in the car and the only time we've ever taken him on a long trip, he had a seizure the next day. He's fine going to the vet and to training class, but these are both very short drives. We thought the longer drive would be worth the effort though, because Dash loves playing at dog parks and usually is calm on the way home. Unfortunately, when we got to the park this afternoon, it was closed due to wet weather. The weather was beautiful today, but the park must have still been wet from all the rain earlier in the week.

By the time we finally got home again, I was ready for a drink. Dash howled and made his trademark bird noises during the entire trip, and I'm always afraid he'll have another seizure. Unfortunately, my hepatologist tells me I can't drink anymore, so I had to settle for a Dr. Pepper. We've really got to find a way to get Dash used to taking car trips, or we're going to be stuck in Texas forever. He's better than he used to be, but success literally comes a block at a time. I can take him with me when I fill the car up with gas now, and he's fine going to the vet, but if I'm driving more than a few miles, all bets are off.

We have more volunteers to help us walk the rescue Dalmatians on Sundays now. Today, we had a person for every dog, so the dogs all got a longer walk. The weather was a bit cooler too, so we didn't have to worry about the dogs getting overheated. With the exception of the somewhat stressful car trip with Dash, it was a very relaxing day. Dot should have a relaxing evening as well. She won't have to hide under my desk during tonight's Fourth of July fireworks show, because the whole thing got canceled at the last minute for budget reasons. A sign of the times I guess.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day