Day 1335

Now I remember why we tried so hard to wean Dash off of phenobarbital the first time he had seizures. The drug seems to make our excitable boy even more hyper and agitated than normal. Dash never could ride calmly in a car when he was on phenobarbital before, and it appears like this behavior has returned. It's weird that a barbiturate would make a dog agitated and wild, but that's what happens with Dash. When phenobarbital was given more commonly to humans, a paradoxical reaction was sometimes observed in children. This is where the drug causes the opposite effect of what you would normally expected. Makes sense in a way. Dash certainly acts like a child.

It was a nerve wracking trip to the dog park this morning, but once we got there, Dash seemed fine. After they had a chance to play in the park for a while, we took the dogs to the Dalmatian Rescue "meet and greet" event. Dot and Dash were both polite and well behaved. I was surprised at how many people came up and told us that they had never seen a real Dalmatian before. The breed is becoming increasingly rare and that's a good thing. When the "101 Dalmatians" Disney movies were popular, everybody wanted a Dalmatian and puppy mills began breeding them. Now, the dogs are harder to find and most people who have a Dalmatian understand the breed and really want one.

I think I determined the problem with my old Apple laptop myself. All it took was thirty minutes of searching on Google and I discovered that if I took the keyboard off and disconnected the PRAM battery underneath, the computer would probably start up and began to recharge. Sure enough, when I did this, it worked like a charm. I bet this is exactly what the technician did when I took the computer in for repair last year. Just like the electrician who charged me $100 to fix a switch, the computer technician probably charged me $100 to disconnect a wire, recharge the battery, and then connect the same wire up again.

So many things in life seem easy once the mystery has been revealed. I am continually amazed at how easy some plumbing, automotive, and household repairs turn out to be when you actually watch the repairman at work. Of course charging a lot for intrinsically easy things is a double edged sword. Some of my best clients have discovered how easy it is to design websites and decided to do it themselves.

Next week looks busy already. There are client meetings on the calender, I've got to take my car in for repairs again, and then there's the vexing question of phenobarbital vs potassium bromide. I've read everything I can find about both meds and still don't know which is the best way to control seizures.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day