Day 1148

There's been a lot of controversy on the Internet lately about whether Allopurinol actually works to prevent bladder stones. For years this drug has been the recommended treatment to prevent recurrent urate bladder stones in Dalmatians. My vet recommends Allopurinol and I know many Dalmatian owners who use it. I've always considered the medication very safe. Unfortunately, now there are a group of vets who beg to differ. They say Allopurinol can actually cause the formation of struvite stones. Evidently, unless the pH of the dog's urine is completely neutral, the drug can do more harm than good. I only mention all this because Dash has always been prone to bladder stones. Now, we've got to decide whether to discontinue his Allopurinol treatment or keep on doing what we've been doing for years.

Medicine always seems to be this way. Doctors will tell you something for years and years and then one day you'll go in for a visit and your doctor will say "Never mind. Forget everything I've told you for the past ten years." This has happened to me before and it's always disconcerting. I like to think of doctors as infallible, but that is never the case. Medicine changes and doctors change their minds about a lot of things, just like the rest of us.

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 14,000 mark several times today, but apparently my stocks didn't get the memo. I ended up down for the day as the market approached a record high. My Yum Brands shares got clobbered because the Chinese apparently have problems with the Colonel's finger lickin' good chicken. My Baidu shares, on the other hand, got clobbered because investors had problems with the Chinese. It's always disappointing to do poorly on a good day. I'm getting used to it though.

Maybe I'm just imagining things, but I think I'm already starting to feel better as a result of my new diet. I wake up with more energy and don't seem to be as tired during the day. The differences aren't dramatic, but I do notice a change. This is certainly enough of an incentive to keep going with my quest for a healthier lifestyle. Who knows. Maybe I'll even grow to like these changes.

A friend of mine mentioned that he might have a video project for me. That would be a refreshing change from all the drivel I'm writing now. I'd better not count my chicken before they hatch though. The new project might actually be worse than what I'm doing now. I need to find out more.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day