Day 1691

Today was pleasantly quiet and uneventful. Dot had moments when she was shaky on her feet, but then there were other moments when she seemed almost normal. She still seems to be improving a little bit with each passing day. Both dogs got excited when a neighbor's cat unexpectedly appeared in the yard. I didn't want Dot to injure herself by chasing after the cat, but when I took her out on a leash to investigate, she was surprisingly nice. The cat eventually got tired of the barking Dalmatians and left. Janet would like to have a cat, but whenever Dot and Dash get near one, they prove they aren't up to the challenge yet. Both of them have a strong prey drive and think cats are just a larger member of the squirrel family.

I hope our unseasonably cooler temperatures continue. It was in the low 70's this morning when we took the dogs for an early walk. Even later in the day when the sun came out, the temperature only rose to the mid-80's. I can remember several Summers when the temperature was above one hundred degrees for the entire month of August. This is much better. It almost feels like early Fall.

Our list of weekend errands has grown back to it's normal size. After breakfast, I went to the vet to pick up some more phenobarbital for Dash. Then I want to the pharmacy to get my own meds, filled the car with gas, and got groceries. When I returned home, Janet left to do her errands. We still don't feel comfortable leaving Dot alone. Mostly the dogs just sleep when we're gone, but there's always a chance that Dot might fall and be unable to get up again. After Dot ate the carpet earlier this year, I'm not sure I'll ever be completely comfortable leaving her alone again. Thinking back, I'm beginning to think that frantically eating a hole in the carpet might have been an early sign of distress caused by the tumor growing inside Dot's intestines. How were we to know though? Dogs eat things they aren't supposed to all the time.

I discovered today that one of my former co-workers has written a book about his career in advertising. This guy became somewhat of a superstar after we worked together in the early seventies, so I imagine it is an interesting book. I bought a copy to see if I remembered any of the stories. If I wrote a book about my own career in advertising it would just be an extended version of that old Johnny Paycheck song "Take This Job and Shove It." I was a creative fellow, but I wasn't a very good employee. I worked at seventeen different agencies before I finally realized that the only boss I was ever going to take seriously was myself.

Maybe I'll finally get a decent night's sleep this evening. We set an alarm and remembered to get Dot up at 2 AM to pee last night. The bed was dry, but I had a hard time getting back to sleep after we all came back inside. Since Dot was having trouble getting back in the bed, I just got a blanket and went to sleep on the floor with her. I'm pretty sure she slept better than I did.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day