Day 2121

I think I know what's wrong with Dash now. He appears to have stretched or pulled the ligament covering the kneecap on his right rear leg. At first this would seem to be some sort of odd sports injury, but apparently it is not uncommon for male dogs to pull a ligament when they scratch the ground vigorously after they pee. Dash does this all the time. It was how he tore his paw pad earlier in the year and now he has injured his leg doing the same thing.

The good news is that the damage is not permanent.  If we can keep Dash quiet for a few weeks, the inflammation in the injured ligament should subside and everything should return to normal. Have you ever tried to keep a Dalmatian quiet for a few weeks? It's not an easy task. I'm glad he hasn't torn his cruciate ligament though. ACL injuries typically require surgery. I'm glad he doesn't have hip dysplasia either. Things could be a lot worse.

Our trip to the vet was the most interesting thing that happened all day. The rest of the day was pretty dull. Cleaning up poop during the night and early pre-dawn walks have become the new normal. I've talked to other people with aging dogs and Dot's incontinence is pretty normal. In fact, Dash's vet told me that she was having the same problem with her own dog. Once a dog loses the ability to squat properly, you're going to have problems.

I learned today that Klout has discontinued their Perks program. As the recipient of many of those Perks, I was very disappointed to hear this. I always enjoyed getting random free stuff in the mail. The things you received were seldom very valuable, but Klout did make an effort to learn your interests. I got lots of dog food, dog treats, and dog toys. The best thing I ever got was a voice activated WiFi thermostat which I'm still using. The theory behind the Perks was that by sending free stuff to people Klout considered to be social media influencers, the brands they were pushing would get talked about on Twitter and Facebook and more people would buy them. I think the flaw in their theory was how they defined influential. I'm not influential. I like getting stuff in the mail, but I doubt that I ever influenced anyone to buy anything in my life. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted.

I've started looking at star charts before we go on our morning walks. These pre-dawn walks are the most sustained amount of time I've spent in the dark for a long time and I might as well learn something. Right now, you can see Jupiter, Mars, and Venus in the morning sky. Pretty soon, these planets will be joined by Mercury. I've only seen Mercury a few times in my life because it is always visable very low on the horizon. It remains to be seen if I'll be able to catch a glimpse of Mercury later this month. There are lots of trees on the Eastern horizon and I have a feeling that by the time Mercury clears the treetops, it will be too close to sunrise to see it.

The peaches and bananas in the kitchen still look pretty fresh and there's a leftover pork chop in the refrigerator for dinner. I think I'm all set for another day.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day