Day 1919

This experiment isn't getting any easier. Dot is strong enough now to get up on her own, but isn't strong enough to walk without slipping. This is a bad combination. The small padded 'safe area' works fine, but Dot doesn't like it. If she is confined there too long, she either gets depressed or angry. When she's angry she barks incessantly and when she's depressed, she just makes me sad. I've pre-positioned dog beds around the house so I can keep a close eye on her wherever I am, but it doesn't always work out so well. Dot always seems to be in the kitchen when I need to go to the bathroom, or in the bedroom when I really need to be in the office working.

Nobody is very happy. Dot wants to go on walks with Dash in the morning. Dash mopes around because his buddy Janet has returned to work. And I have a terrible case of cabin fever. If it weren't for the fact that both dogs like to sleep a lot anyway, I'd probably never get anything done.

I'll really be glad when Dot can resume her physical therapy in the underwater treadmill. Until she can regain some of the muscle mass she's lost in her rear legs, I don't think we're going to see any dramatic improvements. Janet bought some more rugs today to make the slippery areas in the house safer, but it's going to be quite a while before I feel comfortable letting Dot wander about on her own. Until that day arrives, I'll just try to get as much done as I can while the dogs are sleeping.

At least the new circular doggie playpen is supposed to arrive tomorrow. This should give Dot a little more room, while still keeping her safe and secure. If this new pen works, I may still be able to go out for breakfast on Friday. If it doesn't work, it will just join the dozens of other things that haven't worked as expected.

I did get some new writing assignments today, but I'll have to be careful what I ask for. Today's assignment seemed to take a lot longer than it should have. Every time I started to make a little progress, Dot would decided she needed to go outside to pee. When we returned, she inevitably didn't want to come pack to the office with me. Eventually, I had to confine her to the safe area again so I could get the assignment finished.

I haven't had the nerve to go up on the roof and see whether my patches help up under last night's rain. It didn't rain very hard, but I don't think the elastomer was completely dry yet. This might be a problem, since we don't seem to be able to get two clear, warm days in a row. I'll go check on things tomorrow while the dogs are asleep.

I need to get started on my taxes tomorrow. Since Spring is almost here, I need to get a bid for re-landscaping the back yard too. This might be overly ambitious though. In my present burned out condition, I'll be lucky if I remember to take out the garbage.

Nick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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