Day 2430

I took Dash back to his regular vet today. Dash is not a good patient. By the time he gets to the vet, he is barking, his adrenaline is pumping, and he is so wound up that it is often difficult to diagnose anything. The vet agreed that he was walking a bit oddly, but when she took x-rays, there seemed to be no basis for his stiff, almost robotic gait. She told me that there were no obvious signs of arthritis or hip dysplasia. There were no signs of soft tissue injuries either. Dash was quite limber and was able to extend his legs through a full range of motion. As always, the dog continues to remain a mystery. Since dogs are often very good at hiding pain, the vet suggested that I give him Rimadyl for 14 days and watch to see if he changes the way he walks. If the stiffness disappears, something is causing him pain. It's worth a try. Of course, the Rimadyl won't tell us where the pain is coming from. Since the x-rays don't tell us much, he might need to have a MRI. There's always a chance that there is nothing wrong at all and this is just the way Dash normally walks.

Tomorrow, it's Dot's turn. I'm taking her back to her physical therapy vet to see if she's strong enough to resume using the treadmill. I have my doubts, since she appears to be growing weaker. There's always the chance that she's becoming weaker because we stopped the therapy. I'd hate to think I stopped the therapy just because of all the poop in the car. At any rate, we are going to evaluate her tomorrow and then we'll decide what to do next. Even if she's not strong enough for the underwater treadmill, she could still probably benefit from acupuncture.

I received some new writing assignments today. These ought to keep me busy for the rest of the week. It's time to send out August invoices, but I think I'll wait until I finish these new jobs. Maybe I'm just robbing from September to make August look a little better, but every dollar counts. I wish I could think of something lucrative to do that would boost my billings. It's getting harder and harder to compete with large high volume solutions.

Today, when I was waiting in the lobby with Dash to see the vet, I noticed a cool looking application that was running on a large flat screen TV which displayed the clinic's Instagram and Facebook posts in real time. This looked interesting and I started wondering if I could create something like this for my clients. I did some research when I got back home and discovered that the clinic had just bought a prepackaged solution from a large national digital signage company. They didn't have to hire a programmer at all. All they did was pay a monthly fee, plug a special box into the back of their TV, and they were done. It wouldn't matter if I learned how to do this. I could never compete with the signage company's prices.

Our yard squirrels seem to hate the August heat as much as I do. They don't even move around anymore. They'll find a place in the shade and just sit there, waiting patiently for sunset. I can walk right up to them and they don't even bother to move. I feel the same way and I have the luxury of air conditioning. I think we're all ready for Winter.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day