Day 2691

Dash threw up again today. I'm pretty sure that Dash's problem is that there are seven different brands of dog food in the house now and it's driving him nuts. He always tries to steal Dot's food unless I pen him in the back of the house while I'm feeding her. Dash has had a sensitive stomach for most of his life and he can't handle eating something different everyday. The rich canned food that Dot is eating now was not meant for dogs like Dash.

Feeding the dogs is complicated. The whole process works best if Dash eats before Dot even wakes up and I don't begin feeding Dot until Dash has gone back to the bedroom for his morning nap. This works great when all the stars are aligned perfectly, but on a normal day, things are fairly chaotic. Today Dash ended up eating a fair amount of Dot's food. I feel like I don't have enough hands anymore. It takes both hands to hold Dot's harness while she eats, poops, walks around the house, or basically does anything. Dash takes advantage of the situation whenever he can.

We gave Dash a Cerenia pill tonight and hope that it will take care of the situation for a while. He's got to go back to his special diet though. There just isn't any other alternative. I wish Dash understood how difficult it is to keep Dot with us a little longer. Dot is special to Dash too. When we first adopted Dash, he was scared of everything. Dot was the one who gave him confidence. You can't expect a dog to act differently though. He sees all the attention Dot is getting and all the exotic food she is allowed to eat. All he wants is to be treated the same way.

It's weird being the one to make all these decisions for the dogs. What is kind and caring for Dot would be unkind and irresponsible for Dash. As I try to keep life in balance for both dogs, I sometimes wonder how people with severely disabled kids keep it together. One of our neighbors has a boy who looks a bit like Steven Hawking. They have to do everything for him. How do they do it without going crazy? My problems are nothing compared to the problems that many people have. I think I've reached my limit though. So far, I'm doing pretty well, but I don't think I could handle much more.

Maybe we just don't know what we can handle until we try. I felt that I needed to up my game at the gym today. I can't really help the dogs if I'm always tired myself. My workout was more strenuous this afternoon and a doubled my free throw goal on the basketball court. The fitness band on my wrist told me that I did pretty well, but I still didn't really enjoy the exercise. All in all, I would have rather taken a nap.

While I was walking Dash this evening we happened to see the woman who gave us the can of food for Dot last Sunday. She was really pleased to hear that her food proved to be the key to getting Dot eating again. I still have no idea who this woman is.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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