Day 3142

Dash got some bad news this morning. He has had a heart murmur for a long time, but his doctor told us that it had become significantly worse. He has what is called a mitral insufficiency, which means that the mitral valve doesn't close properly when the heart pumps out blood. This causes blood to leak or regurgitate back into the left atrium every time the heart contracts. Take away the fancy name and this is basically some pretty serious heart disease.

There is drug called penobendan that is often quite effective in helping the heart beat normally again, but unfortunately Dash can't take it. The penobendan would very likely cause the blood clot in his left ventricle to break apart and travel to his lungs or brain. If this happened, he would be dead in minutes. The doctor thought that increasing his enalapril dose would be safe and could slow down the progression of the disease. We are going to try this. Dash is already taking enalapril to control his blood pressure and he tolerates it well.

Today's diagnosis certainly explains why Dash has been so tired recently and has started coughing in his sleep. I thought the vet would want him to stop his daily walks, but he told us that slow walks were fine as long as Dash didn't become overheated or do anything too strenuous. I don't think we have to worry about doing anything too strenuous. We walk at a snail's pace these days.

Dash's exam took up most of the morning, so I didn't get much done today. I went to the bank and picked up a prescription, but that was about it. It was only seventy-nine degrees when I woke up, so we did manage to have a very pleasant early morning walk before we left for our vet appointment. I'll really be glad when Summer is over. You've really got to take advantage of the early morning hours. After that, it quickly becomes too hot to do anything.

My model train collection is starting to sell. So far, I've been pleasantly surprised. There have been consistent sales for the past three months. Four more models sold in July. At this rate, it might take years to liquidate the entire collection, but that's OK. I'm not making much money designing websites anymore. I'll take any extra income I can get.

I must be getting lazy. The sky was very clear last night when I took Dash out to pee at 1 AM. This was the day that Mars was in opposition. It wouldn't be this close to Earth for another fifteen years. I could see the planet clearly overhead, but I didn't go back inside and get the telescope. Why bother, I thought. I'd already looked at Mars through the telescope less than a month ago and all I saw was a little bright orange disk. Maybe the disk would have been slightly larger last night, but I doubt that I would have noticed the difference.

I can't decide whether to bleach away the stain in the living room ceiling or drag the roofers over to take a look at it. I'm doubtful the the roofers would come, no matter what I said at this point. Maybe I'll just mow the grass tomorrow morning. It's starting to look pretty bad. I guess it all depends on how much sleep I get tonight. Dash has had a pretty big day. Maybe he'll sleep well tonight. I certainly hope so.

Snoopy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day