Day 3315

I must have slept better last night because I didn't wake up when Dash pooped in the bed. Luckily, one of us usually wakes up when this happens. These nightly accidents aren't as much of a problem now because we always make sure there's a puppy pad under Dash's butt before we go to bed. We've almost used up the carton of training pads that were left over when Dot died. Pretty soon they're going to be back on the shopping list again.

It's still bitterly cold on our morning walk. Dash's paws have started bleeding again. The bleeding is minimal, but it shouldn't be happening at all. His rear paws are very well protected now. I wish his boots were waterproof. On damp mornings, all three layers of foot protection are wet when we return. Part of the problem is that Dash makes no effort whatsoever to avoid mud puddles. He just goes wherever the smells are the strongest.

The only thing more uneventful than a regular Monday is a holiday Monday. Part of my morning routine is waiting for the mail to arrive and listening to the market reports on the business channels. No mail today and the stock market was closed. I pretty much just drank my smoothie in silence, wondering how I could improve Dash's footwear.

With every passing day, I'm spending more time picking Dash up off the floor. He seldom falls hard. He'll just be standing somewhere with a vacant look on his face and slowly sink to the floor. I leave his harness on in the house now because the handle on the top makes it much easier to get him upright again. It still seems strange that our house has become treacherous for Dash. He still does fine when he is moving forward on our walks. I think the walks are good for him because he has less muscle atrophy than Dot did when her legs began to fail. Dash even has enough strength to walk up reasonably steep hills. It's just standing still that's becoming a problem. I kind of wish I could find a small ottoman or big pillow to place under his belly while he was drinking from his water bowl. He drinks very slowly and usually starts sinking to the floor before he has quenched his thirst. If I could just find something appropriate to place under his belly to prop him up while he drinks, I wouldn't have to spend so much time holding up his rear legs.

Everyone must have been looking at the moon last night. My Facebook timeline was filled with pictures of the eclipse. Some of these pictures were great and others were terrible.You could tell how much people knew about astronomy by what they posted. Quite a few folks took a picture of the moon before the eclipse even started. Others used their phone and the moon was only a very bright dot. A lot of pictures were excellent though. Many were better than mine. Some of the best pictures were from folks I met at Vandenburg Air Force Base when I was there for the SMAP launch. I was glad to see that these people were still interested in space and astronomy several years later.

It's supposed to start raining again tonight. Tomorrow doesn't look good either. I'm tired of looking at the damaged sheetrock in the ceiling and wondering when the roof is going to start leaking again. Sooner or later it will. I don't want to replace the roof while it is raining every few days, but I think it's going to be a long wait until it's warm and dry again.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day