Day 3329

I knew this day would come. Dash couldn't walk today. I would lift him up and get him started and then he would just slump to the ground again. His rear legs weren't working at all. I finished fitting him for his Help 'Em Up Harness, but training him to use it isn't going to be easy. If I take too much weight off his rear legs they go limp. If I don't hold on to the rear handle of the harness at all, he falls. I have to provide just enough support that it gives him confidence to walk, but not lift too much or the harness will start to cut off circulation. Dot got to where she would walk almost normally using the Help 'Em Up Harness, but she was always a quick learner. It's going to take some time to get Dash used to this thing.

We'll probably never know if the Metronidazole pills contributed to Dash's current lameness. The vets don't think Dash was taking the pills long enough to cause a problem, but you never know. Weakness is a well known side effect of Metronidazole. I'm still hoping that Dash will gradually regain some of his strength. He's always going to remain weak, but it will make a huge difference if he is able to walk around the house on his own.

The guys who are fixing my Aeron Chair contacted me today and told me that they broke the pneumatic cylinder that controls the height of the chair when they were installing the new tilt mechanism they ordered for me. They said that they would replace the pneumatic cylinder at their cost, but that it would take a while to get the part. I don't think I'll get the chair back until late February. Hey, take your time guys. If we continue at this rate, I might end up with a whole new chair.

Dash got no walks at all today. We tried a short evening walk, but Dash wasn't comfortable with the new Help 'Em Up Harness yet and started dragging his rear legs. We didn't even make it out of the back yard. I'm going to enquire and see if Dash still might benefit from water therapy. This has always been a long shot since Dash hates water, is incontinent, and is a terrible passenger in the car. The underwater treadmill sure helped Dot though, so maybe it's worth a try. Being very weak is one thing. Not being able to walk at all is another. We've got to do everything we can to see if we can get him moving again.

I'm getting so tired of having a continually runny nose. I think I'm just suffering from a bad case of seasonal allergies because I don't have any other symptoms of a cold. Generally, I don't do well with antihistamines, but I went to CVS anyway planning to get some. I'm tired of blowing my nose every five minutes. There was an entire row of antihistamines with dozens of different brands. Some pills made you sleepy and had warnings about driving while taking them. Others warned of liver damage. Almost every pill had some weird side effect and I eventually walked away getting nothing. Seasonal allergies tend to be even worse in the Spring, so I have no idea how long this will last.

There was a beautiful sunset this evening, but I missed it. All I managed to photograph today was an angry Mockingbird in the back yard.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day