Day 3376

It has become so obvious Dash is old and tired that people are stopping me on our walks to tell me stories about their old dogs. Every week I hear about dogs that have recently passed away or are having difficulty walking. Despite all the stories, we see very few other older dogs on our walks. When the weather is bad, Dash is often the only dog walking at all. I feel sorry for the old dogs who just get a towel under their belly occasionally to help them go out in the yard and pee. With a little help, a lot of these dogs could still lead a relatively normal life.

I don't think Dash even realizes that I am helping him walk. He can still move his legs. He just isn't strong enough to fully support his own weight. I can feel his legs moving through the leash. I provide just enough support to keep him from sinking, while letting his legs move naturally. It took three dogs to perfect the technique, but I think I've gotten pretty good at walking disabled dogs.

One thing I can't do is give Dash more energy or help him think clearly. He's starting to become senile and sometimes appears lost or confused on our walks. You wonder when senility becomes dementia and if dementia can turn into Alzheimer's? When Dash's mind goes blank, you've just got to be patient. Eventually he clicks into gear again and off we go. I think being outside helps. Dogs have such an amazing sense of smell that the abundant smells in the park reconnect him to the world. I think he could take his walks blindfolded because he's really just moving from one smell to the next. The smells are a trail of breadcrumbs that take him away and then bring him back home.

My accountant called today to let me know that he had some preliminary results on my taxes. I was really disappointed to learn that despite my paltry earnings this year, I still owed money to the IRS. I think old people get screwed. Your social security gets taxed as income. Required distributions from your IRA account are taxed as income. If you planned ahead and managed to save something, your dividends and interest are taxed as well. It's ironic that when my business was booming I paid less in taxes than I do now. When you have lots of clients, there are lots of business expenses you can deduct. It goes without saying that without clients or business activity, there are very few expenses  either.

It rained again today. I'm glad that Dash still got to take his walks. I'm not so glad about going up on the roof again. I'll wait until the forecast clears, but the key to keeping the leaks at bay is getting the standing water removed as soon as possible. The pumps help, but I've always got to go up on the roof and finish the job. I'm surprised that I still haven't gotten any bids to replace the roof.  Apparently I'm not a priority. The same thing happened the first time I put a new roof on the house. Since the house is small, roofers are always more interested in larger and more lucrative projects.

I should go to the gym tomorrow since I missed my workout last week. I'm not getting much exercise walking Dash. I guess my arms are getting stronger but the walks certainly don't provide much of a cardio workout. We move at a snail's pace these days. I doubt that my heart rate changes at all.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day