Day 3930

Dawn may have brain damage, but I still think she's a very smart dog. When we walk in the morning, she tells us exactly how far she wants to go. When she's decided she's gone far enough, she just sits down. I'll ask her if she's ready to go home and she'll immediately get up, turn around and head for the house. She did this yesterday and she did the same thing today. We went about 400 yards further today, so maybe she's feeling a little better.

The meds appear to be working. Dawn's temperature is back to normal now and she is eating normally again. She is still quiet and doesn't have a lot of energy. I'm almost certain that even though the fever is gone she still isn't feeling normally. The meds probably sedate her a bit and whatever caused the problem in the first place is still there. I've been reading a lot about brain lesions and if this is the problem it would explain a lot. There have always been a lot of little things that just didn't make sense about Dawn's behavior. I'm mostly just thinking about what happens in a human brain, but any sort of physical abnormality can cause a lot of changes. I'm still hoping that her problems are minor and that life will return to normal in a few weeks. For the moment, all we can do is wait and see.

Dawn's walks are so short now that I've returned to taking long walks by myself to get my exercise. Today I kept thinking that I really should just return to the gym. Janet has been going to her gym for over a month and has had no problems. My seasonal allergies have returned with a vengeance and at some point a continual runny nose and itchy eyes is going to seem a lot worse than the threat of Covid. My allergies were especially bad today. My the time I returned home I was miserable. I used up all the tissues I took with me before I'd even finished my first mile.

It's too bad I have this fear of catching the virus on a plane. The multiple delays that have taken place with the Delta IV Heavy have pushed three launches very close together. If there aren't further delays caused by weather, all three rockets may launch within hours of each other. This is quite rare. Delays aren't rare at all however, so everything could change again tomorrow. If all three launches do end up taking place together it would tempt me again to make the trip to Florida. A lot would depend on how Dawn was feeling once her meds wear off. Flying with seasonal allergies is probably not a great idea either. I might get kicked off the plane for sneezing a lot.

I read an ad about running shoes today that sounded just about perfect for my difficult to fit feet. I was just about ready to go out and buy a pair until I started reading the online reviews. Customers generally weren't happy. I should have learned by now not to believe advertising. I'm an advertising writer. I've spent decades perfecting the art of making things seem better than they actually are. Sadly, I'm still looking for the perfect shoe. The Nike Air Max shoes I bought recently are already starting to wear out and my feet still hurt after long walks.

This weekend certainly wasn't what I expected. A sudden illness can change everything. Hopefully Dawn will continue to improve. We knew that she wasn't a young dog when we adopted her, but she definitely deserves a few more happy, pain free years. I guess we all do.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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