Day 4512

There are only four Dalmatians at the kennel now. Dorothy found her forever home this week. Sammy has not been staying at the kennel since she's been busy raising eleven puppies. The puppies are all weaned now and ready to go to their new homes, so Sammy was able to go to her forever home this week as well. Rocket is the only one of our puppy mill dogs that has not found a home yet. He will soon though. He is overcoming his fears and each week we see him he acts more and more like a normal dog.

We are really pleased with Rocket's progress. He has gone from a terrified dog who wouldn't even come near us, to a much happier dog who wags his tail and runs to greet us when we arrive with a bag of treats. We even managed to teach Rocket to sit today, which was a major accomplishment.

We know why it is going to take Charlie a little longer to find a home, but it's a mystery why Oliver and Jo Jo haven't already been adopted. Both dogs are some of the friendliest we've ever had in the program. Oliver loves to play and Jo Jo just wants attention. Maybe people want a smaller dog. Oliver and Jo Jo are both larger male Dalmatians. Maybe their luck will change soon. All these dogs really deserve a great home.

I spent a big chunk of today unpacking and doing laundry from the trip. Everything is back in it's proper place now and ready for the next adventure. It's a shame that travel has become so expensive. I wouldn't mind spending more time at McDonald Observatory as well as Kennedy Space Center. You may wonder why I spend so much time at these two locations. The answer is easy. They feel like home. I avoid people in Dallas, but I always find folks that seem like kindred spirits at the observatory and the space center. Rocket launches and the night sky never get old to me. I'll keep going back because it is just more satisfying than visiting someplace new as a tourist.

I went to the bank today and picked up prescriptions for myself and Dawn. When I went to pick up my prescription at the pharmacy, I was confused. "Didn't I just pick up this same pill last week," I asked. The pharmacist checked and sure enough I was right. It turned out that I had two separate prescriptions for the same medicine. One renewed in 30 days and the other renewed in 90 days. "Let's just cancel the 30 day prescription," I said. One more example of automated systems run amok. For some reason neither my doctor or the pharmacist ever noticed that there were two identical prescription floating around in the system.

Almost every day something we need goes up in price. It's not just travel expenses. My storage warehouse had a dramatic price increase this year. Real estate taxes are up. The cell phone bill keeps getting higher even though I don't make any calls. Today I got a letter from my primary care doctor saying that the clinic was going to raise rates again in July. Concierge doctors were always expensive, but this is getting ridiculous. I'm just glad I'm not trying to buy a house. Housing is what has really gotten ridiculous.

Dawn didn't want to walk this morning because it rained last night. She's a strange dog. The thunder and lightning last night didn't bother her at all, but getting her paws wet is another story. She just doesn't want to walk on wet ground. By the time Janet and I returned from the kennel, the weather was nice again and we had a nice walk with Dawn. As I often do, I continued walking after Dawn finished her one mile loop. I guess I'm still tired from my trip because I couldn't complete my regular six mile route. Maybe I'll have to change the name of this blog from "Some Assembly Required" to "Perpetually Tired."

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day