Day 4946

We made it through our first day. I hate to see Dawn sad, but if she had her way, neither of us would ever leave the house. As I expected, Dawn refuses to take a walk and seems nervous even going outside to pee. At least she is still eating. Dinner and her evening snack are fairly normal because I've always fed her those meals. Breakfast is a bit of a challenge though. Typically Dawn gets up with Janet and follows her out to the kitchen. Janet takes her outside to pee and fixes her breakfast before I'm even out of bed. Now she doesn't know what to do.

She refuses to come out to the kitchen and eat breakfast with me. She won't even get off the bed while I'm trying to make it. The last time Janet went on vacation Dawn would eat her breakfast if I left her bowl on the bedroom floor. That didn't work today. I eventually had to place the bowl on the bed with her and then leave the room. Ten minutes later the bowl was empty and she got her morning meds. 

I wish I could tell Dawn that everything is going to be OK and that Janet will be back soon. It doesn't work that way though. Dawn will act like she lost her only friend until Janet eventually walks through the front door again. I guess it all makes sense in a weird way. Dawn spent most of her life as a breeding dog in a kennel run by two older men. I don't think she will ever trust men. Janet was the one who rescued her while I was away at a launch in Florida. They bonded immediately and in Dawn's mind I'm probably just Janet's assistant. We do the best we can when Janet is away, but she's always been a nervous dog. I do think Dawn is trying and I understand as well. I get nervous too when life throws me a curve ball.

It's still too hot for my long walk in the park, to I went to the gym again after breakfast. I had to walk a little further on the indoor track because there was no sunrise walk with Dawn. I got my steps though and shot some baskets before I returned home again. I thought Dawn might come out and join me for lunch because she always gets some sliced turkey with Janet at lunchtime. Dawn loves sliced turkey. I got the turkey out and called her, but Dawn still refused to leave the bedroom. Oddly, she was happy enough to go out in the back yard with me after I finished my sandwich. This is something we always do, so I guess it seemed normal to her. Dawn loves to lounge in the sun and roll in the grass. We stayed outside for about ten minutes and then Dawn was off to the bedroom again.

We'll follow this weird little routine for the rest of the week. Dawn still needs her bedtime snack, but I know she'll come out and eat that. This is something we do every evening. We'll take a final trip outside to pee before bed and then she'll reluctantly let me join her on the bed after I get finished with today's blog post. I don't know how she can spend so much time on that bed. Even I have my limits when it comes to napping.

At least it didn't rain today. Rain would only complicate things further because Dawn doesn't like to get wet. It's hard enough to get her to go outside and pee as it is. I don't think she's drinking enough water either, but I make sure her bowls are always filled with fresh water. Jeez. How do you make a dog drink water? Dawn will gradually adjust to things as the week rolls on. It's a slow process though. I wish I could make it easier for her.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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