Day 3261

Dash got a good report card today. Nobody said he was healthy, but he was very well behaved. I think the vet was as surprised as we were. Considering that Dash had to endure a number of procedures he normally hates, I was amazed. The vet was able to draw blood for a necessary test, give him a Bordetella shot, express his anal glands, and trim his nails without much of a fuss. The little guy made us proud.

I feel much better now that his nails have been trimmed. They grow rapidly since the protective boots keep them from being worn down on walks. I remember how much he bled the day he ripped his dew claw out and I don't ever want that to happen while he's taking blood thinners.

Now that Dash has survived his trip to the vet, I need to start thinking about this weekend's Santa Paws photos. I tested my back-up camera today and began charging batteries. I'll continue checking equipment for the rest of the week so everything will be ready by Saturday morning. My equipment is getting older now and I don't entirely trust it. I'd hate to have to replace something at the last minute, but hopefully everything will last for one more year.  I hope I last for one more year as well. I'm not very agile anymore and photographing pets is hard on my knees and shoulders.

The good news is that we're only doing two events this year. We used to do more, but the volunteers and I are all getting older. The Santa photos are still quite popular, so we should have a good turnout. In recent years people have started bringing their children as well as their pets because they say we are much better than the shopping mall Santas. It's amazing how long we have been doing this for Dalmatian Rescue. The team we've put together over the years is very good. I'm probably the only grumpy one in the bunch.

Christmas is definitely on the horizon. In addition to preparing for this weekend's Santa Paws events, I put our Christmas tree up this afternoon. We haven't bought any ornaments for quite a while, but luckily very few of the ornaments have broken. I don't think I broke anything today. Everything on the tree is a Dalmatian. We used to buy Dalmatian ornaments whenever we would see one, but we ran out of room on the tree a long time ago. If we break ornaments now, we can always get a smaller tree.

Our vet had never seen the slip-in bandages Dash wore to his exam before. She was interested in getting some for the clinic. It weird that Janet and I have inadvertently become experts at protecting a dog's feet. I guess necessity is still the mother of invention. It's too bad we haven't come up with a way to make Dash's legs stronger. If he could walk normally we wouldn't need all the protective gear. Amazingly, we may even need more gear in the future. The vet detected some instability in Dash's left knee today. He may need to wear a brace on both rear legs at some point.

I watched the latest episode of the National Geographic Mars series after I finished my chores today. The story arc is still pretty interesting, but I don't like the show's format. They continually switch back and forth between the present and the future in an effort to show that the Earth could wind up like Mars if we don't quit screwing up the planet. Everything they say is true, but the show is far too preachy for my taste. Dr. Who has become the same way. Can't we have a good old fashioned adventure without all the social justice and environmental lessons?

Janet said that we have to get up early tomorrow because she has to leave the house at 8 AM. Piece of cake. Dash has been waking me up early for months now. Just pick a time. I'll probably already be up cleaning up poop.

Scooter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1830

I finally put up the Christmas tree today. Every year there seems to be a few less ornaments. Some have broken. Others have gotten lost. Even though the tree is starting to look a little threadbare, I still like it. All the ornaments are Dalmatians we've collected over the years. You don't see these Dalmatian Christmas ornaments in stores anymore, but I suppose they're still pretty easy to find online. The dogs used to be interested in the tree, but not anymore. They won't be interested until little wrapped packages filled with tasty dog treats go under it.

I went to a different restaurant for breakfast today. I didn't feel like going to the same place two days in a row. It's interesting that all these little neighborhood restaurants have their own audience. My favorite place is an eclectic mix of hipster beards, Apple laptops, and yoga pants. The place I went to today seems to be where all the school teachers go for breakfast. There's another restaurant where everybody seems to be over 80, and a fourth where everyone is always in a hurry. This food is pretty good at this place, but I seldom go there because I can't stand to be around people in a hurry.

I started my physical therapy exercises today. Oddly, they seemed easier here at home than they seemed at the gym last Wednesday. The only problem I had was whenever I tried to do the exercises where I needed to lie on my back on the floor, the dogs thought I wanted to play with them and they started jumping on me. Some of the exercises required the use of a cane last Wednesday. I'm not ready for a cane though, so I used a collapsible carbon fiber microphone boom pole instead. I wonder how long I'll continue doing these stretching exercises? They're both painful and boring. I don't think this is a good combination.

Dot seemed reluctant to go outside today. I can't really blame her. It was cold and rainy for the third day in a row. I almost took a good camera with me today, but I was afraid that the mist would unexpectedly turn to rain and get the camera wet. The light is soft and pretty on days like this. It's somewhat counter-intuitive, but grey days often produce the best pictures. Maybe I'll take a camera tomorrow.

It doesn't feel like Christmas is just around the corner. Very few people send Christmas cards anymore and I haven't been to an office Christmas party in years. Hey, I've got a tree up now though. Maybe that will get me in the spirit.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1074

Janet convinced me to venture a little further away for our Friday breakfast. We went to a restaurant one of her friends liked a lot. This was a neighborhood breakfast place like the ones I usually frequent. It was just in a different neighborhood. While our own neighborhood is in the process of gentrification, this neighborhood was headed downhill. Although the restaurant was surrounded by pawnshops and empty buildings, it still had a loyal crowd of regulars inside. The food was good, but I doubt that I'll return very soon. I like my neighborhood better.

On the way home from breakfast, I stopped by the grocery store and picked up some things. With that chore out of the way, I could spend the rest of the day finishing up my web and writing assignments.

Since yesterday was Thanksgiving, I got confused and failed to take my garbage can out to the curb last night. I heard the truck when I was making the bed this morning, but by the time I got out to the street with my can, the truck was long gone. Just when I though I was going to be overwhelmed with two weeks of trash next week, I saw the big eighteen wheelers that pick up bulky brush once a month off in the distance. When the truck got closer, I convinced the driver to take my trash along with the brush he was collecting. Here's how silly the city is. Before the bulky trash truck would take my trash, I had to take it out of my can and dump all the garbage on the ground with the rest of the brush. This seemed totally ridiculous to me, but when I looked later in the day, my pile of garbage was completely gone.

It's almost time to put the Christmas tree up again. There aren't many presents under the tree anymore, but it still seems worthwhile to put the tree up. All the ornaments are Dalmatians. Some are wooden. Some are glass. And others are ceramic. You wouldn't think there would be so many different kinds of Dalmatian tree ornaments, but we've been collecting them for quite a few years. It's a pretty little tree, and best of all, the dogs don't try to knock it over anymore.

The stock market had a good day today. Maybe they ought to close the market early every day. The market went up in the morning like it often does, but then it closed around noon, before it had a chance to give up all the gains in the afternoon session. Sounds good to me.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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