Day 3394

I wish we could get Dash eating normally again. All the changes we've had to make to keep him eating are causing havoc with his digestive system. We had more diarrhea last night. Solid poop is easy to clean up. Diarrhea is a mess. We had to take Dash outside in the middle of the night and hose him off. There was a lot of laundry to do as well.

I'm pretty sure that if we could get Dash back on track with his chicken, rice, and vegetable stew his digestive problems would go away. He won't touch the stuff anymore. We can't use Metronidazole to clear up the diarrhea either. He seems to have a bad reaction to the stuff. In the past, these digestive problems have been temporary. I'm still hoping that we can get back to normal soon.

Maybe normal doesn't even exist anymore. Walks aren't normal anymore. Dash seems confused and gets lost more often. I can sense when he's becoming tired before he does, but it can be very difficult to get him turned around. Dash may have dementia, but he's just as stubborn as he always was. The rubber boots are wearing out faster because Dash is dragging his right rear leg more. We are walking slower too. Despite all these difficulties, Dash still insists on these daily walks. They are the one thing he still seems to enjoy.

I picked up prescriptions for Dash and myself today. My co-pay has gone up because my pharmacy isn't on my provider's preferred list anymore. This is such a nuisance. I like my pharmacy and they know my history well. I don't really want to change. You've got to wonder what is going on behind the scenes to try to force customers to go to certain pharmacies? Truthfully, I probably wouldn't want to know. The same drug should cost the same everywhere. Sadly, we're not even close to uniform drug prices. Dash's prescription are always much easier to deal with than mine.

What an amazing time we live in. First we get pictures of Pluto and today we see a black hole for the first time. I read several articles about how scientists imaged the back hole. It all sounded incredibly complex to me. Surprisingly, the black hole looked very much like the ones you see in science fiction movies. It's a big week in space. Tomorrow Israel will try to land a spacecraft on the moon and Space X will try to launch its monster Falcon Heavy rocket for the second time. Things are moving fast. Maybe I might live to see humans land on Mars after all.

The week is moving swiftly. I still need to get a haircut. I need to pick up something to eat for dinner tomorrow too. The refrigerator is looking empty. Scratch that. Actually, the refrigerator is full, but it's all things for Dash to eat. Hopefully, he'll find something he likes.

Apollo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2941

Slow days can be dangerous. When I don't have much to do, I tend to update software. Lately, these updates come with a lot of rude surprises. Today, I discovered that iTunes is no longer a place to buy and store apps for your phone. I've always bought apps on iTunes and installed them on the phone or iPad later. I thought it was handy that you could activate or deactivate your purchases without actually erasing them. There was also a convenient feature that made it easy to rearrange the apps so they would appear where you wanted them. It's all gone now. Apple apparently wants you to do everything on the phone itself. I guess this is what most people do anyway, but I've never been most people.

It was way too cold when I woke up to take Dash on a morning walk, but the sky was clear and I knew it would warm up later in the day. To pass the time, I made pancakes and sausages at home instead of going out for breakfast. I'm so slow that Dash went back to the bedroom and took a nap before I finished my meal. When Dash leaves the scene while you're eating, you know he's tired.

It's a good thing that Dash still sleeps a lot, because otherwise I'd never get anything done. As Dash has gotten older, he's become a lot more needy and doesn't like to be left alone. He used to be content to sleep under my desk while I'm working, but now he wants me to go sit on the bed with him. If I wanted to spend the day watching Netflix movies, this would be fine, but I still have things to do.

Today I needed to send out my January invoices, but Dash didn't want me sitting at the computer. I took him outside several times and tried to figure out what he wanted. As it turned out, all he wanted was my complete and undivided attention. I eventually had to block the office door with a dog gate. He barked a few times and then went back to sleep on the bed. I'm slowly learning that life is simpler if I wait until he's asleep before I go to the office.

By lunchtime it was warm enough to stay outside for a while and I took Dash on a nice long walk. If I'd taken him on a walk before breakfast this morning, he probably would have been as much of a pest. You have to do everything in the proper order with this dog. Sadly, I have probably encouraged this behavior. I have to do everything in the proper order myself.

We took a second walk around 4 PM, before the air started turning cooler again. Whenever I see a Dalmatian with behavior problems, I know it isn't getting enough exercise. Dalmatians are very active, energetic digs. Even an old sick one like Dash has more energy than me.

One reason I was tired today was that that I had to get up several times and take Dash outside. This is becoming more frequent and is probably related to his new diet. I'm not sure which of the various brands of food he eats is giving him loose stools, but I'm reluctant to change anything. We've got a routine going now where Dash is eating consistently again. One of these days I'm going to need to get him tested for urate crystals again. I know his new diet is nutritious, but it may cause the crystals to form again. It's always something, isn't it.

I wish it would warm up. I don't know why I'm so cold this year because it's always cold in January. It's actually been much colder in previous years, but i don't  recall wearing so many sweaters before.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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