Day 3353

Dash seems to have a new schedule. He gets up early to go outside and pee. If we're lucky, he poops as well. Instead of taking his morning meds like he usually does at this time of day, he stumbles back to the bedroom and goes to sleep on the floor. He seems exhausted and is often shivering like he used to do in the middle of the night. I'll wrap him in a blanket and about two hours later he will wake up again. If I'm lucky I can get him to take his pills at this time. He'll pee once more and go back to sleep without touching his breakfast.

These two hour naps will often continue until noon when he seems to get a burst of energy and wants a walk. When we return from our walk, he'll usually eat his breakfast. I'm all about consistency, so I don't really understand these changes. I go along with the new schedule though. Dash body is telling him something. He's probably trying to conserve what little energy he has left.

It's just as well that we didn't take an early walk this morning. It was below freezing outside when I woke up this morning. It had warmed up a little by the time I walked Dash around noon, but it was still really cold. I should have worn a sweater under my jacket because I was freezing by the time we returned home. I need to remember that this is Texas and I always need to check the weather before I leave the house. I was in a hurry today because I could see that Dash was in the mood to go and I wanted to get him down to the park before he changed his mind.

I talked to the roofer that my architect friend recommended today. He seemed very knowledgable and we had a long conversation about the pitfalls of homes with a flat roof. He seemed to know a lot about my house just by looking at Google maps. Apparently he had a software program that could provide a rough cost estimate just by looking at the satellite view of the house. The estimate was horrendously high, but the guy said if would probably be lower when he actually came out and measured things. The other roofer who took a look at the house last month said the cost would be high as well. The cost of installing a flat roof has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. It doesn't help that I need an engineered roof with a consistent slope of 1/4" per foot either. The roof will still look flat with this type of slope, but the water will drain and there will be no standing water. I'm not getting any younger and I'm not going to be able to climb up on the roof forever. Getting a roof that drains properly is imperative.

It's a shame that there are so many large expenses like this in my future. We need numerous repairs inside the house as well. Oh, well. That's life I guess. I think I know where my new car fund is going. Maybe it won't be so bad. I like to stay dry and I don't really like to drive all that much anyway.

I certainly didn't drive much today. I had to pick up some Enalapril for Dash at the vet and some dinner for myself at a nearby barbecue place. In retrospect, I should have had something bland for dinner. The ribs and brisket were delicious, but I've got heartburn again. Damn. I wish I enjoyed eating sensibly. All-in-all, I do a pretty good job of staying healthy, but unfortunately everything I really enjoy is bad for you. I kind of envy people who really enjoy eating vegetables. Discipline and restraint keep me healthy. I'd much rather just eat cheese.

I did manage to get the trash out to the curb this evening, but I have no idea whether I'll go out for breakfast in the morning. A lot depends on Dash and the weather.

Connor os today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3142

Dash got some bad news this morning. He has had a heart murmur for a long time, but his doctor told us that it had become significantly worse. He has what is called a mitral insufficiency, which means that the mitral valve doesn't close properly when the heart pumps out blood. This causes blood to leak or regurgitate back into the left atrium every time the heart contracts. Take away the fancy name and this is basically some pretty serious heart disease.

There is drug called penobendan that is often quite effective in helping the heart beat normally again, but unfortunately Dash can't take it. The penobendan would very likely cause the blood clot in his left ventricle to break apart and travel to his lungs or brain. If this happened, he would be dead in minutes. The doctor thought that increasing his enalapril dose would be safe and could slow down the progression of the disease. We are going to try this. Dash is already taking enalapril to control his blood pressure and he tolerates it well.

Today's diagnosis certainly explains why Dash has been so tired recently and has started coughing in his sleep. I thought the vet would want him to stop his daily walks, but he told us that slow walks were fine as long as Dash didn't become overheated or do anything too strenuous. I don't think we have to worry about doing anything too strenuous. We walk at a snail's pace these days.

Dash's exam took up most of the morning, so I didn't get much done today. I went to the bank and picked up a prescription, but that was about it. It was only seventy-nine degrees when I woke up, so we did manage to have a very pleasant early morning walk before we left for our vet appointment. I'll really be glad when Summer is over. You've really got to take advantage of the early morning hours. After that, it quickly becomes too hot to do anything.

My model train collection is starting to sell. So far, I've been pleasantly surprised. There have been consistent sales for the past three months. Four more models sold in July. At this rate, it might take years to liquidate the entire collection, but that's OK. I'm not making much money designing websites anymore. I'll take any extra income I can get.

I must be getting lazy. The sky was very clear last night when I took Dash out to pee at 1 AM. This was the day that Mars was in opposition. It wouldn't be this close to Earth for another fifteen years. I could see the planet clearly overhead, but I didn't go back inside and get the telescope. Why bother, I thought. I'd already looked at Mars through the telescope less than a month ago and all I saw was a little bright orange disk. Maybe the disk would have been slightly larger last night, but I doubt that I would have noticed the difference.

I can't decide whether to bleach away the stain in the living room ceiling or drag the roofers over to take a look at it. I'm doubtful the the roofers would come, no matter what I said at this point. Maybe I'll just mow the grass tomorrow morning. It's starting to look pretty bad. I guess it all depends on how much sleep I get tonight. Dash has had a pretty big day. Maybe he'll sleep well tonight. I certainly hope so.

Snoopy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3124

Friday the 13th. arrived a day late. Dash woke me up around 5 AM heading for the back door. He didn't make it and pooped all over the living room. After breakfast, he drank too much water, started coughing, and ended up throwing up everything he ate on the bedroom carpet. We were out of Nature's Miracle, so I went to the pet store to get some more to help clean up the mess. The bottle leaked in my car. That was enough bad luck for me, but later when I went to get groceries, the lids to both the blueberry and strawberry containers popped open, spilling the fruit all over the back of my car. All this happened before noon. The afternoon was actually pretty normal.

I don't think it was the vestibular disease that made Dash throw up today. He wasn't disoriented and didn't seem to have vertigo. He just burped and all his food came out. Accidents like these are becoming our new normal. Often, I will take him outside to pee and after wandering around aimlessly for a while, he will come back inside and immediately poop on the floor. Actually, he did this right after dinner this evening, making it two for two in the indoor pooping sweepstakes. It's hard to be mad at the little guy. He's trying his best to be a normal dog. Age is a bitch though. The body just doesn't cooperate anymore.

I definitely sympathize with Dash. Age hasn't been kind to me either. I went up on the roof this afternoon to prepare things for the roofers and my shoulder hurt for the rest of the day. An hour of pushing water off the roof with a push broom was all it took. I was going to mow the grass today as well, but I'll save that for another time. Enough is enough.

We must have got a lot or rain last week. The water level in the lake was about two feet lower than usual earlier this month, but this morning I noticed that everything was back to normal. Flowers have started blooming again as well. I spotted some Jimson Weed this morning. The blooms are pretty, but they are poisonous. I never want to let the dogs get too close to these plants.

I went to pick up a prescription yesterday and the pharmacist told me it wouldn't be ready until Monday. This morning, the same pharmacy called me and asked why I hadn't picked the pills up yet. Go figure. I suspect the pills were actually there yesterday but just didn't show up in the computer. It's getting harder to have faith in the pharmacy. Like anyone else these days, they make mistakes from time to time. I'm always looking up pills on Pill Finder to make sure I'm taking the right drug. Same thing for Dash. There are so many generic versions of most drugs that the pills often don't look the same. Dash had some odd looking Enalapril today. The pills were oval instead of round. They turned out to be the correct medication. These just happened to come from a different manufacturer.

I wish life hadn't become so complex. I didn't used to look up all my meds on Pill Finder to make sure I wasn't taking something that was going to kill me. I didn't used to look suspiciously at the Caller ID every time the phone rang. I remember when it was still OK to click on the links that appeared in e-mail messages and open your door when someone knocked. Not anymore.

I've decided that the best thing to do in a dystopian world is mind your own business. There is craziness everywhere, but you don't have to go looking for it. I try to walk Dash when the park is empty. I do most of my shopping when other people are at work. I never talk about politics with anyone.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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