Day 5000

I actually did it. Remind me not to set any other goals that take fifteeen years to accomplish. I'm still a bit surprised that I managed to write something every single day for 5000 consecutive days. There were times when I found myself in remote locations with no WiFi and only one bar on my phone. There were times when I posted from a hospital bed a few hours after surgery. There were lots of computer crashes, but I still never missed a day. This might have been a silly goal, but it wasn't always an easy one.

I learned long ago that writing has consequences. An early story about our first Dalmatian caught the eye of a small magazine called The Dalmatian Quarterly and I ended up becoming a contributing editor. I had a regular column called Seeing Spots that I wrote for many years until the magazine eventually folded and disappeared. A watch company saw my Watch of the Day feature on the blog and it led to a multi-year writing gig. One of my earlier online efforts called The Road to Nowhere was nominated for Website of the Year and I ended up being a finalist. I went to San Fransisco for the awards ceremony but didn't win. Story of my life.

I can't really remember why I decided to start a blog. Blogs were really popular for a while and it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I didn't start with a 5000 post goal, but after the first year it seemed like something I might be able to accomplish. I never thought my life was particularly interesting but I had already been keeping a daily journal in little leather bound volumes that I bought once a year at the Montblanc store. My handwriting was slowly deteriorating and blogging just seemed like an easier way of journaling. I remember blog hopping in the early days and I would faithfully visit dozens of my favorite blogs every evening. I took almost as long to visit other blogs as it did to write my own. Sadly, most of those blogs no longer exist. One or two are still around though and I continue to read them.

Will I miss writing something every night? That remains to be seen. I'll probably eventually end up doing something else but I don't know if it will involve writing. Maybe I'll start reading again. I used to love reading and always had an unfinished book nearby. I doubt that I'll spend a lot of time watching television.  I watch old British comedies on weekends, but there is very little that interests me. I certainly can't say much for the advertising on TV these days. The ads I used to write were much better.

It's probably fitting that my last day of blogging was just a regular day. I did my grocery shopping in the morning and went to the gym in the afternoon. I had a scare later in the day when Dawn had another panic attack. She has had three or four of these since we adopted her. At first we though she might be having seizures but this is just raw fear. Janet and I still don't know what frightens her. It was completely quiet in the house when today's episode started. I heard a strange noise in the living room and discovered she had torn up her dog bed and was trying to hide behind a chair. I led her back to the bedroom on a leash and gated her in the back of the house to keep her safe. That didn't help. A few minutes later I found her behind the television. She had knocked over a large floor lamp and managed to unplug most of the electronics. I took her outside to change the scenery a bit and then sat with her on the bed until she calmed down. The fact that she let me sit next to her was a clear sign that she was really scared.

All is fine now. We had Maryland Crabcakes for dinner and Dawn is snoozing on the bed. Tomorrow evening I'll be doing something different. My thanks to all of you who became regular readers over the years. I really don't know what you saw in this blog, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3398

Dash had a lot more friends than I realized. I was overwhelmed as condolences poured in from around the world yesterday. Thanks to all of you for sharing our story for all these years and finding a place in your heart for a very special dog. Newcomers to the blog may not realize that I've been writing about dogs for a very long time. Years ago I used to be a contributing editor for a strange little magazine called The Dalmatian Quarterly. This was back in the day when people still read things printed on paper and odd publications like this could survive and thrive. The Dalmatian Quarterly is long gone, but my interest in dogs continued. I included a few dog stories in a book I wrote called The Road to Nowhere. People liked these stories, so I wrote a book about our first Dalmatian called Wag. After Spot passed away, I wrote another book about our next Dalmatian called Petey's Place. By the time Dot and Dash became part of our lives, I had discovered blogging and the rest is history.

It's still hard to get used to a world without dogs. When I came home from the gym this afternoon, I immediately went to the bedroom to check on Dash. Checking on Dash has become such an integral part of my life in recent years that it took a second or two to realize he wasn't there. His support system was definitely still in place. There were throw rugs to help him walk in every room. Puppy training pads were everywhere because you never knew when Dash would need to poop. All my pants and most of my jackets still have poop bags in the pockets. There were lots of kiddie gates to create safe spaces for Dash when I had to be away. There were an enormous amount of dog blankets and at least three dog beds in different parts of the house. You can't have too many dog blankets.

It's going to take a long time to make the house presentable again. I took the rugs back to the storage warehouse this afternoon. We may need them again someday. It's a lot more likely that another old Dalmatian will need them first. Friends gave us rugs when Dot's legs began to fail and we'll probably give these rugs to someone else. The gates will get used again too. Gates can be helpful with older dogs, but they are absolutely essential with puppies.

Eventually, all the blankets will be washed and put away. There will be one blanket that goes with Dash as he takes his final trip with us in the car a few days from now. We always wrap our dogs in their favorite blanket and drive them to be cremated ourselves. We make a paw print in clay, clip a tiny amount of fur to keep, and then gently carry our friend to the crematory. I will place Dash in the oven myself. Not everyone does it this way, but it just seems right. If you start your journey together, you should end your journey together. I will need to makes the arrangements tomorrow morning. We will go to the same place where we took Dot. They were extremely kind to us.

It was weird to experience uninterrupted sleep again. I didn't wake up once last night. I didn't even get up to go to the bathroom. It's been a long time since that happened. When I woke up around 6:30 AM I felt rested. There was no point in getting up early though. The only reason I ever got up early was to walk Dash before it became too hot. I guess I'm going to need to continue walking in the park to take pictures for the blog. I still need a new picture every day. It's going to seem strange walking without a dog though. It feels like I've been walking dogs forever.

Thanks again for thinking about us yesterday. It means a lot.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day