Day 3248

Dash got some good news today. The doctors could find no evidence of a blood clot on his echocardiogram this morning. It's been three months since the clot was visible. Since this was the second time in a row that the search for the clot in his heart has turned up negative, Dash's vet was convinced that it was finally gone. This is great news.

Unfortunately, Dash still needs to take Plavix to prevent these clots from reoccurring. The blood thinners are bad news since Dash bleeds so easily. The folks at the cancer center got a chance to see just how easily Dash bleeds when he walked across the parking lot to go pee in a patch of grass on the other side. When we returned to the clinic, the tops of both rear paws were bloody. Dash's rear legs are very weak and his rear paws knuckle under whenever he takes a step. It doesn't take much to scrape them up. We used to skip the socks and boots on trips to the vet, but it was pretty evident today that he'll need to wear them everywhere.

I was hoping that we'd get an answer about the tremors Dash has been experiencing at night, but the vet was as puzzled as we were. We didn't really learn how to prevent the bleeding either. I guess we'll just have to be very careful. We'll return to the cancer center for another echocardiogram and exam in January. A lot can happen in a month and a half, but I'm cautiously optimistic. Dash's appetite has improved dramatically and he hasn't vomited in a long time. The incontinence is messy and he has some pretty severe mobility problems, but things could be a lot worse.

Dash's exam took a long time, so I didn't get much done today. Breakfast was so late that it was more like lunch. I need to make a mental note not to drink my smoothie after 11 AM. The concoction is so filling that it spoiled my appetite for dinner tonight. I should have taken a long nap, but I paid some bills and went to the grocery store instead. I don't know why I felt like I needed to pick up something for dinner. I wasn't hungry.

I watched another episode of the National Geographic Mars Series this afternoon. I need to see if this thing is available on iTunes. I'd pay just to avoid the commercials. Lots of shows will let you stream old episodes for free, but they are almost always filled with commercials. By the time I've watched five different  commercials in a row, I've forgotten what the show is about.

The trash has been taken out to the curb and the last load of wash is in the dryer. Dash's paws have stopped bleeding, but we've got to be really careful. I don't want to be looking at a bloody bedspread tomorrow morning. I'm still hoping that Dash will poop before I go to bed tonight. I could really use some sleep.

Honey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3206

It was a good day. It could have been a great day, but I'll settle for good. I was expecting the worst when we took Dash to the vet this morning, especially since his condition has been declining for several months. Surprisingly, his lab work looked better than at his last exam and the doctors could find no evidence of a blood clot on his echocardiogram. This was great news, but it was tempered a bit by the admission that the clot might have been missed this time, since Dash was squirming a lot when they did the test.

I'm hoping that the clot actually did disappear again. It disappeared once before. The vets at the cancer center are very good and they seldom make mistakes in their diagnosis. Even if the blood clot problem has been resolved, Dash still isn't out of the woods. He has an enlarged heart with a leaking mitral valve. The vestibular disease isn't going away either. When we described Dash's current symptoms, the doctor was initially worried about kidney failure. His blood work turned out relatively normal fortunately, so we won't have to add that worry to our list. Everything we learned this morning was good, but I still wish that the results had been better.

I was a little disappointed with the auction results as well. My art sold for a good price, but it didn't live up to the auction house estimates. They were so excited to acquire these items back in June that I became convinced that the sky was the limit. I shouldn't have set my expectations so high. Truthfully, my lot did just as well as other works by the same artist, but we definitely didn't set any records today. It's weird. Once you start watching auctions, you start thinking that whatever you are selling will set a new record. It doesn't work that way. A lot of things don't sell at all.

There is still one auction to go, but this was the big one. It's time to move one. I guess I am actually really lucky. With all the trouble I've had with my roof over the years, it would have been so easy for the art to be ruined by water. The roof would have just had to start leaking in a slightly different place.

Actually, the roofers did call today. They left me a message while we were at the vet with Dash saying they were in the neighborhood. By the time I was able to call them back, they were gone. It's back to playing phone tag again.

My heart rate is subsiding again. I don't know why, but I'll take it as a good sign. I can't believe I'm already thinking about where to go for breakfast tomorrow. These weeks go by so fast now. I've taken the trash out to the curb. Dash has finished his dinner and is resting calmly. Oh, I almost forgot. I sold some art today.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3141

There is a suspicious rust colored stain on the living room ceiling that wasn't there a few days ago. I think the roof is leaking again. This really isn't supposed to be happening. I actually thought the roofers did a pretty good job when they made their repairs recently. I went up on the roof to remove the standing water from yesterday's surprise rain and look for signs of a leak. I couldn't find anything. Where is this water coming from? I'm about ready to give up. This house is a series of never ending problems. Maybe all old houses are this way, but I'm beginning to think that it would be a lot easier to just live in a hotel.

The weather was nice this morning. The temperature was only in the high seventies when I woke up. Dash could smell the difference in the air. He was ready to walk as soon as he'd finished taking his morning meds. I was surprised at how eager he was this morning. He didn't even want to wait until Janet had left for work. We had a nice walk and then he went back to sleep. That's what he does these days. He eats and sleeps and occasionally poops in the house.

There has been a campaign to save some historic trees in an older shopping center near my post office. When I went to the post office today, I noticed that the developer had chopped down the trees anyway. So much for listening to the customers. I think most of the neighborhood wanted to keep the trees. I'm not even sure what the developer was trying to prove. I think all they are are going to do is add a few more parking places. What was that old Joni Mitchel song? "You don't know what you've got till it's gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

Now that Janet has returned, it is time to stock up on groceries again. I went to the store after breakfast this morning and bought a bunch of fresh fruit. Janet thought I might have got too much, but it all looked so good. The strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and peaches were all really fresh today. I should go shopping on Tuesday more often. All the produce looked much better than it does on Saturday.

I wish I could teach Dash to sleep on the floor. He's really having trouble climbing on the bed now. The special step we built at the base of the bed helped for quite a while, but now he's having trouble even getting on the step. He's so stubborn about trying to do things that were easy when he was younger that I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself.

Dash goes to the cancer center tomorrow morning for another series of tests. We're hoping that his blood clot hasn't gotten worse after we were forced to discontinue one of his blood thinners due to internal bleeding. The internal bleeding problem seems to be gone, but we're still worried about the blood clot in Dash's heart. My sister is undergoing a similar series of tests to see how she's responding to a new cancer treatment. I hope everyone's test results are good. There's way too much illness in my little corner of the world.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3087

I'm very disappointed. The blood clot in Dash's heart has returned. Actually, the doctors think that this is a brand new clot and aren't entirely sure why it has appeared. The current theory is that Dash has a heart valve problem that causes a vortex around the valve that lets clots start to form. We've known that Dash has had a heart murmur for a long time. It's possible that he has had periodic clots for a long time as well. There's not really much we can do. Since one clot actually did dissolve over time, we're hoping that this new one will as well. I was expecting a more favorable outcome after the good news we heard on our last visit. It wasn't meant to be.

Dash's early morning vet appointment caused the day to get off to a slow start. By the time we were ready for our morning walk, the sun was already high in the sky and Dash quickly got overheated. He just can't take the heat anymore. I cut our walk short and returned home. This was fine with Dash. I think the vet visit was all the activity he wanted to deal with today anyway.

The grass I thought was dead yesterday looks even worse today. I'll give it a little time, but I think I'm going to have to complain. I hear thunder in the distance, so maybe a good soaking rain will help. It won't help the roof, but it just might help to revive this pitiful looking St. Augustine grass.

I photographed some more art work for the auction house today. I'm still not quite sure what they're looking for. Some items they get excited about and others not so much. I still think that this is a good time to begin to simplify my life. I just wish it wasn't so complicated to simplify.

My pharmacy has been bugging me to pick up some prescriptions. An automated message calls me every day to remind me to pick these things up. I finally did go to the pharmacy today and the pharmacist told me that it was too early to get the pills. WTF? "Medicare won't pay for these renewals until June 30," he said. "Well, why to you keep asking me to pick them up," I asked? The pharmacist had no answer. We both knew that this was just one more example of a healthcare system out of control. I'm not out of pills anyway. I'll just go back and pick these up at the end of the month.

Dash currently is shivering under my desk again. There isn't a lot of rain, but there sure is a lot of wind and thunder. I don't know what Dash is worried about, but I'm worried about losing power. We definitely have had a lot of rain in the past several weeks. Every time I get ready to tell the roofer that there's going to be a long enough stretch of dry weather to finish the repairs, another storm pops up.

I forgot to record the new episode of The Expanse last night. It just goes to show that I can't even remember things that I want to remember. No great loss. I'm sure I can find this episode online anyway. If I had a little more patience, I could just buy the entire season on iTunes and avoid all the commercials.

The new syndication service that replaces NetworkedBlogs actually works. Yay. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting this. I'm always pleasantly surprised when something works.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3031

Good news. When the doctors reviewed Dash's latest echocardiogram this morning, they were unable to detect any signs of the blood clot in his heart. There's always a chance that the clot just didn't show up during today's scan, but the folks at the cancer center are usually very thorough in their exams. We think that Dash's dangerous blood clot may have finally dissolved. Dash's doctor wants to give him one more scan in June before he gets a clean bill of health, but things are looking very good at this point.

I wish Dash were better behaved during these exams. The tests are non invasive and completely painless, but Dash freaks out whenever we take him to the vet these days. It's embarrassing to sit in the lobby and hear your dog bark and whine during the entire procedure. Everybody else's dog was sweet and well behaved today. Not ours. Maybe Dash would be happier if he realized that he only had to endure one more scan. We won't tell him that he's going to need his teeth cleaned when it's safe to sedate him again.

The day always gets off to a slow start whenever there's a vet appointment. We try to make the appointments as early as possible, so Janet won't miss too much work, but our normal routine still gets delayed quite a bit. By the time I finished my breakfast and got Dash ready to walk, it was well past noon. I don't know why I even try to keep a schedule. When I finally turned my computer on around 1 PM, there was still noting but junk mail in my inbox. I would be totally shocked if I found myself looking at a new assignment these days.

With Dash taken care of and nothing else on my plate, it was hard to avoid mowing the grass. I thought it might be better to care care of this task today, because it's expected to rain tomorrow. The good news is that the mower still works. The bad news is that it seems even harder to push this year. All my trips to the gym really haven't produced any dramatic results. What has happened to me?  Mowing the grass used to be easy.

I installed some music production software on my laptop this afternoon, so I could use the new keyboard outside the office. I probably never will, since the laptop is slow, but it's nice to have options. I was pleased to discover that Logic Pro and GarageBand have a new "teaching" mode where you can learn to play guitar and piano from within the software. Cool. I'll have to try this. I'm certainly pretty rusty playing the piano. I hope I can maintain my interest in music for a while. It would be nice to start writing songs again.

I'm still amazed that Dash's blood clot seems to have disappeared. There was always the possibility that it would, but I wasn't very hopeful. I can't even remember how many echocardiograms Dash has had now. We've been monitoring his condition for many months now and until the scan we had a month and a half ago, nothing ever changed. I'm glad we never lost faith and kept up with his treatment even when it didn't seem to be doing any good. The good news we heard today reminds me how important it is to be patient. Some things in life just take a lot of time.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2989

Dash finally got some good news today. The large blood clot in his heart is a little smaller this month. The change isn't dramatic, but it is a step in the right direction. This is the first time the blood clot has become smaller since we began measuring it. I asked the doctor what was happening with the second blood clot. He said this secondary clot appeared to have been reabsorbed. This is good news too. Now, we only have one blood clot to worry about.

At this rate, it is still going to take a long, long time for Dash to return to normal. It is encouraging though that he has made it three or four months without getting worse. We will continue the blood thinners and the monthly echocardiograms, always hoping for the best. I wish Dash would behave better at the cancer center. He used to be so good when we came here for radiation therapy after his thyroid cancer. Now, he has decided that he hates the echocardiogram procedure and refuses to cooperate. Simple things like routine blood work have become quite difficult now.

As always, the vet appointment took longer than expected and Janet and I got off to a late start. By the time I finished breakfast and was ready for work, it was already afternoon. Shortly after I turned on the computer, I got a frantic call from someone who said their website had been hacked and was infected with malware. This had to be a client or former client, but I couldn't place the guy's name. I asked the guy some questions, hoping that his answers would reveal who I was talking to. Eventually something clicked and I remembered working on the guy's website. He actually used to be a pretty good client, but my records showed that I hadn't uploaded anything to his site since January of 2015. He asked me what he should do and I suggested completely erasing his current site and then reloading my old file copy. This sounded too drastic for the guy, so I said "How about if I just get rid of some of the stuff that looks really weird and shouldn't be on the server." This seemed OK. How did these files get on the server in the first place? It wasn't me and it wasn't my former client either. He didn't even remember his password.

It rained a lot last night, but by the time we arrived for our vet appointment this morning, things were already starting to dry out. By mid-afternoon the weather was quite nice and Dash and I were able to take a long walk. Maybe it will stay dry enough for me to take a look at the roof this weekend. I'm not really looking forward to going up on the roof again, but it needs to be done.

When I went to the post office today, I discovered that the price of stamps had gone up. Now it costs $50 for a single roll of first class stamps. This seems ridiculous. Maybe I should start paying for things online. With a gas guzzling car and stamps costing fifty cents each, it probably costs more to take my bills to the post office than I realize.

Another panel fell off the greenhouse roof this morning. I must have repaired this building with duct tape the last time I was having problems. The greenhouse is so old that it is starting to disintegrate. I'll add the building to the growing list of things that are starting to disintegrate. I'm pretty sure I can fix things myself, but it's a big job and my heart isn't in it.

Maybe I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. It's been a long, dreary week. Ordering a stack of pancakes with sausages might perk me up.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2968

The WiFi went out today. I hate calling AT&T so much that I have a second WiFi hotspot with T-Mobile. Since outages are usually intermittent, it is often easier to use this alternate service than call technical support. I guess I could have done that again today, but I was so irritated that my U-Verse bill has gone up again I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get what I was paying for.

I hate calling technical support. It takes five minutes of talking to a robot before you can connect with a real person. Usually the technician you are speaking to is not a native speaker and the conversation is mostly "could you repeat that, I couldn't understand you." The tech support people are nice enough. They just don't speak English well. Before you can explain your problem, the technicians always wants to run some tests. It doesn't matter that I've already run the tests before I placed the call. They run the tests again anyway. Usually the tests are inconclusive and they want to send another technician out to the house.

That's what happened again today. I've been through this process too many times before. Usually the service guy just replaces the router and then you have to reconnect your entire WiFi network. I tried to explain to the technician that it might not be worth the trouble to send someone out, since I was thinking of dropping U-Verse anyway. He said he already had a ticket open and that was the only way to resolve my issue. "Could this guy you send out hook me up to your fiber optic network if he can't fix my router," I asked. "No, that's an entirely different department," said the technician. I wasted a lot of time today, and I'll waste even more tomorrow when the other technician arrives.

The stock market dropped another thousand points today. This is so irritating. I finally recovered from   the disastrous 2008 crash and was looking forward to smooth sailing in 2018. The market may have gone up too fast, but there is no good reason why it should be going down. Most companies are enjoying record profits. Consumer confidence is up. Manufacturers are hiring again. This is not like 2008 at all. Some people say this crash was caused by hedge funds shorting the volatility index and then having to sell stocks to cover their shorts when the trade went bad. Maybe. I just wish there were more people like Warren Buffet and fewer people trying to get rich quick by gaming the system.

Dash had a good day, but he definitely didn't have a good night. He woke me up several times last night and seemed agitated. He finally pooped, but it took him several tries. When he returned to bed, he started shivering violently. Covering him in a blanket didn't help at all. At one point he seemed to have trouble breathing and I became very alarmed. We've been through this before and knew there was little point in taking him to the vet. We just had to keep Dash calm and wait for the tremors to subside. It took about an hour, but eventually the shivering stopped and Dash started sleeping normally again. He woke up this morning as if nothing had happened.

I think the shivering and tremors are another aspect of Dash's vestibular disease. They also could be caused by the blood clots in Dash's heart. I wish there was something we could do, but Dash's doctors have no answers. Sometimes I wonder why they don't try a different blood thinner like Warfarin or Heparin, but maybe these medicines don't work in dogs.

If Dash is feeling well, I might go out for breakfast tomorrow. I'm not that hungry. I just need to get out of the house for a while.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2959

Finding a refrigerator that will fit in our house is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I spent most of the day visiting stores and talking to people on the phone and still haven't found what I'm looking for. It's frustrating. I found one model that looks like it would be a perfect fit for our kitchen alcove, but nobody in the Dallas/Fort Worth area has one on their showroom floor. I'd hate to buy a refrigerator without seeing it in person first. One thing I've already learned is that there are a lot of surprises. The descriptions on the internet aren't always accurate, for starters. When you are trying to fit something in a space with only a half an inch of clearance on either side, measurements must be accurate.

Even how the door opens is important. Depending on where the hinges are placed, some doors will still open when placed next to a wall and others won't. Some models require two to three inches clearance behind the refrigerator and others can live with one inch. I think this is why I tried so hard to repair my existing refrigerator. It is really hard to find something that will fit in my kitchen.

If General Electric still made the model I currently have, I would just buy another one. This side by side model lasted a long time and came with with an icemaker in the door which isn't even available in smaller refrigerators anymore. I saw refrigerators today that had built in internet browsers, WiFi cameras, and little doors so you didn't have to open the big door to grab a can of pop. There was even one refrigerator that has a built in Keurig coffee maker. All this useless stuff and I couldn't find a single model with the icemaker I wanted. I couldn't find anything with as much space as my current refrigerator either.

I had a scare last night. I woke up about 3 AM and Dash felt very cold and was shivering. He was still asleep, but something didn't seem right. His breathing was too slow and I began to worry that one of the blood clots had broken apart and gone to his brain. I covered him up with a blanket and the tremors gradually subsided. About an hour later Dash woke up quickly and headed straight for the back door. I wasn't fast enough unlocking the door and he ended up pooping on the living room floor again. Dash isn't incontinent yet, but we are headed in that direction. At least his breathing seemed normal again though. I cleaned up the poop and we all went back to bed.

Dash wanted to walk today but he didn't seem to have much energy. Our walks were very, very slow. I'm glad we're going back for another echocardiogram and exam this Thursday. I hope his new medications are working and that we'll be able to go back to a single blood thinner soon. Dash bleeds way too easily now. It makes me real nervous. Last night he brushed against a low branch while I was taking him outside to pee and ended up getting a cut on his back. The scrape was very, very minor, but he bled anyway.

It was really disappointing to have a big stock market sell off today. It was inevitable, and quite normal that this would happen, but I'd be a lot happier if the market would just keep going up indefinitely. Even a 5% correction makes me fret these days. There doesn't seem to be any room for error anywhere. I've got to keep Dash calm and hope the blood clot doesn't shift. I've got to find a refrigerator that fits in our impossible alcove. I've got to find a way to make my investments last in an increasingly volatile world. Maybe I'm imagining things, but life seemed a lot easier thirty years ago.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2933

It's not a good sign when your vet keeps saying "I'm so sorry" as he explains your dog's test results. The blood clot inside Dash's heart has grown larger. This means the treatment he has been receiving is not working. We added a second medication today to help dissolve the clot, but I'm not optimistic. We've known from the beginning that blood thinners are only effective in helping the body reabsorb blood clots about 50% of the time. Dash's blood just seems to clot unusually easily.

It's kind of scary knowing that your best friend is a ticking time bomb. As long as the large clot stays together, Dash will be fine. If the clot breaks apart and travels to other parts of his body, he could die in a matter of minutes. Dash could have two weeks or two years. We just don't know. The sad thing is there is absolutely nothing we can do. Surgery isn't an option and we're already giving him the only medications that even has a chance of working. We have been told to avoid stressful situations and not to let Dash run off leash. The running isn't a problem, but everything is a stressful situation for Dash. He has never been a calm dog.

When we returned from the cancer center, Janet and I resumed our regular lives. What else can you do? I finished my breakfast and did some chores around the house. Later, I paid some more January bills and wrote a letter to my sister. On my way back from the post office, I though I'd take my old down booties to the neighborhood tailor and see if she could repair the worn waterproof cloth on the bottom. Although the booties were made of nylon and oilcloth and appeared to be easy to sew, the tailor said she didn't work on shoes and told me to see the shoe repairman next door. The shoe repairman told me that the booties weren't really a shoe and to take them back to the tailor. Nobody wanted to fix these things. Oh, well. I tried. I have a new pair anyway. I'm just a Gemini who likes to have a spare for everything.

Maybe I should have made a few New Year's resolutions. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do in the year ahead. My life has been centered around caring for sick dogs for so long now that it's hard for me to conceive of anything else. I really enjoyed going to Vandenberg Air Force Base several years ago and watching a satellite launch. Maybe someday I'll become a space groupie again. Following launches gets expensive though. I'd need a new source of money. Money is always the problem. Once you start to relax, the money starts to disappear fairly quickly.

For now I'm going to enjoy my remaining time with Dash. He can be stubborn and ornery at times, but he has an amazing personality and always makes me laugh. Dash has been my friend and companion for a long time now. He and Dot made it possible for me to work alone in a little office for all these years. They were really the heart and soul of my company and of this blog. It's very hard to be lonely when there is a Dalmatian nearby.

I'm glad that Dash didn't really understand what happened at the vet today. He's still a happy dog who takes things one day at a time. I'm going to try to do the same.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2884

Today's echocardiogram revealed that the blood clots in Dash's heart had not gotten any smaller, but they had become denser. "Is this good or bad," I asked the doctor. He thought it was good news because a dense clot is less likely to break apart and travel to the brain or lungs. I'm disappointed that the clots have not become smaller after two months of taking Plavix, but I'm happy that Dash appears to be doing fine. Whatever caused him to quit eating and become fearful of taking a walk appears to be gone.

The doctor told us that he was getting over a bad cold and that his voice was raspy because he had strep throat. This alarmed me a bit because I have a terrible phobia of being around sick people. I'm convinced that the only way to become sick is to be around someone else who is sick. Most normal people don't have this attitude. Teachers, doctors, and nurses are around sick people so much that they take it all in stride. I spend so much time alone that a sick person in the room seems almost like seeing a snake or spider in the room. It makes me nervous. That being said, I'm glad the doctor came in today. He's a great vet who has really helped us navigate the complexities of cancer and other emergencies with Dot and Dash.

Breakfast turned out to be lunch today. Janet and I took Dash on a walk as soon as we got back from the cancer center and by the time we returned and I started making my morning smoothie, it was already past noon. Even though it was very late, I didn't even consider eating anything else. I'm convinced that Dash is stubborn about many things because he's learned this inflexible approach to life from me.

I got asked to be part of a big website rebranding project today. I've worked with these people before and I was delighted that they still wanted me on their team. On the other hand, I've worked with these people before and know how difficult their projects become. That's the trouble with sliding toward retirement. I used to look at hard jobs as a challenge. Now, I look at them with a sense of horror. I can do this though. I've done it before. This time it just might take me a little longer.

I feel the same way about the Santa Paws pictures I take every year for the Dalmatian Rescue group Janet and I volunteer with. I'm happy that everyone still seems to like these pictures, but every year it seems a little harder to shoot them. My equipment is old and so am I. At the end of the day, I'm exhausted. Luckily, we have a much lighter schedule than we used to in the old days. This year we only have two locations in early December. This is a lot easier than when there were six.

Even though taking Dash to the vet was the only thing that happened today, the day went quickly. This week's trash has been taken out to the curb, the laundry has been done, and I'm ready to search for a new restaurant tomorrow morning.

Alvin is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2849

Dash's exam was ambiguous at best. The blood clots in his heart are still there and haven't changed in size. The doctor said that the whistling sound his heart murmur made was softer this time, but was unsure if this was significant. Everyone was pleased that Dash's appetite was returning and that he had more energy, but this change didn't seem to be directly related to the blood clots. Dash is supposed to continue taking the Plavix and we scheduled another echocardiogram in a month from now. The vet did say that blood will still clot while taking Plavix, so we shouldn't worry if Dash cuts his paw again. This won't keep me from worrying, but it was somewhat reassuring.

As usual, Dash's exam took longer than we expected, so Janet and I both got a late start. After a very late breakfast, I strung several garden hoses together and was finally able to water the new grass in the front yard. The rest of the day was consumed with mostly unsuccessful attempts to repair Dash's protective booties. I hand stitched the boots back together and then discovered that the Shoe Goo I bought yesterday wasn't really appropriate for repairing the holes in the rubber fabric. What I really needed was a cap made of stronger rubber that would fit over the tips of these boots.

I took the little boots to my shoe repairmen and asked if he could make something to reinforce the toe. He seemed confused at first and then I drew him a picture of what I needed. He brought out some thin rubber used to resole women's high heeled shoes and it seemed like this material might work. Then he quoted me a price for the repair that was higher than what the booties cost new. At this rate, it would be easier to just keep buying new booties and throw them away when they became worn.

As we were exploring repair options, the repairman started asking me about Dash. Then he started talking about his own dog. He was very frustrated with his dog because it always pooped in the house. I resisted the urge to say "that's nothing" and regale him with my own stories of canine incontinence. I didn't want to argue with the guy, but he clearly didn't have the patience required to deal with sick dogs.

After I struck out at the shoe repair shop, I went to Home Depot where I struck out again. All they had was a rubber hall runner that was way too thick and stiff to be useful. It finally occurred to me to go to an auto parts store, where I bought a big package of rubber inner tube patches. Lord knows whether these will work, but we'll find out tomorrow.

The shower started leaking again today. I wonder where the water goes on the days it doesn't leak? It's probably going somewhere. Probably next year sometime I'll discover a patch of rotted sheetrock in a completely different part of the house. Water is sneaky. It can flow just about anywhere.

It was still dark outside when I got up this morning to get the car ready for Dash's trip to the vet. Orion and all the familiar Winter constellations were visible in the pre-dawn sky. Seeing these familiar faces again was somehow reassuring. I just wish that everything was as regular and predictable as the slow and stately movement of the stars.

Katy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2837

We have time to experiment on weekends. We walked Dash before we tried to feed him this morning to see if it would improve his appetite. It didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference. He is eating a little more consistently now. He'll eat the Castor & Pollux stew in the morning, but still wants to take his morning pills with banana bread. After 11 AM he'll usually eat other brands of wet food, including the Hills ID he is supposed to be eating. By evening he'll sometimes even eat dry food. It's complicated feeding him, but I do think Dash is getting enough nutrition now.

The knee brace we ordered came in this morning's mail, so we gave that a try on our evening walk. I think we must have attached it wrong, because it didn't seem to stay in place very well. The rubber booties we've started using to protect Dash's paws seem to stay on a lot better in dry weather. It's also a lot easier to find them again when they slip off when Janet and I are walking together. I'm still worried about Dash getting a cut. The vet said that the blood will still clot when using Plavix, but it will take longer. A nurse told me this morning to apply compression to the wound for five minutes and use an ice pack. I'm not sure how practical that is with a frantic dog. Hopefully, we'll all be careful and Dash won't get cut.

Today was filled with routine weekend errands. I filled a prescription, got gas for the car, went to the bank, and picked up the things we buy in bulk from Sam's Club. Premium gas seems to be in short supply again. I had to go to three gas stations before I found one that had premium. Peaches and strawberries must be going out of season because I've noticed that they've been getting more expensive for the past several weeks. I always forget something when I'm out shopping. Today I forgot laundry detergent and peppercorns.

I got a letter from my supplemental insurance plan saying that they were planning to discontinue several benefits that I've grown to like. I bet this is going to continue happening as long as I'm alive. Healthcare is such a mess that I can't imagine that it will ever get better. I just hope that it gets worse slowly. One of the few benefits of being older is that I don't have to worry about a lifetime of lousy care. The insurance system worked pretty well when I was younger and Medicare works reasonably well now. I just hope the program stays solvent for the next twenty years.

Now the the reality of Dash's medical condition has set in, I think we're going to be OK. We don't have a lot of options, but we still have a wonderful dog. We'll take things one day at a time. We'll monitor his condition the best we can. And we'll do our best to keep Dash's life enjoyable and fun as long as we can. If we're lucky with the Plavix, his condition may even improve.

If I want my own condition to improve, I really need to start going to the gym more often. I'm going to try to go tomorrow. I've got to finish my article tomorrow as well.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2836

I stayed home this morning and made pancakes. Every time I put a pancake on the griddle, Dash went to the back door and scratched to get out. Even though the pancakes got burnt, Dash still took his sweet time to do his business. Yup. It was another rainy day.

Dash wasn't eating dry food today, but he was eating wet. I got him to eat most of a can of Castor & Pollux stew that he likes while I was finishing my own breakfast. I remember asking the vet yesterday what I should be feeding Dash. "Let him eat whatever he wants," the vet said. I'm convinced that this is vet code for "your dog is going to die."

By the time I finished breakfast, the rain had subsided to a gentle mist and I decided to take Dash on a walk. "Slow walks are good, overexertion is bad," the vet told me yesterday. I didn't think this was going to be a problem. Dash always walks slowly now. I put on his protective boots and off we went. About halfway through our walk, I noticed that one of the boots was missing. I wanted to turn around so we could find it, but Dash stubbornly wanted to keep moving forward. Before we made it home, he lost the second boot as well. I realized then that protecting Dash wasn't going to be easy.

After Dash had gone back to sleep, I retraced my steps through the park and managed to find both missing boots. Dash's dewclaw has healed, but in addition to the small rubber boots he'll be wearing on walks, I still have him wear the cone when I leave the house. Now that he's taking Plavix, I don't want him licking or injuring anything.

I had to go pay my storage warehouse rent today because my year is up tomorrow. I always pay a year in advance because I get the thirteenth month free. I was complaining to the manager about the relentless rent increases I get every year and he tried to convince me that I was actually was getting a good deal. "Almost everybody pays month-to-month and we raise their rent every nine months." "Your rent only goes up every thirteen months," he said.  As he was trying to figure out how to give me the thirteenth month free on the company's new accounting software, we both started complaining about all manner of things. That's just what old men do.

The manager told me that he was working at the storage warehouse because he'd been laid off from his last two jobs because of his age. "You don't fit in with our corporate culture anymore," one of the companies told him. "I'm right there with you," I told the manager. It sucks to be cast aside because someone thinks you are too old. Maybe I'll end up working at a storage warehouse someday myself. If you're not already a Walmart greeter, that's where most of the old people seem to wind up.

Dash was moody today, but he eventually did end up eating enough. I had trouble writing my article, because every time I sat down at the computer Dash started slapping at my leg. He wanted me to come in the bedroom with him and take a nap. A nap sounded good, but I had lots to do today. I'm still waiting for the vet to tell me what to do in case Dash starts bleeding. I'm not sure what to feed him anymore either. Today seemed like the first day in a new long march. I'm determined to give Dash the best chance possible to stay alive. A lot of his future is up to luck, unfortunately. The blood clots in his heart could move or break apart at any time.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2835

The news isn't good. Dash has two blood clots in his heart. I asked the vet how large and he told me that one of the clots was about the size of a quarter. How is that even possible? The vet said that the whistling sound Dash's heart murmur makes and all the seemingly unrelated symptoms we described to him made sense once he saw the clots on the echocardiogram. Dash's heart isn't pumping enough blood. This leaves him fatigued and probably uncomfortable at certain times of the day. He said the heart problem could also explain the loss of appetite.

We expected to find something wrong when we took Dash to the cancer center for an extensive series of tests today. We just didn't expect this. I thought Dash's cancer might have returned. Maybe the loss of appetite was a long term side effect of his vestibular disease. I never expected to find two giant blood clots inside his heart. I asked the vet how he planned to remove the clots and he just gave me a sad look.

"If you try to break up the clot, the smaller pieces could travel to the brain or lungs," he told me. "What about surgery," I asked. "There are no blood banks for dog blood," the vet said. "Without an adequate supply of blood, you can't hook the dog up to a heart lung machine during surgery like you would with a human patient." He said there have only been a small handful of successful open heart surgeries on dogs in the entire world.

This was not encouraging news. The vet wants Dash to start taking Plavix, to prevent additional clots from forming. He said that at least 50% of the time, the body will eventually reabsorb the existing clots and the dog will be fine. I filled the prescription and we starting giving Dash Plavix tonight. I don't think we have any other alternative. The downside to Plavix, and most other blood thinners, is that the blood no longer clots. If Dash cuts himself, he could bleed to death. When I think of all the times Dash has gotten cut, including his dewclaw injury just a few weeks ago, keeping him from getting cut seems like an impossible task.

It rained a lot this morning. I got up on the roof and removed the standing water before Janet and I took Dash to the cancer center. Since the leaves are starting to drop from all our trees, the roof was a mess. The leaves turn the water on the roof into little duck ponds that never drain. It's very discouraging. I did get a writing job today. Ordinarily, this would be good news. Dash's vet bill this afternoon was ten times what I'll make from the writing job. It kind of makes me wonder why I even bother.

It was not a great day, but you can't give up. I got some little rubber boots for Dash so he won't cut his paws on walks. He's done that several times before. I'll do my pitiful writing job and hope to get more of the same. I'll call the roofer again and hope that he keeps his promise to make things right.

At least it's Friday tomorrow. I'm not even sure if I'll go out for breakfast. I'm not very hungry. I'm just tired and discouraged.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day