Day 1885

Dot suffered a serious setback today. The day started normally enough. Both dogs went out in the back yard to pee right after they woke up. Everything was normal. Dot and Dash wandered around the house while we got dressed to take them on their regular morning walk. Then Dot decided to stretch. I'm sure that many of you have seen dogs stretch their legs out behind them after they've been sleeping. Dash does this every morning and Dot used to stretch this way as well when she was younger. I don't know what made her feel like stretching this way today. Maybe she was feeling good. Almost immediately something went wrong. After stretching, she couldn't stand normally again and began to stumble. Within minutes, her rear legs were completely paralyzed.

An emergency trip to the vet confirmed my worst fears. By stretching this way, Dot had managed to rupture or blow out a disc in her spine. This is serious. If we are really lucky, cortisone shots might be able to reduce the inflammation enough so she could regain some limited mobility. If we aren't so lucky, surgery is usually the only alternative. We are seeing one of the best veterinary neurologists in the area tomorrow morning and are hoping for the best. Dot will probably have an MRI or CAT scan tomorrow to see exactly what is going on in her spine. We can't even begin cortisone treatments yet because she still has Rimadyl in her system and the two drugs can't be administered at the same time. She has to wait a minimum of 48 hours to clear the remaining Rimadyl from her body.

Dot is totally confused. One minute she was feeling great and the next minute her rear legs are paralyzed. She is still alert and has a good appetite, but she can't move. We still had a special harness that helped our first Dalmatian get about when his legs began to fail. Unfortunately, this harness didn't fit Dot. During her exam, our vet was able to fit Dot for a new Help 'Em Up Harness which is much better than the old Walkabout Harness that Spot used to wear. The harness can only do so much though. Dot has no sensation in her rear legs and doesn't even attempt to move them.

One of the most difficult things with a paralyzed dog is getting them to pee and poop. Our vet was worried that the injury might have damaged the nerves that control her bladder. I was worried too. Luckily, Dot can still pee. It's messy and it's difficult to get her into a squatting position, but she was able to pee after dinner tonight. A little later, she pooped as well, so there's still hope.

I canceled all my appointments, including my dental surgery, for next week. I don't know what lies ahead at this point, but I'm sure it will involve constant care and attention. You can't really leave Dot alone in this condition because she could easily injure or even break one of her rear legs without even realizing it. I've cared for a dog with a spinal injury once before and it was extremely difficult. Spot did eventually recover though and I want to give Dot every possible opportunity to recover as well. I don't know if she's strong enough for surgery, especially since she had such a difficult time recovering from her cancer surgery last year. Hopefully, the neurologist will be able to give us some hopeful news tomorrow. I'm a strong person, but this has really got me down.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1709

Dash spent the day at the cancer center getting re-evaluated. Although he got an excellent report and is still cancer-free, his oncologist wants to continue his chemotherapy regime for at least two more months. I was hoping that he might be finished with his treatment today, but I guess two more months will be OK. The Palladia drug seems to be very effective and doctors are enthusiastic about using it for the types of cancers that Dot and Dash have. I asked if Dot would need the Palladia too, and it doesn't seem to be necessary in her case. Her tumor has finally been positively identified as a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, which responds well to Palladia, but the oncologist still thinks the tumor was removed early enough that it had not metastasized yet. The Palladia pills do not appear to have any side effects on Dash. The only side effects are on your wallet. The pills are quite expensive.

Both doctors I talked to today seem a bit puzzled about Dot's incontinence. They said if it was just caused by the IV fluids she received while she was in the ICU, it should have cleared up by now. Everybody thinks we should wait the full six weeks before considering alternative treatment, but it's starting to look like this might be more complex than we initially thought. Incontinence can be caused by old age, neurological problems, and a host of other issues. The trauma of surgery might have triggered an underlying condition that was already there. I read an article about incontinence in dogs the other day and found at least six different very plausible reasons why Dot might be experiencing this right now. It is all very confusing.

Dash is doing better with Janet as his trainer than he was with me at dog training class. She continues to take him to the Wednesday evening classes while I stay home with Dot. Both dogs are very sensitive to our own attitudes. Maybe Dash can tell that I was never that enthusiastic about school and class myself. I've never liked people telling me what to do. I'm glad he is doing well however. Maybe he'll eventually start winning ribbons again. Dash is a very smart dog. During his first year at training class he won all kinds of obedience ribbons. Then he got bored and didn't seem to like the exercises anymore. Maybe it was me who just got bored and didn't like the exercises anymore.

This week is going quickly. I really need to get a haircut, but I can't seem to find the time. It definitely won't be tomorrow. Dot has another physical therapy season tomorrow and believe it or not, I've still got work to do.  Maybe I can find time on Friday. If I had to choose between getting a haircut and going out for breakfast though, I'd definitely go for the breakfast.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1218

Dot went to see the neurologist today. I don't know what Dot thought, but I found the entire visit a bit unsettling. After I described Dot's symptoms, the vet asked me a bunch of questions and then proceeded to tell me that in about 40% of cases like Dots, they were never able to determine what was causing the problem. After that, she proposed a number of tests, all of which required that Dot be under general anesthesia. The MRI she wanted to do would be taken at another facility, which meant that Dot would be transported to and from the specialty clinic on some of the worst freeways in Texas while still under anesthesia. I didn't like this idea at all. She also wanted to do a spinal tap, which made me nervous as well. I guess spinal taps are safe, but I've heard some terrible things about them.

I didn't mention this to the vet, but what made me the most nervous of all is that the recovery facility where Dot would be staying overnight after the MRI had gotten some terrible reviews on the Google Maps website. I know that some of the things people say online aren't fair, and in some cases aren't even true, but multiple bad reviews does make you stop and think things over. At any rate, I postponed the MRI and other tests until I could talk to Janet and my regular vet again. Dot is thirteen years old. Certain things could definitely help her, but sometimes the cure can be more traumatic than the disease. I think she's too old and frail to even consider spinal surgery.

I think my memory is shot. I completely forgot about Dot's acupuncture appointment yesterday. I looked on the computer and discovered that I had failed to make an entry for the appointment. I've gotten to where if something doesn't beep and remind me on my phone, I don't remember it at all. I didn't even think about the appointment until I was trying to remember my vets name at the specialty clinic this morning. There are just too many things going on for me to remember them all. At least I remembered Dash's antigen shot this afternoon. It seems like I spent my entire day at the vet.

I had terrible dreams last night. I frequently have dreams where I am lost and trying to find my way back home. Sometimes I am in a hotel, or in a city that I visited long ago. This time I think I was in Las Vegas. At least I started there. Every time I went through a door, or stepped out of an elevator in this dream, the environment changed completely and I was somewhere else. Then the door disappeared. There was no retracing my steps. I became increasingly lost and disoriented until eventually I didn't even know what planet I was on. Luckily, one of the dogs woke me up and when I got up to go to the bathroom, the dream disappeared.

In between the vet visits, I managed to complete quite a few small writing assignments. Dot ended up skipping breakfast for nothing, but she is happy to be home. I skipped breakfast as well. I didn't need to fast. I just ran out of time.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1136

I had an uneasy feeling when I pushed the elevator button to go up to the eighth floor. This wasn't the cozy little clinic I'd been used to. It was a huge, rather foreboding, research hospital. I had entered the big leagues for bad news. There should have been a sign on the front of the building that said "Don't even bother coming through these doors unless you have very good insurance." Everything about the place screamed expensive. There wasn't just one doctor this time. I had a team of doctors. They read through all the lab reports from the previous doctors and told me that things had changed. "We've learned a lot more about this disease," one of them said. At first I thought this was good news, but it wasn't. Apparently the doctor who told me that doing nothing was a viable option was completely wrong.

I was very disappointed to hear this, because doing nothing was exactly what I wanted to do. I was told to discontinue several medications. New tests were ordered. This was all just to determine if I was a good candidate for treatment. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very long year.

Despite my unsettling visit to the liver institute, it was a pretty good day. The weather was beautiful. We had heavy fog, followed by clear skies as the fog lifted. This is the kind of weather photographers love. The temperature was warm and there were photo opportunities around every corner. The dogs and I had a great walk before breakfast. I would have stayed out a lot longer if I didn't have work to finish.

One of the charities I work with wants to increase their exposure on social media. This certainly isn't news, since everybody wants to do this. We had a meeting tonight and I told them what I tell everybody. The secret to social media is consistent, original, interesting content. Tell a great story and people will start listening. It's that simple. This isn't what a lot of organizations want to hear though. They don't have the time to write interesting stories and take memorable pictures every day. What they want instead is some kind of nifty software that will automatically get thousands of new people to like them on Facebook. I keep telling them that what they are asking for is already out there. It's called Spam.

One of the doctors I saw today told me that he didn't think I was getting enough exercise. Are you kidding me? I walk five miles a day. Jeez! That should be enough for anybody. I proudly told the docs that I had given up drinking. I didn't tell them that I was still eating bacon.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 482

My life has become a numbers game. I had a meeting with my financial adviser today and we pored over charts and graphs, trying to decide what to do next. What happens if Bernanke discontinues quantitative easing this Summer? What are we going to do if congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling later this year? There are dozens of these scenarios and nobody really knows the answer to any of them. It's getting harder and harder to invest sensibly because, although almost everybody seems to agree that the country is going bankrupt and disaster is on the horizon, nobody has a clue when the curtain is actually going to fall. I'm convinced that the only reason the market is still doing OK is that a lot of people think they're smart enough to keep making profits now while the momentum is going in their direction and then jump ship at the last possible second. I don't think I'm smart enough to time things this precisely, but I haven't jumped ship yet.

Going to the doctor is another numbers game. We look over lab reports and decide what to do if liver enzyme levels are elevated or viral loads have decreased. There are so many different cholesterol levels to check, it makes your head spin. Now, there a new complication, since blood glucose levels have to be tracked as well. Lab reports are occasionally completely wrong too. I get tired of the number game, but what else is there? You can't really predict the future, but when it comes down to life, death or picking up aluminum cans on the side of the road, you've got to make an effort.

Even my online activities have become a numbers game. I used to spend a lot of time talking with people online. Even though it was mostly typing, I had the distinct feeling that a conversation was taking place. Now that I'm busier, a little more tired, and am an active blogger as well, I barely have time to conduct a one way conversation. I write. I publish. And I check my stats. That's it. When the number go up, it makes me think that someone's out there listening, but I'm never really sure.

Number can be deceiving. Will bacon really kill me? Do people enjoy reading about my life with dogs? Should I sell my Apple shares while I've still got a profit? I just look at the numbers and wonder. My watch of the day used to belong to Alice Cooper. I wouldn't mind having that guy's numbers. School's Out was recorded in 1972 and I still hear it on the radio today. Took him a while, but he even made it into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame last month.

Dalmatian of the Day

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