Day 3376

It has become so obvious Dash is old and tired that people are stopping me on our walks to tell me stories about their old dogs. Every week I hear about dogs that have recently passed away or are having difficulty walking. Despite all the stories, we see very few other older dogs on our walks. When the weather is bad, Dash is often the only dog walking at all. I feel sorry for the old dogs who just get a towel under their belly occasionally to help them go out in the yard and pee. With a little help, a lot of these dogs could still lead a relatively normal life.

I don't think Dash even realizes that I am helping him walk. He can still move his legs. He just isn't strong enough to fully support his own weight. I can feel his legs moving through the leash. I provide just enough support to keep him from sinking, while letting his legs move naturally. It took three dogs to perfect the technique, but I think I've gotten pretty good at walking disabled dogs.

One thing I can't do is give Dash more energy or help him think clearly. He's starting to become senile and sometimes appears lost or confused on our walks. You wonder when senility becomes dementia and if dementia can turn into Alzheimer's? When Dash's mind goes blank, you've just got to be patient. Eventually he clicks into gear again and off we go. I think being outside helps. Dogs have such an amazing sense of smell that the abundant smells in the park reconnect him to the world. I think he could take his walks blindfolded because he's really just moving from one smell to the next. The smells are a trail of breadcrumbs that take him away and then bring him back home.

My accountant called today to let me know that he had some preliminary results on my taxes. I was really disappointed to learn that despite my paltry earnings this year, I still owed money to the IRS. I think old people get screwed. Your social security gets taxed as income. Required distributions from your IRA account are taxed as income. If you planned ahead and managed to save something, your dividends and interest are taxed as well. It's ironic that when my business was booming I paid less in taxes than I do now. When you have lots of clients, there are lots of business expenses you can deduct. It goes without saying that without clients or business activity, there are very few expenses  either.

It rained again today. I'm glad that Dash still got to take his walks. I'm not so glad about going up on the roof again. I'll wait until the forecast clears, but the key to keeping the leaks at bay is getting the standing water removed as soon as possible. The pumps help, but I've always got to go up on the roof and finish the job. I'm surprised that I still haven't gotten any bids to replace the roof.  Apparently I'm not a priority. The same thing happened the first time I put a new roof on the house. Since the house is small, roofers are always more interested in larger and more lucrative projects.

I should go to the gym tomorrow since I missed my workout last week. I'm not getting much exercise walking Dash. I guess my arms are getting stronger but the walks certainly don't provide much of a cardio workout. We move at a snail's pace these days. I doubt that my heart rate changes at all.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2691

Dash threw up again today. I'm pretty sure that Dash's problem is that there are seven different brands of dog food in the house now and it's driving him nuts. He always tries to steal Dot's food unless I pen him in the back of the house while I'm feeding her. Dash has had a sensitive stomach for most of his life and he can't handle eating something different everyday. The rich canned food that Dot is eating now was not meant for dogs like Dash.

Feeding the dogs is complicated. The whole process works best if Dash eats before Dot even wakes up and I don't begin feeding Dot until Dash has gone back to the bedroom for his morning nap. This works great when all the stars are aligned perfectly, but on a normal day, things are fairly chaotic. Today Dash ended up eating a fair amount of Dot's food. I feel like I don't have enough hands anymore. It takes both hands to hold Dot's harness while she eats, poops, walks around the house, or basically does anything. Dash takes advantage of the situation whenever he can.

We gave Dash a Cerenia pill tonight and hope that it will take care of the situation for a while. He's got to go back to his special diet though. There just isn't any other alternative. I wish Dash understood how difficult it is to keep Dot with us a little longer. Dot is special to Dash too. When we first adopted Dash, he was scared of everything. Dot was the one who gave him confidence. You can't expect a dog to act differently though. He sees all the attention Dot is getting and all the exotic food she is allowed to eat. All he wants is to be treated the same way.

It's weird being the one to make all these decisions for the dogs. What is kind and caring for Dot would be unkind and irresponsible for Dash. As I try to keep life in balance for both dogs, I sometimes wonder how people with severely disabled kids keep it together. One of our neighbors has a boy who looks a bit like Steven Hawking. They have to do everything for him. How do they do it without going crazy? My problems are nothing compared to the problems that many people have. I think I've reached my limit though. So far, I'm doing pretty well, but I don't think I could handle much more.

Maybe we just don't know what we can handle until we try. I felt that I needed to up my game at the gym today. I can't really help the dogs if I'm always tired myself. My workout was more strenuous this afternoon and a doubled my free throw goal on the basketball court. The fitness band on my wrist told me that I did pretty well, but I still didn't really enjoy the exercise. All in all, I would have rather taken a nap.

While I was walking Dash this evening we happened to see the woman who gave us the can of food for Dot last Sunday. She was really pleased to hear that her food proved to be the key to getting Dot eating again. I still have no idea who this woman is.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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