Day 2826

Dash is getting older. He doesn't always lift his leg when he pees anymore and often ends up peeing on the front leg with the injured dewclaw. After this happened again for the umpteenth time, I thought I'd try to clean the leg with a damp cloth to prevent him from licking it. This was a mistake. When I was cleaning the leg, he jerked away from me, causing the broken dewclaw to start bleeding again. He wouldn't stay still so I could bandage the area and immediately ran to the bedroom and started rolling on the white bed comforter. I managed to put the cone on his head so he wouldn't try to bite me and then gently dabbed the area with a gauze pad soaked in saline solution. Luckily, Dash's blood clots fairly quickly. I still can't manage to wrap an ace bandage around the area, but the bleeding has stopped and if I leave the cone on so he can't pick at things, maybe we'll be back to normal in the morning. This wound is having a tough time healing, but I don't know what to do. The vet specifically said not to leave the area bandaged too long. I just wish Dash would leave it alone.

It's two hours later now. I was wrong again. We just got back from the emergency vet. While I was writing the first paragraph, Dash started bleeding again. He had gone to sleep in the bedroom and when he woke up I noticed that there was a puddle of blood on the carpet. He hadn't been licking the wound because he was wearing the cone. Somehow he had spontaneously started bleeding again while he was sleeping. Janet and I tried without much success to create a makeshift bandage so he wouldn't bleed all over the car again and then it was off to the emergency vet. They're getting to know Dash pretty well at the emergency vet. This was the third time we've had to take him there this summer.

The vet said she didn't think Dash needed stitches. She was a little worried that the dewclaw wound hadn't healed properly after ten day and gave us more antibiotics and some pain pills. I wish we could just leave this new bandage on, but it has to come off after 24 hours just like the initial bandage. We're kind of back where we started. I don't look forward to keeping Dash calm and living with the cone for at least another week. Dash is a great dog, but he isn't a very good patient. Anything out of the ordinary freaks him out.

Before this evening's dog crisis, I had started watching the new Ken Burns series about the Vietnam War. The documentary was very good. I was surprised at how much I had already forgotten about this time in history. It's a shame that the show comes on right when I start writing the blog every night. I'll have to find some other way to watch the rest of it. I had a low draft number when I was in college during the late 60's and probably would have been drafted if I hadn't fallen while rock climbing in Colorado one summer and been declared 4F. My knees are still a mess after all these years, but that's one injury that I don't regret.

Dash is finally calm and is sleeping again. The emergency vet did a really good job of bandaging him up. I need to go buy some styptic powder and ace bandages in the morning. There's got to be a better way of dealing with emergencies like these. Ironically, we had tons of bandages left over from Janet's surgery, but none of them were the right size and we couldn't stop the bleeding anyway. No matter how prepared you think you are, you really can't plan for everything.

Rhett is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2816

Traveling with Dash in the car is usually a disaster. Today was no exception. We made it to our appointment with the photographer this morning without incident. I think she even got some good pictures. The trip home was the problem. We had almost made it back to the house when Janet noticed that there was blood everywhere. Dash had ripped out one of his dew claws. Don't ask me how it happened. I don't know. He was fine when we got him in the car. He was fairly calm on the way home and didn't appear to get his nail caught on anything. He didn't even yelp or appear in pain. One minute he was sitting on his bed and the next minute there was blood everywhere.

We took him to the vet to stop the bleeding and see if he needed stitches. They were really busy, so we had to drop him off and pick him up later in the afternoon. When he returned, he had a bandage on his paw and was wearing a cone. The vet thinks he will be fine, but we need to keep him from chewing the bandage or getting it wet. Hopefully, the dewclaw will grow back. Dot lost a nail once when she got it caught in a crack in the pavement while on a walk. Her nail eventually did grow back, but it grew in crooked for some reason.

Dash hates wearing the cone and bumps into everything. Hopefully, we can take it off tomorrow. The bandage needs to come off pretty soon as well. There will be less risk of infection if the wound is exposed to the air. To be safe, he is taking antibiotics, but a damp or wet bandage is not what we want right now.

Taking Dash to have his portrait made and then taking him to the vet to get treated used up a big chunk of the day. I feel bad. Maybe if we had trimmed his nails a little sooner, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. I'm really nervous about taking Dash in the car now. Bad things seem to happen whenever Dash rides in the car.

I ran my Saturday errands while Dash was at the vet and when he returned, I spent the rest of the afternoon with him to keep him calm. It wasn't that hard to keep Dash calm. He was really tired and pretty soon both of us were asleep on the bed.

Janet thought the refrigerator was broken again, but I thought she just left the door open too long while loading in new groceries. It still seems to be working to me. At any rate, the appliance repairmen will be returning next week anyway to install the new thermostats they ordered. I'm more worried about the shower. I had to use the wet/dry vacuum again today to clear away the water that had collected under the tiles. I think the shower pan will prevent the water from getting into the rest of the house, but it still shouldn't be getting under the tiles.

I hope Dash is back to normal soon. One problem after another is wearing me down. I feel vaguely guilty being bothered about trivial problems, because every time I turn on the TV, it seems like the rest of the world is dealing with huge, almost apocalyptic problems. A torn nail is nothing compared to a hurricane. I'm sure it's a big deal to Dash though. The little guy seemed pitiful today.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2765

We had to take Dash to an emergency vet last night. He had thrown up earlier in the evening and we'd hoped that giving him a Cerenia pill would settle his stomach so he could sleep. Unfortunately, things got worse. About 1 AM he woke up up drooling heavily while walking anxiously around the house. It seemed like he wanted to throw up again, but when we took him outside, he just froze in the back yard and couldn't seem to move. Something seemed very wrong. We thought he might be having another vestibular seizure, even though there were no rapid eye movements or head tilting. After about twenty minutes, he calmed down and tried to sleep on the bedroom floor. We were relieved that the episode seemed to be over, but then about an hour later it started all over again. This time the heavy drooling was even worse. We began to worry that he might have been poisoned and rushed him to the nearest emergency vet. His vital signs were good and the veterinarian who treated him said that there weren't any obvious signs of poisoning. We were at the vet for about an hour and around 4 AM, Dash began to stabilize. The vet agreed that this looked a lot like vestibular disease, but said the symptoms could also be caused by a half a dozen other things.

We took Dash home and tried to get a little sleep before Janet had to get up and go to the eye doctor. Poor Dash. We've been hoping that his vestibular seizures were over, but apparently not. There isn't a lot you can do about idiopathic vestibular disease. If you can determine the cause, you can sometimes eliminate the problem, but not always. We've already done an MRI of his brain and eliminated the possibility of a brain tumor. He doesn't seem to have an inner ear infection either. I'll have to check his thyroid levels again. Sometimes low thyroid levels can cause symptoms of vertigo and nausea very similar to vestibular disease. There really isn't a cure, so we may be dealing with these periodic episodes for the rest of his life.

Dash seemed fine today. We didn't walk him and fed him a very bland diet. So far, so good. I've started taking Niacin before bedtime again. My doctor say it helps with cholesterol problems, but the flushing it causes is uncomfortable, so I try to be asleep when all the little capillaries start to dilate. Last night when Dash woke us up, the Niacin flushing had begun and my skin was bright red. When we went to the emergency vet, I looked like I had a severe sunburn all over my body. The vet probably though I'd gotten confused and gone to the wrong hospital. I certainly looked worse than Dash.

By the time Dash's heavy drooling stopped, my skin had returned to it's normal color. The only good thing about the worrisome night was that on the way home from the vet, I got a chance to see a beautiful thin crescent moon in conjunction with Venus in the early morning sky. Today, we were all pretty tired and Dash and I spent a considerable amount of time napping.

I got a few things done today, but not much. I picked up some meds for Dash, bought a new sprinkler for the yard at Home Depot, and filled the car with gas. I received a new writing job this afternoon, so I'll probably be busy tomorrow. For some reason, I thought it was Wednesday for most of the day. Janet had to remind me to take out the trash this evening. I was going to wait until tomorrow evening. I hope that Dash sleeps well tonight. I hope we all sleep well.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2627

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I've mentioned that Dash was becoming a finicky eater. Well, last night he threw up his dinner and this morning he refused to eat at all. We walked the dogs to see if this would settle Dash's stomach and then tried to feed him again. He still wasn't interested. We got him to eat a small amount of canned dog food so he could take his morning meds and then an hour later, he threw this up as well. This was not good. I called his oncologist as well as his regular vet and arranged to take him in so they could give him an injection of Cerenia to stop the vomiting. After waiting an hour, I had to give him a second phenobarbital pill, because he threw up the first one we gave him this morning. The other pills can wait, but the phenobarbital is essential.

Dash's vet thought that he was still experiencing symptoms from vestibular disease and when the oncologist contacted me later in the morning, he agreed. They both said that it could take from two weeks to three months to fully recover from a bout of old dog vestibular disease. So, here we are. I've got two sick dogs with very different needs. Both need a lot of attention and it's hard to deal with one without something happening to the other.

Dash seemed out of it for most of the day, but when I eventually fed him some bland food the vet gave me for a sensitive stomach, he held it down. Since Dash is still feeling some vertigo or motion sickness as a result of his vestibular seizures, we may have to put him back on an anti-nausea drug. Hopefully the Cerenia will stabilize him, since it is pretty mild and has few side effects.

I took Dash on a short walk later in the afternoon. Although he walked slowly and seemed a bit tentative, he showed no signs of another vestibular event. This was good. I walked very slowly and let him relax. When we returned to the house, I immediately noticed that Dot had knocked over her protective fence and was sitting in a pile of poop. Like I said, I've got two sick dogs with very different needs.

I hope we can get Dash stabilized quickly. While I was cleaning up vomit on the carpet last night, Dot decided to poop in her bed. It was hard to decide which mess needed my attention first. Needless to say, it was a hectic day. A continual barrage of poop, pee, and vomit can generate a lot of laundry and even more worry.

To cap off the day, I heard a giant thud on the roof as I was preparing dinner this evening. I went out to investigate and discovered that one of the dead limbs I've been waiting for the tree trimmers to remove had fallen. The wood was rotten and the tree limb broke apart when it fell, so there was no damage to the roof. I'm really glad the limb fell on the roof instead of in the back yard. It was large enough that it would have injured me or the dogs if we were underneath when it fell. Now, there is an added urgency to get the trees trimmed quickly, but getting anyone's attention lately has been difficult.

Stress eats away at you slowly. I wonder if I'll even recognize when I'm completely burned out. Maybe I'm there already. The past two years have definitely been a challenge. I know I complain too much and that there are many people with far more serious problems than I have. Nevertheless, it would sure be nice to have two healthy dogs and a little peace and tranquility.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2624

I usually check the dogs on the baby monitor before I start my workout at the gym. Typically they're just sleeping, but today I heard Dot yelping like she was in pain and saw Dash looking around with a worried look. I turned around and went back home again, wishing it wasn't a fifteen minute drive. The house was quiet when I arrived home, but Dot was resting in an awkward position on her dog bed. She must have tried to get up while I was gone and twisted one of her rear legs. On a good day, Dot can still get up on her own. On a bad day she can't. It used to be pretty safe to leave the house for a few hours when the dogs were taking their morning nap. They both sleep soundly and would typically still be snoring on their beds when I returned. That's all changed in the past month or so. Dot is a lot more restless now and doesn't sleep as soundly. Since the oncologist thought that the restless might be caused by discomfort, I was hoping that the Gabapentin might help. If the drug makes her as limp as a wet washrag though, it only makes matters worse.

When I got the dogs up, everything seemed fine. Dot was able to walk and both dogs were eager for me to feed them their lunch. I think Dot's yelping was more of a panic attack than an injury. She has grown very dependent on me and doesn't like to wake up and find me gone. I took the dogs outside to pee, fed them their lunch, and then cleaned up after Dot when she decided to poop while she was eating. After lunch we walked around for a while until Dot got tired and then they were both ready to take a nap again. After making sure that Dot was relaxed and resting in a comfortable position, I got in the car and went back to the gym. This time the trip was a success. It's always a balancing act to care for Dot while still finding a little time for myself. I'm almost always nearby when Dot needs me, but I do need to occasionally get out of the house.

The rain that was supposed to arrive today got delayed. Now, we're supposed to get some severe weather starting at about 1 AM this morning. I wish the tree guys had already come out to trim our trees. One of the main reasons I wanted to remove the dead limbs is that I'm always afraid that they're going to fall in a strong wind. Maybe the storm won't be a bad as the weatherman on TV is predicting. Sometimes I think they make things sound alarming to get more viewers. Of course, Texas weather actually is alarming, so I never ignore what the weatherman says.

I don't know what to do about Dash. He has gotten finicky about his food again. This is nothing new. It has been going on for years. We'll find a healthy diet that Dash likes and after enthusiastically eating it for months and months, he'll abruptly stop and refuse to touch the stuff. We look for a new diet and the whole process starts all over again. I've asked every vet I know what causes this behavior but have never really received a satisfactory answer. Sometimes Dash will refuse to eat something in the morning and then enthusiastically scarf the same food down in the afternoon. Nothing is simple at our house.

I didn't even bother with vacuuming this weekend. Every time I thought about getting out the vacuum cleaner, the dogs were sleeping peacefully and I didn't want to disrupt things. Sleeping peacefully is the Holy Grail around here. When the dogs are asleep, maybe I've got time to take a nap myself, or even get something productive done. Actually, Dot is asleep right now, so maybe this is my opportunity.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2536

I wanted to catch up on things today and I partially succeeded. I cleaned up the brushy area in the back yard where I fell several nights ago. I can't really see where I'm going when I have to take Dot outside in the middle of the night, so eliminating potential hazards is probably a good idea. I ordered some spare parts to fix the first Waterpik properly, even though I have a second one now. If this doesn't illustrate that fixing things is a compulsion with me, nothing will. Hey, the parts were cheap, the repair looks easy, and doesn't everybody need two Waterpiks?

I never got around to vacuuming the house over the weekend, so today seemed as good a time as any to get this chore out of the way. The dogs didn't seem to agree. Usually Dot and Dash ignore me while I'm doing chores on weekends, but today either Dash was in the way or Dot needed attention. Every ten minutes or so Dot started barking in her bed and struggling to get up. I would stop what I was doing, take her outside, and then resume vacuuming when she decided she didn't need to go outside after all. Five minutes after I finally got everything tidy and clean, Dot pooped on one of the living room rugs. I wasn't the best person in my younger years, so I just figure that this is karma.

I'm kind of irritated that my heartburn has returned after I quit taking the Protonix pills. Most of the medications I take don't make me feel any different at all. The pills I take to lower cholesterol and reduce blood sugar levels don't make me feel any different. I don't even notice a difference when my blood pressure is controlled. Now, the one pill that actually made me feel better turns out to be unsafe. For ten years I had no problems with acid reflux at all. Protonix worked. I am skeptical of a lot of things my doctor tells me, so I did a little research and it turns out he was right. Protonix seems to lower bone density and can increase the risk of a fracture in the hip, wrist, or spine in people over fifty. Damn. Now it's back to eliminating all the things that cause heartburn from my diet. Unfortunately, most things that are really tasty do cause heartburn. Pizza is the worst.

When I walk Dash in the morning, I've noticed that a lot of people in the neighborhood have already put their Christmas tree up. When did putting your Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving get to be a thing? I must not have much Christmas spirit. Putting the tree up Christmas Eve would be fine by me. The season has arrived though. Christmas tree lots are popping up all over town. Stores are busier than usual. And Janet has started watching those Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel again.

It looks like we are going to have nice weather for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Last year, there were thunderstorms in the area and Dot was vomiting, so we had to cancel our dinner reservation at the last minute while I looked for an emergency vet. Hopefully, there will be no dog emergencies this year.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2172 - Thanksgiving

Today did not go as planned. Dot threw up during the night. She pooped in her bed too, but it was the vomiting that was alarming. She threw up a lot of liquid and it was completely unexpected. She didn't appear sick when we went to bed and she isn't the type of dog that eats garbage or gets into things. I was surprised. I did my best to clean up the mess and we went back to bed. Just before breakfast, she threw up again. Dot didn't have a fever and her gums were nice and pink, so we let her rest instead of making a trip to the emergency vet. Within an hour, she was acting completely normal.

We took our morning walk and fed her a small amount of food when we got home. Again, everything seemed normal. Then, about an hour later, when we were finishing our own breakfast, she threw up again. Dogs can vomit for hundreds of different reasons and most of them are fairly benign. Dash is known to eat crap in the yard when we're not looking and this is usually the reason he throws up. There were a lot of harmless reasons why Dot could be throwing up too, but I was worried that this may be a sign that her cancer has returned.

We canceled our Thanksgiving brunch reservations and stayed home with Dot instead. Since she still appeared hungry, I went to the only open vet I could find and got a few cans of bland Hills I/D wet food to feed her. When I described Dot's symptoms to the nurse on duty, she said she thought it was safe to just keep an eye on Dot and take her to our regular vet tomorrow. She didn't have a fever, her gums were pink, she wasn't dehydrated, she still had an appetite, and she didn't appear to be under any undue stress. These were all good signs. It's always a bit alarming when your pet has an emergency on a holiday. You are pretty much on your own. We could have taken Dot to an emergency clinic, but this didn't appear to be an emergency. I did feel better after talking to the emergency nurse though.

Since we had been planning to go out for dinner, there was almost nothing in the refrigerator. We were both hungry and started looking for a restaurant in the neighborhood so we could go pick up some take-out. Not surprisingly, almost nothing was open. We finally found a little sports bar that has pretty good burgers, so I picked up our Thanksgiving dinner there. Apparently the only people who eat out on Thanksgiving evening are lonely men. There were five men in the restaurant when I arrived and they were all sitting alone, watching the Cowboys lose on a big screen TV behind the bar.

We fed Dot a small amount of the Hills I/D food and so far she has held it down for about three hours. This is a good sign. I think I set a new record for doing laundry today. So many parts of the house are protected now, but Dot managed to target an unprotected area every single time she threw up. There is still an eighteen inch wet circle on the carpet right near my desk in the office. Dot could have picked a better place to vomit. After scrubbing the carpet and applying liberal amounts of the Nature's Miracle enzyme, I can still smell vomit. There are days when I feel I have lost the battle with the house. It has really taken quite a beating recently.

I didn't expect to have a take-out burger and a small pear salad for Thanksgiving dinner, but we did the right thing. It turned out to be a nice family meal and we have a lot to be thankful for. Dot is calm now and seems to be holding down her food. I'll try to make an appointment at her regular vet tomorrow and see if we can find out what is going on. Although it rained a lot today, there were no thunderstorms to further stress the dogs. The washing machine is still working and I'm running the air conditioner to keep the humidity down. If Dot can make it through the night without any further incidents, I think we're going to be OK.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2144

When I was getting Dot suited up in her harness to go to physical therapy, Dash woke up from a nap and immediately started coughing and choking. I took him outside to see if he was trying to throw up or eat grass. He actually seemed pretty calm, but continued coughing. What was this all about? I called Dot's vet and asked if I could postpone her appointment until I figured out what was going on with Dash. I considered putting both dogs in the car and taking Dash to the vet with me, but I knew that wouldn't work. It's hard enough to transport Dot by herself. Since Dash wasn't frantic, I thought that he might have gotten some dog hair stuck in his throat while he was licking his fur. Maybe the hair was irritating him. Dalmatian hair is short and surprisingly sharp. I got a dog hair stuck in my eyelid once and it was very uncomfortable. To test my theory, I fed Dash some canned dog food in hopes that it would moisten his throat and cause him to swallow the loose hair. Gradually, the coughing subsided and I resumed getting Dot ready for her appointment.

Dot had her own little crisis in the car. I always fold down the rear seat to give Dot a nice big flat area to ride in, but instead of staying in the middle of the car like she should have, she moved directly behind the drivers seat and managed to get one of her front legs stuck in the small gap between the folded rear seat and the door. Why does this always happen when I'm on a freeway? Dot was squeeling and I was stressed. I got off the freeway as soon as I could, pulled into a nearby parking lot, and repositioned her in the center of the cargo area. Dot was fine, but she could have injured herself if she struggled too hard to free her leg. We arrived about an hour late, and I was thankful that Dot has such a nice and accommodating vet. I try my best not to be late, but sometimes events are out of my control.

On days like this, I often feel like everything is out of my control. I'm still hearing water flowing in the pipes when all the faucets are turned off, so I made an appointment to have our plumber come out and figure out what is going on. Unfortunately, he can't come until next Tuesday. There's got to be a leak somewhere, but I can't find it. I hate plumbing problems. Plumbers are quite comfortable cutting a hole in your wall to access a pipe, but they never fix the damage they've made. After the leak is fixed, you have to go out and find your own carpenter or tape and bed guy to repair the walls. Then you have to find a painter to repaint them. The whole process often takes weeks. The dogs don't like having repairmen in the house either and bark continuously while they are here. I'm not looking forward to next week at all.

The weather report says it is supposed to start raining about 5 AM tomorrow morning and continue raining for the rest of the day. I really hope this forecast is wrong, because a sustained rain almost guarantees that Dot will poop in the house. I received five new writing jobs this afternoon, so there will be plenty to do tomorrow if we're housebound. I need to wait for the FedEx guy to deliver a package too, so maybe staying at home all day isn't such a bad idea. I should have done a better job of planning ahead for days like this. There is no more fresh fruit or bananas to make my morning smoothie tomorrow. I think we're out of the cream I put in my morning coffee too. Why do I obsess about food so much? If worse comes to worse, I'll make an omelet, fry up some sausage, and then spend the rest of the day fretting about the mystery plumbing leak while I write my articles.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2140

Poor Dash can't seem to catch a break. Just when his back legs were getting back to normal, he gets stung by a bee on his evening walk and now he's limping on his front leg. Actually he was doing a lot worse than just limping at one point. I was worried that he was having an adverse reaction to the sting and managed to get him to the vet five minutes before they closed for the day. Dash can't take antihistamines or Benadryl because he is still taking Phenobarbital to control his seizures. The vet removed the stinger, which I had been unable to find, and gave Dash a steroid shot to reduce the inflammation and pain. He is resting now and should feel much better in the morning.

Before all the bee sting drama, it was just a normal Sunday. For the most part, a normal Sunday involves vacuuming the house and going to the gym. There are always a lot more steps on my activity tracker on Sunday than on any other day of the week. There was a police car in the parking lot when I arrived at the gym and it was still there when I left an hour later. It made me wonder if the gym was having problems with crime in the area. Just about every other part of town is having problems, so it wouldn't be that surprising if this area had an incident as well. Whatever the cause, I was glad to see the police presence. I just wish they'd patrol the park a little more frequently.

There were quite a few people working out today and many of the machines were occupied, so I had to do my normal workout in reverse order. Surprisingly, I burned up more calories doing things backwards like this. I usually do the difficult routines first to get them out of the way. Maybe doing the most strenuous exercises toward the end of my workout when I was already tired burned up more energy. Who knows. I wasn't as good at basketball today either.

The temperature was in the low fifties for most of the day. Shouldn't the bees have moved on to someplace warmer by now? Maybe the bee that stung Dash was a straggler. I usually don't see many bees this late in the year. It would have been hard for a bee to sting me today. I wore my Winter coat for the first time this season. It seemed a little much at first, but I ended up being glad I overdressed. The air was damp and there was a brisk wind. This always makes it seem even colder than it really is.

I hope there is a break in the clouds early tomorrow morning. There is a rare conjunction of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars in the morning sky called a planetary trio that won't occur again until 2021. I've been watching these three planets move closer and closer together for the past month now. If the sky is clear, I should set up a tripod and try to get a decent picture of the event. Usually there's no time to do this sort of thing, since it takes so much time to get the dogs walked and fed before Janet leaves for work.

At this point, I don't think Dash will be going on a walk tomorrow morning, and it is questionable how far that Dot will walk without him. Dot was barking during dinner because she smelled the Beef Stroganoff that Janet had cooked for our evening meal. I told Dot that she had to be good, because she was the therapy dog today. For the first time in a long time, Dot was actually in better shape than Dash. To say we have high maintenance dogs would be an understatement.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2135

I lost another website management account today. There isn't much left to lose at this point. Janet tells me that I just need to go out and get more business. I tell her that she ought to feel very lucky that she still has a skill that isn't easily replaced by a 99 cent iPhone app.

I probably could go out and build up my writing business if I wanted. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has come up with an app that will automatically write good original content for you. Website design is another kettle of fish. There are already so many sophisticated WordPress templates and pre-built solutions available for almost nothing, that very few people see any benefit to starting from scratch anymore. When I lose a website account, it is not because someone is doing better work than I am. It it almost always because someone has offered their services far cheaper than I ever could. There just aren't many economies of scale when there is only one of you. I'm learning the hard way that it's hard to compete with dirt cheap. As my once loyal client told me this morning, "Thanks for understanding. This was such a fantastic deal, I just couldn't pass it up."

The world has fundamentally changed. I miss the days when my clients started every other sentence with "I'm not very creative, but.."  Now, everyone thinks they actually are creative. Truthfully, there is probably an abundance of creativity out there, but life was better when I had a monopoly on this activity. It's no fun being the Wizard of Oz when the whole world is behind the curtain with you. People are so pleased with their Instagram filters and slow motion iPhone videos, that I don't see a huge demand for my services in the future.

Dash's vet had an emergency when we arrived for our appointment this morning. We had to wait a while in the lobby and I noticed that there were a lot of new faces at the clinic. This is another way the world has fundamentally changed. Nobody stays at a job very long anymore. Everywhere I go, there are always lots of new faces. Luckily, Dash's vet is still a familiar face. Dash has been seeing her for years. I asked about the emergency and evidently a dog had come in with symptoms of a seizure and kept falling over. After ruling out epilepsy and vestibular disorders, the vet thought the dog had ruptured a disc in it's neck. They would need to do an MRI to make sure however. If it was a ruptured disc, the dog would need surgery. The dog's owner apparently didn't want to spend the money and was thinking about putting the dog down. This happens a lot and it always makes me sad. Personally, I don't think you should even have a dog, or a kid for that matter, if you can't afford to take care of it properly. A dog is a big responsibility. So far, we've been able to provide everything that Dot and Dash need, but there could easily come a day when the piggy bank is completely empty. It happens.

It would be nice if someone called tomorrow and wanted me to do a video project that would keep me busy till Christmas. It would be nice if Dot woke up and started walking on her own again too. Some things just aren't going to happen. I wish Dot would tell me her secret. Maybe she doesn't know what lies ahead, or maybe she doesn't care. She just seems happy.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2129

Tough day. Dot had another one of her episodes where she appeared extremely stressed and started panting rapidly. When this happens, she usually wants to eat grass and if the condition gets worse, she wants to eat anything, including her dog blankets. I couldn't find the dog thermometer to take her temperature, so I had to use mine. I'll think twice before putting that in my mouth again. I felt a little better when her temperature was within the normal range. Once when this happened, her temperature was over 105 and she had to go immediately to the emergency room. I can't leave the house when this happens because the entire house is filled with rugs and things she can eat now. I can't take the rugs up either, because she can't get up on the slick brick floors and could hurt herself if she started to struggle. My only alternative is to sit with her until she calms down and returns to normal. Everything seems fine now, but I'm going to have the vet evaluate her to make sure there are no new surprises when we go for our physical therapy sessions tomorrow.

When Dot's emergency was under control, I carefully boxed and wrapped my watch winder and took it over to the UPS store so I could return it to the manufacturer. UPS didn't like my nice wrapping job. They told me that my package will spend most of its journey to California on automated conveyor belts that like to eat up brown wrapping paper. I asked how I should pack things in the future and the clerk told me to just put it in a plastic bag. It's a strange new world we live in. I've wrapped packages for years and have never been told that my sturdy brown Kraft paper packages tied with twine couldn't survive the journey.

I had a lot of website updates today and most of them were straight out of left field. It takes me a little longer to respond when I don't really know what is going on, but I think eventually everything got straightened out. I thought it was going to be an easy day and I'd spend my time watching old Dr. Who episodes or reading a book. It didn't turn out that way. Between panicking about Dot's health and trying to meet several tight website deadlines, there was no time left over at all.

Dash didn't help matters when he added his own brand of weirdness to the mix. When I took him on his afternoon walk, he just wandered around aimlessly. He usually loves long walks, but for the past several days, he just wanders around behind the house, I usually think these meandering walks are aimless until I realize, usually too late, that he's headed straight toward a big pile of horse poop. Since he got into horse poop this afternoon, he'll have loose stools tomorrow morning. Ten minutes after we got home, Dot pooped in the house. I'm sick of dealing with poop.

I'm starting to forget what normal looks like. I think the last time I had any real fun was when I got invited by NASA to view the satellite launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base. That was last January. Oh, wait. I got involved in a car accident on that trip, so that wasn't entirely fun either. I probably expect too much. Hey, there are still some fresh bananas in the kitchen for my breakfast smoothie. Maybe I'll see Mercury again if I get up early tomorrow. Maybe Dot will have a good therapy session and be able to spend a full eighteen minutes in the underwater treadmill. Anything could happen.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1978

We began walking Dot and Dash together again, and just as I expected, Dot was much more energetic and seemed determined to keep up with Dash. Both dogs are incredibly stubborn. She just didn't want to walk by herself while Janet was away. We walked the dogs very early since Janet had a training seminar she needed to attend. I took the opportunity to go out for breakfast, since the rain kept me away yesterday. The dogs just went to sleep since they were both tired after their walk.

The ground is still too wet for me to mow the grass, so I decided to write another article on my to-do list before I ran my regular Saturday errands. While I was writing, I noticed that Dot was licking the blanket in her dog bed. Not a good sign. Sure enough, a few minutes later she began trying to throw up and began her frantic behavior again. I still don't know what causes this, but I suspect she might try to eat food crumbs that have fallen to the floor and end up swallowing a bunch of lint and dog hair instead. This might not be the cause of her problems at all, but it sure seems plausible. Dot is obsessed with food and a lot of it falls out of her mouth as she becomes older. Now that there are throw rugs everywhere to keep Dot from slipping on the bricks, it is much harder to keep the floors clean. At any rate, I sat outside with Dot until she become calm again and then she and Dash had their dinner, took another walk, and everything was back to normal.

Janet and I has an animal rescue fundraiser to attend tonight and I was a little nervous leaving Dot alone with a house full of rugs and carpets she could eat. I knew she was very tired and it seemed to be a safe bet that she would just sleep while we were gone. We weren't going to be gone long anyway. I think I enjoyed the annual wine tasting event more when I could still drink wine, but the food was good and so was the cause. We've been going to this event for over nine years now and it seems to get better every year.

Dot was still sleeping calmly in exactly the same spot where we left her when we returned, but I'd still like to get to the bottom of this strange grass eating frenzy. Something specific has to be causing this behavior. The episodes are so sporadic that it's hard for me to see a pattern. The vets mostly just tell me to give her a Pepcid AC and call them if the frantic behavior gets worse. They don't know what is causing this either.

I'm still working on my mobile friendly test site. I was making pretty good progress until Dot started trying to throw up. Despite the minor dog emergency, I did learn how to make translucent drop-down menus where you can still see a hint of what is underneath the menu. I don't know why writing structured HTML and giving everything a CSS class seems so difficult for me, but I'm slowly getting there. It takes a long time, because when I make a mistake, I need to figure out why things didn't work out as expected. I don't want to continue making the same mistakes over and over again.

All-in-all it was a good day. I had a delicious breakfast. The dogs returned to walking together again. Dot recovered quickly from her upset stomach. The Wine on the Roof fundraiser was enjoyable and both dogs are already tucked in for the night. Maybe I'll even get a good night's sleep. That would be nice.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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

Watch of the Day

Day 1677

We had to make some tough decisions today. When we returned to the animal emergency clinic early this morning to check on Dot, it was clear that she wanted to go home. It was equally clear that her condition was becoming worse. Her temperature was still normal, but she refused to eat anything during the night and was having trouble controlling her bladder. When we took her outside to see if we could get her to pee normally, she headed straight for the car. We wanted to take her home as much as she wanted to go, but we had an appointment with an internal medicine specialist first.

The doctors at the emergency clinic had arranged the appointment with the specialist for us during the night and luckily it was right next door, at the cancer center where we have been taking Dash. The doctor we saw was very good. She did new blood work and told us that with the exception of the severe infection that was making Dot so sick, her basic vital signs were good. She also agreed with us that it was important to get Dot home to eliminate the stress and depression that was probably making her condition even worse. She thought that if we could get Dot to eat anything at all without vomiting, we could take her home for the weekend. Dot could have hamburger, boiled chicken, rice, anything she wanted. She prescribed some new antibiotics, anti-nausea drugs, and pain medication that she thought would be more effective. She explained that Dot's incontinence was caused by being pumped up with fluids and she should begin urinating normally again after she was off the IV fluids for a while.

When we asked about danger signs to look out for, she told us that the biggest near-term danger was if she became dehydrated or started vomiting. If she started vomiting, we were to get her back to the emergency clinic immediately. The doctor prepared a package of medication to get Dot through the weekend until we could bring her in for an ultrasound test on Monday morning. We really thought we were finally going home. The nurse gave Dot an anti-nausia pill in a little meatball for the car ride home. As we were walking through the lobby on our way to the car, Dot vomited. She wasn't even able to keep the small amount of food she had just taken down for a minute.

When Dot vomited in the lobby, the doctor's tone changed immediately. She said this was a potentially life threatening situation and that Dot needed to go back on fluids immediately. She recommended that Dot be kept under observation during the weekend or we might lose her. We had two choices. It was a Saturday and the cancer center closed to the public at noon. We could leave her under 24-hour supervision at the cancer center, but we wouldn't be able to visit her at all during the weekend. Alternately, we could take her back to the emergency clinic next door, where we could visit or even take her home if her condition improved. If we did this, we wouldn't have access to the veterinary specialists and comprehensive support that the cancer center provided until Monday. It was a really tough choice. If we left her at the cancer center, we couldn't even call in to check on her condition until early Monday morning. They said that if her condition deteriorated, they would call us. This was harsh, but I understood why they had this policy. The cancer center routinely deals with the sickest of the sick. All these pets owners are just as worried as we are. The doctor told us that if their overnight emergency team accepted inbound calls, and had to answer constant questions from worried owners, they wouldn't be able to provide the dedicated level of of care that their patients required. I appreciated their honesty. These were people who were more interested in keeping Dot alive than they were with customer relations.

We could do whatever we wanted, but if we left Dot at the cancer center with the specialists, we had to trust them. I brought in a blanket from the car and we sat with Dot for what seemed like the longest time on the lobby floor. I was very sad. I knew Dot wanted to go home. I also knew that these doctors saved Dash's life. They are amazing. We finally decided to leave her at the cancer center over the weekend, even though there is a small possibility that we will never see her again.

I have to remember that Dot's basic vital signs are good. These doctors are the very, very good. I have seen how quickly a dog can die if help is not nearby. If she was at home over the weekend and we had to get her back to an emergency vet in a hurry, there's a good chance we wouldn't make it.

It's going to be a very long and very lonely weekend. I know that Dot is not ready to die. If anyone can save her, she's in the right place. Please keep her in your thoughts this weekend.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1676

Dot took a turn for the worse today. We were really optimistic this morning. When we picked her up at the emergency clinic at 7 AM, her fever had subsided and she was a lot more steady on her feet. Dot looked like she was getting better. We had to take her back to our regular vet for the day, because the emergency clinic is only open at night. Dot's regular nurse called around noon to say that she was eating solid food again. This was encouraging too. It was only at the end of the day when our vet did new blood work that we realized her condition had actually gotten worse.

Dot's white blood cell count has significantly increased during the day, while her liver enzyme levels have gotten worse. This is not good! What it means is that the inflammation within her body that is causing all the problems is not being effectively controlled by the antibiotics or anti-inflammatory medications she's currently taking. Janet and I really thought we'd be able to take her home with us this evening, but since her condition was deteriorating, we went straight back to the emergency clinic instead.

She is spending the night hooked up to IV tubes again. Tomorrow morning, Dot will see an internal medicine specialist at the same cancer center where Dash is being treated. We stayed with her tonight at the emergency clinic until she got sleepy and was comfortably settled in for the night. I wish I could have just pulled up a cot and spent the night with her, but that was not allowed. I hope she sleeps peacefully and shows just as much improvement tonight as she did last night. One of the vets we talked to today told us that the anti-inflammatory steroids she was given today can cause a temporary increase in white blood cell levels. I hope that is all that's going on. Dot's escalating white blood cell levels could mean something far more serious.

It has been a very long day. I got a lot of website work done, but I was really just sitting by the phone all day waiting for updates from the vet. It is frustrating that nobody has been able to pin down the source of the inflammation so far. I've talked to a lot of people too. If we knew what was causing the problem, it would be much easier to treat it. I'm really hoping that the internal medicine specialist we're seeing tomorrow can shed some light on this mystery before Dot's condition becomes even worse.

Dot's sudden illness is the last thing I expected. Sure, she's old, but she is the healthiest Dalmatian we have ever had. I guess in some small, unrealistic corner of my mind, I kept thinking she would live forever. I"m hoping for the best this weekend, but things don't look good now.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1675

What a difference a day makes. This morning Dot seemed fine. Now she's hooked up to IV tubes at the emergency vet. We still don't know what's wrong. The day certainly started out normally. Dot ate a good breakfast. We took a nice walk. It was just an ordinary Thursday. After lunch, I let the dogs out in the back yard to pee, and then Dot took a nap by my desk, just like she usually does every day.

I became alarmed when she didn't get up again. Instead of following me back and forth around the house like she usually does, she stayed under the desk, panting heavily and appearing visibly uncomfortable. When she still refused to move and wouldn't eat her favorite treats after I let her rest for a while, I called her vet. Actually, I called all her vets, because she has several. When an old dog refuses to get up and isn't enticed by food or water, you really start to worry.

After a quickly scheduled exam, which included x-rays and new blood work, we discovered that she had an unusually high while blood cell count and was running a high fever. This usually indicates severe inflammation or infection. There were no immediate explanations as to how her condition could have changed so rapidly, but everyone agreed that the most important thing was to get her fever down and get her on some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. The vet thought that she might have a bacterial infection, a virus, or even pancreatitis.

Dot needed to be on intravenous fluids so she wouldn't get dehydrated, antibiotics to fight the infections, and pain medication to relieve her obvious discomfort. To get this kind of care, we needed to take her to a 24-hour emergency vet. She is resting at the emergency vet now. Her fever has subsided a bit and after further testing, we now know that she does not have pancreatitis. Hopefully we will know more when we pick her up in the morning to take her back to our regular vet. The emergency clinic is only open at night when regular veterinary hospitals are closed. I hate to haul her back and forth like this when she's sick, but there is really no choice.

Hopefully we will know more in the morning. It's possible that she might have a type of cancer that is undetectable in the early stages. I'm going to be optimistic though. I'm hoping that she has an easily curable bacterial infection that she got from eating something bad. All I know now is that Dot is very sick.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1523

I got a pleasant surprise this morning. I received a publisher's proof of my entry in the upcoming SXSW Cookbook. I was amazed. My recipe looked really good. Somebody had actually followed the directions and cooked the recipe, just so they could photograph it for the cookbook. I didn't know they were going to do that. I also didn't know that they were going to give me a really nice write up that made me look like much more than a reclusive guy who works at home with his dogs.

Maybe I was more back in the days when I routinely used to attend SXSW. I couldn't even afford to go to SXSW anymore. The festival wasn't a star studded event like Sundance back then, but it was still a big deal. The year they asked me to be a speaker at the event, fellow speakers included folks like Steven Soderbergh and Matthew McConaughey. I'm without a doubt the least famous person to have a recipe in this illustrious cookbook, which includes recipes by luminaries like Guy Kawasaki and Randi Zuckerberg. It's an honor to be included. I felt kind of the same way when Paypal selected me to be a spokesperson for their advertising a few years ago. I'm kind of a ghost now, but it's nice to be remembered.

It felt like Spring today. Temperatures were in the seventies and there was a nice breeze. Weather like this always brings a ton of people out to the park behind my house. For years, the place used to be a quiet wooded area and then one year the city passed a big bond issue to revitalize the park. Now the park is a popular destination for people from all over the area. With people come problems. Almost every time there's a really nice day I see fire and rescue folks on the lake rescuing swimmers and unlucky folks who managed to sink their kayaks. I don't know what happened today, but while I was giving Dot and Dash their evening walk I saw a large firetruck with seven firemen, a fire department rescue boat, a police car, and an ambulance. I hope everybody was OK, but it didn't look good.

My second Jawbone UP band has broken. I've gotten hooked on wearing these diminutive activity trackers, but they sure don't last very long. Janet and my stockbroker have had their bands go kaput on them too. I wonder why they can't make the batteries in these things last longer. That's usually what goes wrong. One day you wake up and realize the battery just won't charge anymore and you're just wearing a silly looking loop of rubber.

I'm so happy that Dot has made a complete recovery from what could have been a very serious accident. Dalmatians must have iron stomachs. Spot ate broken glass and lived. Petey ate several birds and some rather large barbecued rib bones. Greta just gnawed on the legs of my prized Palazzetti Tomasa dining room chairs, which didn't hurt her at all, but it sure made me sick.

It definitely looks like a dog park day tomorrow. The weather is absolutely fabulous this weekend. At least temporarily, the ground hog is forgiven.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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