Day 3515

Hank is a 50 pound puppy. You couldn't find a sweeter dog if you tried, but he knows nothing and tries to eat everything. We thought we'd dog proofed the house pretty well before we brought him home last night. Within a matter of minutes Hank had found things we didn't even know we had and was carrying them around in his mouth. After we retrieved a ball of lip balm, a rubber door stopper, and several shoes Hank had snatched, we methodically went room to room and placed everything loose on a high shelf. We had forgotten the primary rule of puppyhood: if you can chew it, you will chew it.

We don't know much about Hank's background. He's probably around two years old. He was picked up as a stray and clearly whoever owned him first never bothered to provide even the most rudimentary training or socialization. It's a shame that a beautiful, sweet dog like this has gotten off to such a bad start. Despite his lack of manners, Hank was good around the house. We weren't well prepared with gates and crates, so we just let him sleep on the bed with us. He did pretty well. For the most part he slept soundly, although he did wake me up once trying to pull the Fitbit off my arm and had an episode of the zoomies, chasing a rubber ball around the house at 3 AM. He also tried to drag the blanket off our bed. All of this was pretty normal for a young dog. We've had old, sick dogs for so long that we'd almost forgotten what a young Dalmatian is like.

Hank seemed healthy and happy while he was at our house, but after we took him up to the vet for evaluation, they reported a few hours later that he'd had bloody diarrhea again. He wasn't throwing up blood after all. The blood was in his stools. This will help the vet diagnose the problem, but we're still not sure what is going on. His blood work and lab tests look normal and an x-ray showed no obstructions in his stomach or intestines. There are many things that can cause bloody diarrhea. The fact that the blood is still red would indicate that the problem is probably in his colon instead of his stomach or upper intestines, but he will need further tests to determine what is wrong. Hank is still at the vet. He is eating a bland diet and taking medication that will help with any irritation he might have in his digestive system. Hopefully nothing is serious. Hank is young and deserves a long and healthy life.

I took Janet to one of my breakfast restaurants on the way home from the vet and then we both resumed our daily routines. It took a long time to get the dog hair out of the car. Hank sheds even more than Dot and Dash did. The cable guy came and hooked up the new buried fiber optic cable this afternoon, although I never saw him. When I came home from my morning walk, the old temporary cable was still attached. The next time I left the house, everything had been fixed. I never heard a thing. The technician must have come while I was taking a shower.

Taking Hank to the vet in rush hour traffic made me glad that I am retired. Drive time traffic in Dallas is horrible now. I don't know how people can stand to do this everyday. It's been so long since I've driven to work on a regular basis that I forget how much Dallas has grown. It feels like I'm driving in Los Angeles now. I'm glad I was able to work out of my house while I had my own company. It kept me sane.

If we have another dog emergency, we're going to have to assemble a dog emergency kit. It would have been good to be able to gate off a few rooms last night. We definitely need to retrieve some water and food bowls from the storage warehouse. Leashes, a sturdy harness, poop bags, a first aid kit, and a few indestructible Kongs are all necessities. I'm glad we were able to help Hank last night. It was nice to have a dog around the house again.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3167

It's always something. Dash got stung by a bee today. We were taking our morning walk when all of the sudden he yelped and immediately began limping. I suspected an insect bite, but it could have also been a sprain. When old dogs rear legs begin to go, it puts a lot of extra strain on their front legs. Either way, this was not good. Let me tell you, it was not easy getting a dog back home with only one good leg.

I was hoping that when we finally got Dash home, he would relax so I could examine him better. Unfortunately, this is not Dash's style. He tends to panic when things go wrong. He was agitated and we noticed that the leg was starting to swell so we loaded him in the car and headed for the emergency clinic. On the way, Dash finally started to calm down. By the time we arrived, he was semi-normal again.

The admittance nurse said that Dash wasn't having an allergic reaction and didn't appear to have sprained anything. He wasn't limping anymore either. Faced with a choice of waiting in the lobby for several hours until we could see a vet and then getting a $75 bill for a few Benadryl tablets, we decided to just turn around and go home. Dash has been stung by bees before. He completely freaks out for about thirty minutes and by the time a vet is able to look at him, he is all better.

I gave Dash some Benadryl when he returned home and he quickly went to sleep. By the time he woke up, he was back to his old self. Notice that I didn't say "back to normal." Dash will never be back to normal. We all ate our breakfast late enough to be called brunch and then resumed our regular Sunday routine. I kind of suspected a bee sting the moment it happened, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If Dash had seriously injured his front leg, it would all be over.

I think I'm going to have to stop using the arm bicycle at the gym. My wrist started hurting again and this appeared to be the cause. It makes sense. Twenty minutes on the arm bicycle can put a lot of strain on your wrists. Too bad. I like this machine. It's a great upper body workout and seems to be better than the treadmill for elevating your heart rate.

Elevating your heart rate during exercise can be good for cardiovascular fitness. At other times, it's not so good. I noticed on my Fitbit that my heart rate went way up right after Dash got stung by the bee. This was stress. I wasn't sure how I was going to get him home again. I wasn't sure what had happened either. Luckily, everything ended well today, but it definitely wasn't a relaxing day.

I'm sure the bees have moved by now, but I'm a superstitious person and I won't want to take the same route on our walk tomorrow. This might be problematic, because Dash is set in his ways and always wants to take the same route. I wish the city would hurry up and mow the field behind our house. The grass in the park is getting high again and it's hard to tell what Dash and I are walking through.

I guess I'll have to wear the brace on my wrist again tonight. I should have known better than to use the arm bike. It's pretty clear that Dash and I are both set in our ways. We'll try not to injure ourselves tomorrow.

Cammy s today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2827

It says something that it's easier to put Dash in the car and take him to the vet than it is to try to remove a bandage ourselves. As bad as Dash is in the car, he's even worse when we try to mess with his feet. Dash was actually good at the vet tonight. He was probably grateful that we didn't try to take the bandage off ourselves. Now we have to be careful that Dash doesn't reopen the wound. This is easier said than done, because he loves to roll around on his back on the floor and scratch himself. It's real easy to rub his paw on the carpet and open a cut while he is doing this. There is really no way to stop him from rolling like this. It's become a habit.

I got a check today for my last outstanding invoice. Nobody owes me anything anymore. That's kind of a sobering thought. I've had a healthy accounts receivable balance for as long as I can remember. I'm sure I'll still get work from time to time, but the signs are all pointing in the wrong direction. My business is winding down. Whether I like it or not, I've had my turn and it's time for a new generation to take the reins.

I went to pick up my dog walking boots today and the shoe repairman said they weren't ready yet. "But the little ticket you gave me said to pick them up Wednesday," I said. The shoe repairman smiled and assured me that they will be ready tomorrow. Oh, well. I like the shoe repairman, but being late is endemic these days. Everybody is late.

I paid my September bills today. Being free of bills never lasts long. My storage warehouse rent is due at the end of the month. I always pay by the year because I get a free month if I pay in advance. The storage warehouse rent goes up every year. I guess they know it's going to be way too difficult to move to a different storage facility for most people. I grit my teeth and pay. I don't know what to do with this stuff. The storage warehouse costs more per month than my apartment did when I was working in Seattle. It was a nice apartment too. Everything costs too much now. I have a friend who has a horse and the stable costs more than my old apartment too.

Janet is watching The Vietnam War in another room. I hear bits and pieces of the show as I wander around the house. Someday Ken Burns will probably make a documentary about the Iraq War and it will be equally sad. All these wars we've had since World War II have been pointless. A lot of brave people died for nothing. North Vietnam won the war and now all my shoes seem to be made there. The country has become a big trading partner with the United States. It's even become a tourist destination.

I'll go pick up my boots after breakfast tomorrow. I eat breakfast so slowly that  it will give the shoe repairman plenty of time to finish his work. Dash has a new soft cone on its way via Amazon Prime. He probably won't like this cone any better, but at least he won't be knocking things over quite as often. Tomorrow doesn't look like a very exciting day, but as long as nothing bad happens, I'm good. My expectations are very low these days.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2650

There were tons of blueberries at the store today. I need to train myself to do grocery shopping on weekday mornings. The stores are empty and the shelves are well stocked. This is exactly opposite of the way it is on weekends. Since I had such good luck with the blueberries, I stopped by the REI store on the way home. The thing I wanted was out of stock, so I left without buying anything at all. By the time I got home, I'd completely forgotten why I needed anything at REI in the first place. The excursion wasn't a total loss though. I'll have fresh blueberries in my smoothie tomorrow morning.

Dash has been licking his butt again, so I made an appointment to go to the vet and get his anal glands expressed. Dot can go years without anal gland problems, but Dash seems to need his expressed every two weeks. I should learn to do this myself, but I'm tired of doing disgusting things. It's easy and convenient to just go to the vet. Dot is almost impossible to transport now and Dash is getting more difficult as well. He can no longer hop up in the car like he used to, but doesn't want me to lift him either. I got tired of having him try to squirm out of my arms, or hit the back bumper when he couldn't jump high enough to reach the open tailgate. Now, I let him get a running start and then grab the handle on the back of his Ruffwear Web Master Harness as he starts to become airborne and give him a boost. This probably wasn't what this durable search and rescue dog harness was designed for, but it works great. Dash thinks he's jumping, but I'm really just tossing him in the car like a sack of potatoes.

I wish I'd get an interesting project to work on so I'd lose the desire to go buy a bunch of stuff I don't need. Whenever nothing is happening at work, I tend to read catalogs obsessively and daydream about new gear that I think I need. I've convinced myself that I need a new telephoto lens, even though I have several long lenses already. I'm sure I'd use the lens and equally sure that I don't really need it. It's too bad that I don't enjoy going to a movie or reading books like a normal person. Life would be a lot less expensive if I just fought boredom with a good book. There is something strangely satisfying about gear though. I love to accumulate gear.

I've decided that Dot is like a 90 year old who still wants to get that hip replacement so they can start training for a marathon. She is so weak, but she just doesn't want to give up. I've never seen a dog with so much determination. I don't think Dash and I have Dot's inner resolve. Dash is moody and I have a tendency to be lazy. We both could learn a lot from Dot.

I guess I show a certain amount of determination by continuing to write this blog day after day, but I could do so much more. I've noticed that people's priorities change as they age. Some people, like my Mom, find a calling late in life. Other people, like my Dad, seem to flounder. I wonder where I'll wind up. I've remained curious, but I've also turned inward. This is probably a good combination for a philosopher. Not so good for an ad man. Maybe my life in advertising has reached its logical conclusion.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2479

I listened to Elon Musk give a presentation on how he planned to colonize Mars this afternoon. The guy actually plans to do this. Part of the presentation was an animation showing how the journey to the red planet would take place. "This isn't just an artist conception," Elon said. "These are the actual rockets we are getting ready to build." The animation was evidently developed from CAD drawings created by the Space X engineering department. Each space ship was designed to carry 100 people and Elon envisioned that a fleet of 1000 of them would be required to establish a permanent, self sustaining settlement on Mars. I love epic plans. The guys who built the pyramids probably thought like this. I'm convinced that when you are constrained by practicality, you really limit yourself. During the question and answer session after the presentation, someone asked how the Mars colonists would be selected. "First of all, they would need to be very comfortable with the idea of dying." "This is going to be very dangerous," Elon said. I have no idea how you would pay for a grand venture like this, but I hope Elon succeeds.

I had no grand plans today, but there were certain things that needed to be done. Dash has been having episodes that look a bit like mini-seizures, so I wanted to get his phenobarbital levels checked. I remember this test being kind of tricky, so I went to the vet to see what I needed to do before I brought him in. I scheduled the test for tomorrow morning and Dash will need to fast for at least 12 hours before they draw his blood. That's going to be fun. Dash gets real irritable when he can't eat whenever he wants. Hopefully, I can take him on a long walk while Dot eats her breakfast and then go straight to the vet.

The powdered graphite I got yesterday worked like a charm and now the sticking locks around the house are smooth as silk. I haven't gotten up my nerve to fix the leaking shower stall yet. Usually when I try this, I end up wanting to take a shower before the silicon caulk is completely dry and the seal doesn't stick. I still don't know why somebody doesn't make a product that dries in an hour and can be applied to damp surfaces.

Dot had quite a few accidents today. I've learned to minimize the mess by always placing disposable puppy training pads under her while she is sleeping. All I need to do is carefully slide the pad out after she poops and replace it with a fresh pad. When I was cleaning things up today, I noticed another kind of mess. Dot had thrown up again. This is the second time this month. I think she may have acid reflux since she spends so much time lying down on her bed. Maybe I'm wrong though. I'll ask the vet tomorrow when I take Dash in for his test.

I saw a Red Shouldered Hawk when I was walking Dash this morning. There are lots of hawks and owls in the neighborhood, but they seldom stay still long enough to photograph. I got lucky today. Tomorrow, it's back to looking for the occasional wildflower that hasn't dried up yet. Tomorrow will be busy. I hope that Dash's test goes smoothly and we don't have to increase the amount of phenobarbital he takes. Life is complicated enough as it is.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2430

I took Dash back to his regular vet today. Dash is not a good patient. By the time he gets to the vet, he is barking, his adrenaline is pumping, and he is so wound up that it is often difficult to diagnose anything. The vet agreed that he was walking a bit oddly, but when she took x-rays, there seemed to be no basis for his stiff, almost robotic gait. She told me that there were no obvious signs of arthritis or hip dysplasia. There were no signs of soft tissue injuries either. Dash was quite limber and was able to extend his legs through a full range of motion. As always, the dog continues to remain a mystery. Since dogs are often very good at hiding pain, the vet suggested that I give him Rimadyl for 14 days and watch to see if he changes the way he walks. If the stiffness disappears, something is causing him pain. It's worth a try. Of course, the Rimadyl won't tell us where the pain is coming from. Since the x-rays don't tell us much, he might need to have a MRI. There's always a chance that there is nothing wrong at all and this is just the way Dash normally walks.

Tomorrow, it's Dot's turn. I'm taking her back to her physical therapy vet to see if she's strong enough to resume using the treadmill. I have my doubts, since she appears to be growing weaker. There's always the chance that she's becoming weaker because we stopped the therapy. I'd hate to think I stopped the therapy just because of all the poop in the car. At any rate, we are going to evaluate her tomorrow and then we'll decide what to do next. Even if she's not strong enough for the underwater treadmill, she could still probably benefit from acupuncture.

I received some new writing assignments today. These ought to keep me busy for the rest of the week. It's time to send out August invoices, but I think I'll wait until I finish these new jobs. Maybe I'm just robbing from September to make August look a little better, but every dollar counts. I wish I could think of something lucrative to do that would boost my billings. It's getting harder and harder to compete with large high volume solutions.

Today, when I was waiting in the lobby with Dash to see the vet, I noticed a cool looking application that was running on a large flat screen TV which displayed the clinic's Instagram and Facebook posts in real time. This looked interesting and I started wondering if I could create something like this for my clients. I did some research when I got back home and discovered that the clinic had just bought a prepackaged solution from a large national digital signage company. They didn't have to hire a programmer at all. All they did was pay a monthly fee, plug a special box into the back of their TV, and they were done. It wouldn't matter if I learned how to do this. I could never compete with the signage company's prices.

Our yard squirrels seem to hate the August heat as much as I do. They don't even move around anymore. They'll find a place in the shade and just sit there, waiting patiently for sunset. I can walk right up to them and they don't even bother to move. I feel the same way and I have the luxury of air conditioning. I think we're all ready for Winter.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2416

There was a knock at the door while I was eating breakfast and after I got the dogs calmed down, I greeted a supervisor from the roofing company. We went up on the roof together and looked at the damage. He agreed that the roof definitely shouldn't look like this. It was product failure, he said. Finally. Of course, the roof couldn't be repaired today, because it rained last night and the roof was still wet. At least we're making progress. I told him I didn't want to wait another three months and he said the repairs would be made next week as long as it was dry.

I actually had a telephone conversation with a client today. This just doesn't happen anymore. I get my marching orders almost exclusively through e-mail these days. I wish more people would use the phone. It's so much easier when you can ask questions without having to type. After a ten minute conversation, I knew exactly what I needed to do. It probably would have taken days to arrive at the same conclusion using a chain of e-mail messages.

I talked to Dot's vet on the phone today as well. I described her symptoms and she said we might be dealing with canine dementia, along with Dot's many other problems. She wants me to bring Dot in next week so she can evaluate her again. She also wanted me to consider giving Dot a low dose of Trazodone before transporting her in the car. This drug is commonly used in dogs to reduce anxiety and is generally well tolerated. It is also used as a human antidepressant and I have an almost irrational fear of all antidepressants. I said I'd do a little research and think about it. Whenever I research drugs, it usually makes me fear them even more, so I end up just asking Janet what she'd do.

I have a new writing project that should keep me busy through the end of the week. Busy is good. The days don't seem nearly as long when I'm working. I used to have an endless stream of projects and was booked months in advance. Not anymore. These days, I hope I just have enough work coming in to pay the monthly bills. July is taken care of now, but just like June, there isn't a lot left over. I anticipated some of the changes that take place as you grow older, but I didn't really anticipate missing work. I thought I'd love having nothing to do, but that's not the way it turned out.

I'm probably a terrible voter. As soon as the Democratic Convention appeared to settle down and function normally again, I quit watching. I did the same thing with the Republican Convention. Apparently, it takes a circus to get me engaged. I don't like either one of these candidates, but I don't think the world is going to end when one of them gets elected. We are still going to be a divided nation and we are still going to keep kicking the can down the road.

The dogs have added a new twist to my already busy day. Now, when it is time for them to go to bed at night, one of them will get restless and start barking as soon as the other one is settled down. This gets them both active again and I'll have to take them outside to make sure they don't need to pee. I've done this three times already. Dot still doesn't look very tired. Of course, she's been sleeping all day.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2391

Vet appointments are taking longer and longer. A procedure that used to take thirty to forty-five minutes took us three hours today. Part of the problem was that it was a holiday weekend and a lot of people needed to have their dogs examined before the cancer center closed for the Fourth of July. The other problem was that the technicians wanted to wait until Dot calmed down before taking her blood pressure. She never did calm down. I can't complain though. Every time I spend any time in the cancer center lobby, I meet other people who have traveled for hours, just so their dogs can see one of the center's oncologists. I met someone who drove all the way from Louisiana today for their appointment. I only had to spend fifteen minutes on the road. You meet the nicest people at a specialty veterinary clinic. These people make all sorts of personal sacrifices so their pets can get the care they need. I admire these people. We trade stories about dealing with cancer while we wait for our turn with the oncologist. It's kind of humbling. I realize quickly that the problems I'm having with Dot's incontinence and neurological issues are minor compared to what others are dealing with. We try to give each other encouragement, but cancer can be a tough adversary.

I don't know why I returned to my original breakfast restaurant this morning. I thought I was over that place. I guess I was hoping that it would rise like a Phoenix and return to its former glory. Nope. I think they are going to survive, but it's not the same place anymore. I've ordered each item on the menu so many times that I can tell they are cutting corners now. Instead of cubing fresh potatoes and making their own hash browns, they appear to be buying a prepared, frozen product from a food service provider. The sauces taste a bit different. I don't recognize any of the staff anymore. I think they've got a new chef too. Don't get me wrong. The food isn't bad, but it's not something you'd get addicted to like I did before. I'm not sure if I'll be back again.

I tried to get a head start on the weekend chores by mowing the grass today. When I was mowing the front lawn, I noticed some tire tracks in the yard. Probably some drunk driver jumped the curb again and plowed through the yard after the bars closed. This used to happen with alarming regularity, until the city finally installed some warning signs just before a gentle curve in the road about 300 yards away. People would fall asleep at the wheel and miss the turn, sending their car on a trajectory that sent them straight through our yard. The damage was minor this time, but there have been some serious accidents in the past. Once, a car hit our neighbor's house. Another time, a car drove straight into a tree.

If you have a dog that is frightened of fireworks, I sympathize. The Fourth of July isn't a holiday that a lot of dog owners look forward to. Dot used to be terrified of fireworks, but they aren't much of a problem anymore since she's almost deaf now. We haven't gone out and watched a fireworks show for a long time. The noise doesn't bother me, but the mosquitoes and chiggers do. Why anyone would want to sit outside getting bitten by mosquitoes while watching some minor explosions off in the distance is beyond me.

The year is half over. The dogs had their monthly heartworm pill this morning. I'll need to get my car safety inspected soon. I hope this month is uneventful with no financial surprises. Some cooler weather would be nice too. Dot is having a tough time with this heat.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2366

Dot's appointment at the cancer center took forever today. They were short staffed and there was only one oncologist to see a lot of sick dogs. There are usually st least three oncologists on duty, so Dot's ultrasound scan and exam took a while. Dot definitely wasn't happy about the situation, but there was nothing we could do. When the nurse took her blood pressure, I was not surprised to see that it was elevated. Dot has been to this place many times and she doesn't like it. I don't blame her. She is flipped over on her back for the ultrasound scans, strapped in a special cradle when she has an MRI, and poked with big needles when they need to get a tissue sample. I don't like to wait either, because I'm always wondering what Dash is doing at home. Usually, I can check on him with the baby monitor, but it wasn't working today.

When we eventually saw the oncologist, there was somewhat good news. The two tumors in her liver were stable and hadn't grown any since our last visit. Since we haven't been doing chemotherapy for over a month, this essentially means the Palladia pills aren't very effective and we don't need to resume taking them. The oncologist asked whether we would like to consider a different type of chemotherapy to see if it might shrink the tumor. I'm reluctant to start intravenous chemotherapy infusions though, since the side effects are often more severe. I think we'll just continue the ultrasound scans once a month to monitor things.

Today was tiring. I couldn't get Dot's harness on quickly enough when I woke up this morning and she ended up peeing on one of the big rugs in the living room. Getting the harness on is definitely easier with two people. Janet usually puts on the front half while I put on the back half and link the two pieces together. Also, I need to remember to keep Dot inside after dinner until at least ten PM. If she goes outside at 8 PM, she won't go again right before bedtime and had trouble making it through the night. That's what happened this morning. She really needed to go bad when she woke up and I just wasn't fast enough. For the record, pee is actually harder to clean up than poop.

To add to my problems, Dash wouldn't eat his breakfast this morning. He isn't sick or anything. He is just a finicky eater and gets bored with his food about every three months.  We rotate through about three brands of dog food because after a while he forgets he doesn't like a certain brand and starts eating it again. It took a while to find several brands that were equally healthy, didn't cause him to put on weight, and wouldn't create kidney stones. I just need to remember to change his food tomorrow morning.

I actually had some website revisions to make today, but the work seemed inconsequential compared to all my dog problems. It was a lot easier to update the websites than it was to clean the two area rugs that Dot peed on. I had to spray the rugs with an enzyme cleaner to eradicate the smell and then come back later and rinse the enzyme away with a garden hose. It will probably take the rugs two or three days to dry out.

Things have been working out well with the dog walker, although Dot seemed unusually tired and slow tonight. She is probably still sore from being on her back for the ultrasound scan. The dogs are both sleeping now, but they are not sleeping soundly enough. My allergies have been acting up this week and every time I sneeze, it wakes the dogs up and they start barking. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be less stressful for everyone.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2361

Everyone was glad to see Dot back on the treadmill today. We resumed her water therapy and acupuncture sessions and I was pleased at how well she did. Her vet did an evaluation and thinks it's OK to continue her therapy. The only snag in Dot's therapy plan is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to transport her in the car. Even when I drive slowly and make no sudden moves, the ride is uncomfortable and stressful for her. She almost always poops in the car now. Today she made a huge mess and even though I had planned for this eventually, it was difficult to get the car cleaned up for the return trip home. Dot's vet still thinks that water therapy is very beneficial, but says I'll have to decide whether the stress of riding in the car, erases a lot of the benefits she gets from therapy. It's a tough call. Dot hates riding in the car now. Once we arrive, she's fine. I think she really enjoys the acupuncture. It relaxes her.

Dot had a very busy day. Before our physical therapy session, we met the dog walker who will be helping us while Janet is on vacation. This encounter went better than I expected. Dot initially barked a lot and appeared nervous, but she calmed down within a matter of minutes. I think this is going to work out OK. Dash didn't have any problems at all. He just wanted the dog walker's undivided attention.

My Internet connection hasn't worked this well in months and my new router is still sitting unopened in the box. I wonder what AT&T did? They claim they just set up my account for the new equipment they sent me,  but I'm not even using the new equipment yet. Somehow they managed to clear up all my connection problems without even realizing it. I wish I knew what they did, so I can ask them to do the same thing the next time U-Verse goes down. I don't even think they know. I don't know how long this is going to last, but I don't want to mess with anything now. Almost accidently, I finally have the system I was promised several years ago.

When is this rain going to stop? I just looked at the forecast and it looks like we'll be having daily thunderstorms all the way through the weekend. The only silver lining to this nasty weather is that the temperature has cooled enough for Dot to feel comfortable on her morning walks again. It's been a little problematic to find a thirty minute dry spell to actually take a walk, but so far we've been relatively lucky. There's only been one day where the rain never stopped at all.

Hopefully, I'll get lucky when I take the trash out tomorrow evening. I'm not surprised that the city never did answer my request to come back and get the trash they failed to pick up. There's a fancy website where you can request all types of city services, but the city never responds. I'll take my two week's worth of accumulated trash out to the curb tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised it it gets ignored again.

Despite the lousy weather, the poop filled car, and the lack of work, I consider today a success. It is encouraging that Dot is making progress again. She did well today. Dealing with the dogs next week doesn't seem quite as daunting either, now that I have some help. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. It might be a little presumptuous, but I'm hoping for two good days in a row.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2103

Sometimes when I take Dash to the vet, I think I should be taking him to a psychiatrist instead. He used to ride nicely in the car, but now he barks and whines and generally is a nuisance until we arrive at our destination. Dash acted this way when we first adopted him and it took a long time to convince him that car rides were the gateway to dog parks and other fun activities where he got to play with other dogs. Eventually he grew to like the car. Now, after all his cancer treatments, he has reverted to his original fear of traveling in cars. It's too bad he doesn't know or understand the full story. The place he was whining about visiting today saved his life.

Dash sailed through his six month recheck with flying colors. There was no evidence that the cancer has returned and his oncologist said he looked like a healthy and happy dog. We don't have to go back for another re-check until February of next year.

I need to see how much time I've got left on my car's warranty. For over two years the car has performed flawlessly. No problems at all. Now, I'm beginning to hear squeaks and rattles that I've never heard before. This is usually not a good sign. On any other car I've ever owned, the squeaks and rattles were never a problem until the day after the warranty ran out. Then they miraculously turned into a major repair almost overnight. What makes these squeaks and rattles even worse is that they are sporadic. Sporadic problems never show their ugly face at the dealership. You describe the problem in detail and then when the mechanic takes the car for a test drive, nothing appears to be wrong. The mechanic thinks you're nuts. Then on the way home, the problem reoccurs. This happens so consistently that it drives me nuts.

The car isn't the only thing that is showing it's age. We've got a sodium vapor security light in the back yard that flickers on and off all night. Whenever the air conditioner compressor cuts in, the lamp cuts out. The flickering light wakes me up at night occasionally and when it randomly goes on and off while the dogs are outside, they think it is lightning and it scares them. I finally broke down and called our electrician today. I always hate to call the electrician to fix something this simple because electricians are notoriously expensive. Unfortunately, the pole the lamp is attached to is located right next to where the power lines comes into the house from the street. I'm always afraid that if I attempt to replace the lamp myself, I will slip and touch the power lines and electrocute myself. I guess it's worth paying the electrician.

There a brand new Dr. Who episode tomorrow evening. Last year I waited and waited for the new series to begin and was almost immediately disappointed. Hopefully Season nine will be better. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are both back for another year. A lot of people seem to think that Peter Capald is edgy and great, but I still like Matt Smith better. In my humble opinion Vincent and the Doctor was the best episode ever. There wasn't a single episode in season eight that even came close. I'll still watch the show tomorrow though. What better have I got to do?

I hope the dogs let us sleep in tomorrow morning. After a week of getting up in the middle of the night to clean up poop, I need a break. According to my fitness band, I'm hardly getting any sleep at all.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2065

It almost rained today. I could see rain clouds off in the distance. I even heard a little thunder at one point. It didn't rain though. Not a drop. Some parts of town got lucky. There were small storm cells all over the place late in the afternoon. I could see them on the radar, but they weren't headed our way. The rain only lasted a few minutes in the parts of town that did get wet, but that was enough to get people buzzing on Facebook. It has been a very dry Summer and any rain at all would be a major news story.

Dash's new meds are working. When I took him for his exam this morning, his blood pressure was almost back to normal. This was a big improvement from two weeks ago. I was kind of surprised to see the normal reading, since Dash barked and seemed agitated the entire way to the vet. He doesn't like to ride in the car. Maybe during those rare times when Dash is actually calm, his blood pressure will be even lower. Since Dash has always had a mild heart murmur, our vet wants us to start keeping track of his breathing rate when he is resting or asleep. If he takes twenty to thirty five breaths a minute, everything is fine. If we notice him consistantly breathing faster over time, we will need to bring him in for an echocardiogram and further testing.

I need to get my car safety inspected this week. People in Texas have always had two stickers on their windshield. One of the stickers was your vehicle registration and the other was the safety inspection. Now Texas has decreed that there will only be one sticker. But which one is it? Do I get a sticker for the inspection, or for the car registration? You still have to register your car and have it inspected, but you only get one sticker. This is one more case where the government has made something more complicated in order to simplify it. After making a few phone calls, I determined that the procedure is to get your car safety inspected first and then you present the piece of paper saying your car has passed inspection to the folks who register your car and they give you the sticker. Personally, I liked the old way better.

Dot didn't seem noticeably stronger today, but she was more active. She got up on her own and wobbled around the house unassisted half a dozen times today. I'm sure that some of what I saw today was just wishful thinking, but I'd like to believe that she is beginning to get stronger. We'll see if this continues. It's really hard to tell if Dot is getting stronger during this heat wave we're having because the heat really makes the dogs tired. The only time they go outside now is early in the morning and later in the evening. If it continues to get hotter, we're going to have to shorten Dot's morning walk. We got started well before sunrise this morning and it was still uncomfortably warm. We're doing the best we can, but for Dot's sake, we need some relief from this incessant heat.

Work has been so slow this Summer that life has been reduced to a single event per day. Tomorrow I go back to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. Thursday Dot has her physical therapy day. And Friday I get my car inspected. In between, I'll decide what to have for breakfast. French toast and sausages sounds good tomorrow.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1996

I finished my fourth mobile friendly website today. The site is up and running and the client likes it. I feel proficient enough doing these things now that I'm almost ready to try converting some of my more difficult designs. I've actually enjoyed learning this new skill, but if I'm true to form, as soon as I get really good at something, I lose interest. We'll see what happens. I doubt if there's going to be a stampede of people wanting me to build mobile sites for them.

I got a call from Dash's vet today. His test results have come back and one of the tests indicates that he's been exposed to Lyme Disease. This particular test gives false positives frequently, so the vet said there was no reason to get alarmed yet. She is going to contact Dash's oncologist to see whether he thought Dash should begin treatment even though he shows no symptoms yet. Evidently the veterinary community is not in agreement on whether a dog that is not showing symptoms of Lyme Disease should start taking doxycycline immediately. Some say yes, others say no. Ordinarily, I'd want to go ahead with antibiotics, just to be safe, but Dash has had a lot of Clavamox recently to treat his infected paw. You don't want to overdo antibiotics. One thing is certain. There are a ton of ticks in the park, so Dash could have easily been exposed.

It looks like our nice, mild weather isn't going to last very long. Even though yesterday was unusually cool for June, the temperature shot into the 90's today. That's Texas weather for you. It's always bouncing back and forth between extremes. It was kind of funny in a way that two days ago I was fixing the furnace so I could warm the house up a bit and today the air conditioner was running all day. At least the water bill was low this month. I hardly ran the sprinklers at all in May. I need to remember to get the roofers to come out again now that things have dried out. The patches they made earlier this Spring held up well during the May rains, but some additional areas of the original elastomeric coating have starting to bubble up. It is going to be a long, slow process to get a roof that I can completely depend on.

I've got a new business meeting on Friday with a potential website client. The project is for a small non-profit charity that doesn't have much of a budget. I promised one of my neighbors, who is involved with the charity, that I'd do the site, but otherwise I wouldn't be all that interested. I'll look on the bright side though. The simple site will be easy to design and it will give me another chance to polish my responsive design skills. Some of you will wonder why I never seem to be excited about work. Others of you who have been in advertising as long as I have will understand completely.

Since Dot and Dash have different vets now, I always have a chance to get a second opinion. I'll ask Dot's vet if she is at risk for Lyme Disease too when she goes for physical therapy tomorrow afternoon. Who knows. Maybe even Janet and I are at risk. Humans get Lyme Disease too. I had always thought that Lyme Disease was primarily a problem for people on the East Coast. I also thought that only deer ticks transmitted the disease. The disease is starting to creep into Texas though, so maybe I'm wrong on both counts. I'd never know if I had Lyme Disease anyway, since the most common symptoms are fatigue, muscle aches, and joint pain. This is the way I feel all the time.

Friday can't come soon enough this week. I'm tempted to go out for breakfast tomorrow morning and just pretend it's Friday. It's been a long week.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1994

Yay. I fixed the furnace all by myself this morning. Don't even ask why we needed the furnace running on the first of June. Texas weather is weird. The last time the HVAC technician came out to the house, he showed me how to fix one of our most persistent problems. In a typical year, I usually have to schedule several service calls because the furnace won't stay lit. The gas comes on and then shuts right off again. It's usually a faulty heat sensor that is causing the problem. At first, technicians would replace this sensor. Then one day, a helpful technician told me that the sensor wasn't broken, it was just dirty. He took the thing apart and sanded the heat sensing element with a piece of fine sandpaper. Good as new.

Eventually I got tired of paying $90 for someone to sand this little metal thermocouple and asked if I could do it myself. It was easy enough to remove the dirt and scale from the metal. Getting the sensor out of the furnace was the problem. When the technician came out to install my fancy WiFi thermostat earlier this year, he was nice enough to take me step-by-step through the process. Amazingly, I remembered his instructions this morning and I fixed the furnace myself. I could have just waited for things to warm up though. By afternoon, I had the air conditioner running.

Dash's blood test tomorrow is complicated. Not only does he have to fast, he has to take his thyroid medication exactly four hours before the test is done. Since his appointment is at 9:30 AM tomorrow, we have to get up at 5:30 AM to give him his pills. Since Dot and Dash would never wait until after 9:30 to have their breakfast, I need to drop Dash off at the vet immediately after we finish our morning walk and then return home to feed Dot. I'll then eat my own breakfast and return to the vet to pick up Dash again. Luckily, this particular test only has to be done once a year.

I worked on another mobile friendly website today. My strategy so far has been to make sure I know how to convert a client's website before I even mention the subject to them. Every website is different and some have proved quite difficult to convert. I don't want to promise something that I can't deliver. When I've got a site that functions properly offline, I'll ask the client if they'd like to convert their website to a mobile friendly version. Some folks are really happy that I'm looking out for them and others don't even know what a mobile friendly site is. I'm certainly not making much money doing all this work, but it is a necessary learning experience. In the near future, all websites will be done this way, so I only have a limited amount of time to get up to speed.

It's hard to believe that it's June already. The year is almost half over and the only things I can remember are Dot's spinal injury, my wisdom teeth, and lots and lots of rain. Hopefully the second half of the year will be far less stressful than the first. I did enjoy getting invited by NASA to view that satellite launch in California, but even that trip was marred by an unfortunate car accident. I've got a birthday later this month, but that just makes me even older than I am now. In just a few more days I will have posted something on this blog for 2000 consecutive days without missing a single day. That's probably a bigger deal to me than my birthday right now. If Dot continues to get better, I'll be a happy camper. The rest of the year can just slide by.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1959

When Dash woke up this morning, his limp was much worse. This was an unexpected surprise, since for several days his condition had been getting better. Dash refused to put any weight on the leg with the cut paw pad today and hopped around on three legs. This was not good. He could easily tear his cruciate on the remaining good rear leg if he continues to walk this way. It was clear that Dash needed immediate medical attention and I was lucky to be able to get him in to see Dot's vet today on very short notice. My initial worry was that he had torn a cruciate ligament, but the vet said that he was beginning to get an infection under his paw pad instead. It happens. We left with prescriptions for Clavamox, Rimadyl, and Tramadol, along with instructions to return for another exam if his condition hasn't started to improve within 72 hours. It's hard to imagine that a little cut could cause so many problems, but the vet said to imagine a paper cut on your finger, only ten times worse. There are lots of nerve endings in a dog's paw and this type of injury can be very painful.

Dealing with two dogs who are having trouble walking at the same time isn't quite as difficult as it was dealing with Dot and Dash when they both had cancer at the same time, but it definitely is tiring. Whenever you're trying to help one dog go outside, you're always wondering what the other dog is doing inside. When there's time, I always try to pen the dog I leave behind in a safe secure place. When either of these dogs has to poop though, you have to act fast. Neither one can hold it very long and there have already been a few accidents. Even the vet agrees that I have two very high maintenance Dalmatians right now.

Lately, every day of nice weather seems to be followed by a day of terrible weather. Today was grey and stormy again. Yesterday's nice weather didn't even last 24 hours. Luckily, it didn't rain while I was driving Dash to the vet. He doesn't ride well in the car even on a sunny day. Since he wouldn't go near the hammock contraption I use for Dot, I had to completely reconfigure the car and make the rear section flat again. Dash usually hops in the back when I open the tailgate, but since he can't hop anymore, I have to lift him up to get him inside. Did I mention that Dash hates to be picked up. He squirms around and squeals like something terrible is about to happen. I had a hard time even getting him in the car today. As I said, I have two very high maintenance dogs.

I hope the antibiotics kick in soon. Dash really needs to start getting better in a hurry. I have a feeling that I'll be having my own problems after the dreaded dental surgery. Maybe the dental work will go smoothly and there won't be painful side effects. I hope! I'm not expecting miracles though. Nothing else has gone smoothly this month. Why should my luck change now? It's weird that Dot was actually walking better than Dash today. It just goes to show that you should never take anything for granted.

Needless to say, work hasn't been going terribly smoothly either. There have been some miscommunication here and there this week and several things have had to be done over. I blame it on the weather. When is this rain ever going to stop? It's certainly not the end of the world, but a few days of sunshine and a little luck would definitely improve my mood.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1955

I had lots of small problems to resolve today. Individually, they were trivial, but together they wore me out. I was jumping back and forth between Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver all day. As many of you know, I don't multitask well. I would always rather have one complex project than a bunch of little easy projects that share the same deadline. Although some of today's projects seemed meaningless, they were all important to my clients, so I jumped back and forth until it was time to take Dot for her weekly physical therapy session.

I've got to come up with a better way to transport Dot to the vet. Traffic was bad today and twice I had to put on my brakes hard enough to cause Dot to slide forward in her hammock and get stuck in the foot-well between the rear seats and the back of the front seats. The hammock keeps her from actually falling into this hole, but she can still get stuck if her weight pulls her forward and the hammock dips into the foot-well. She got stuck at a busy intersection today and I had trouble crossing three lanes of traffic so I could pull over and move her out of the foot-well and back to her seat. Dot was squealing and whining the whole time I was stuck in traffic. It was stressful for both of us. I'm thinking of abandoning the hammock and just putting the rear seats down again and having a large flat surface in the back of the car. She's getting strong enough now that I think she's just about ready to start riding in the car again the way she used to.

I've got to find time to go to a Babies R Us store and get some of those baby tube socks with rubberized feet that Dash can wear on his walks. The torn paw pad is still tender and he walks a lot better when I put a sock on the injured foot. The problem is that the short dog socks we got at a pet store don't work very well. Every time Dash scratches the earth with his rear feet, the sock falls off. Longer socks would definitely stay on better. One more thing to add to my "to do" list.

This has been a long week. I'm beginning to understand responsive website design. Dot is beginning to regain her independence. It's still tiring though. All the new knowledge in my head is starting to give me a headache and even though Dot is able to walk around the house without her harness, I've still got to watch her like a hawk. Dash is still limping too. There's more rainwater to remove from the roof, but I'm not even going to bother with that until this weekend. What's the point? It might rain again tomorrow anyway. Our excessive amounts of rain this Spring has caused me a lot of trouble, but the wet, muddy weather definitely has a silver lining. The new landscaping in the back yard looks great and I haven't had to use the sprinklers very much.

I'm looking forward to going out for breakfast tomorrow. It's nice to have a little quiet time with no barking dogs, irritating telemarketing calls, or dishes to wash. It's amazing how that little hour and a half of tasty tranquility can make the entire day seem better.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1953

It's been a long day. Dash woke up limping and he's still limping this evening. I was hoping our vet could come up with a quick fix during his annual exam this morning, but a torn paw pad is painful and Dash will probably continue limping until the pain goes away. The vet cleaned the wound and then glued the split pad back together with medical suture glue. This will keep the cut from getting dirty or infected, but it will still be painful for a while. It's going to be tough on the little guy. He loves to walk and can't seem to keep his protective sock on for more than a minute. The rest of Dash's exam went well, although he does have high blood pressure and is going to have to start taking more or less the same blood pressure medication that I take.

On the way home from the vet, Dash peed in the car. He's never had an accident in the car before. I was really surprised, since he had already peed on his morning walk and again while he was at the vet. Oh, well. I reminded Dash that he and his sister were the reason I can't have nice things anymore, and then proceeded to clean up the mess when we got home. This wouldn't have been a big deal if Dash hadn't lifted his leg and made a direct hit on one of the speakers mounted in the rear door. Since the grill cover won't come off, I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to clean the speaker enclosure. The car will probably smell for a long time.

As I updated websites today, I kept wondering how much trouble it will be to convert these sites into mobile friendly versions. It's almost inevitable that I've have to convert all the sites I manage at some point. I"m not looking forward to this. Many of my clients are fond of their old designs and they're not going to be happy that these familiar workhorses will eventually have to be retired. I worked on my own test site a bit more today, but it was slow going. Just because something looks easy on the tutorial video, doesn't mean that it actually is easy. I learned some new things and made a few refinements today, but I'm still not ready for prime time.

Dot was really good while I was at the vet with Dash, This is the first time I've left her alone for any length of time and she did fine. I checked her on the baby monitor and she was just sleeping calmly on her dog bed. Actually, she seemed better behaved while I was away than when I'm home. When I'm here, she's either barking or getting herself stuck in tight places. I could just keep her penned while I'm working, but she's much happier being able to move from room to room. The bedroom and the office are pretty safe, but if she heads for the kitchen, I make sure to follow her. That's where she always seems to get stuck.

Dash's bad leg certainly complicates things. It took me forever to get both dogs walked today. Dot walks very, very slow and Dash seemed to lose his protective sock about every twenty yards. The dogs still want to walk, but they're not at the top of their game right now. If something happens to my own leg, we're really going to be in trouble.

I hope the dogs are walking well tomorrow. I hope I sleep well tonight. Neither of these things happened today. That's probably why everyone is so tired.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day