Day 3025

Today started out well. It wasn't raining when I woke up. I had a tasty frittata for breakfast. Dash seemed relatively normal and took a decent walk. I even found time to go to the storage warehouse and retrieve a few rugs that could be place near Dash's food and water bowls to keep him from slipping. The last thing on my list was to go to the AT&T store and look at an iPhone SE, but the salesperson told me that the phone had already been discontinued.

This didn't seem right, especially since the Apple website still said the phone was a current model. I fed Dash a light lunch and then headed back to the same Apple store I visited yesterday. Since I'd already decided to replace my current phone with this inexpensive model, I didn't want to see it discontinued right in front of my eyes. I probably would have waited to get the phone if the AT&T folks hadn't got me worried. To save a further trip back to this store, I got the phone and decided to install the SIM card at home and activate the phone myself.

As you might expect, this process took the rest of the day. I slowly and methodically transferred my files and looked up passwords I'd forgotten. Somehow, my watch became unpaired and I had to reinstall the watch software. That took a while. I lost today's steps on my fitness tracker and some of my photos didn't transfer, but as software updates go, it wasn't all that bad.

As the day progressed, the sky got darker and darker. Dash also started to become unsteady on his feet again. I strategically placed the rugs I'd brought home, but Dash never seemed to stand on them the way I'd imagined. I may have to go back to the storage warehouse and get some more rugs. Even though Dash looked a little unsteady, he still seemed hungry, so around 3:30 PM I fed him part of his dinner. This probably was a mistake. Less than an hour later, Dash became frantic, went outside and ate grass, and then threw up. This was unexpected. Usually, after finishing a course of the Cerenia pills, he is able to hold down his food for almost a month.

I hate to give Dash more Cerenia so soon, but if he throws up again we probably have no choice. For the moment, Dash seems normal again. We delayed his evening pills a bit to ensure he was able to hold down food. I really don't know what to do at this point. Dash continues to bounce back after each episode, but he's never quite a strong as he was before. He seems to take two steps forward and three steps back. We have another major evaluation scheduled at the cancer center next week, but I'm not sure the vet will be able to offer us much help.

The thunderstorm I was expecting last night finally arrived toward dinner time. I think people living to the North of us got the worst of the storm, but we still got some wind and rain. I need to remember to move some living room furniture and bring the bucket in before I go to bed tonight, just in case the leak reappears. I don't think we got enough rain to cause roof problems, but you never know.

It's been a hectic day. All is well though. Dash is calm and took his evening pills without incident. I wish I could convince him to sleep on the floor, because it's becoming harder and harder for him to climb on the bed. Even the special step we installed doesn't help much. So far, my new phone seems exactly like my old phone. The SE is supposed to be much faster, able to run the latest software, and can take better pictures, but I can't tell any difference.

I've almost given up on getting a good night's sleep, but maybe I'll get lucky tonight. Dash needs to rest and so do I.

Paxton is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3024

Dash seems stable enough now to leave alone for a while, so it seemed like a good time to get a haircut. My hair isn't as thick as it used to be, but it still seems to grow pretty fast. Haircuts are the only time I go to the mall these days. Every time I visit, I notice that stores have disappeared. A lot of the high end watch boutiques are gone. So is the Pirch store. I never had the money to buy anything in these expensive stores, but they were fun to visit. Every big name clothing designer still has a store these days, but very few of these ritzy boutiques seem to have any customers. They're empty most of the time. How do they stay in business?

I wonder about these things while I'm having my hair cut, but the stylist and I mostly just talk about our pets. She has cats and I have dogs. The common bond is that we both prefer animals to people. Actually, just about everybody I know prefers animals to people. When you look at how people behave, how could you think otherwise?

I stopped at the Apple Store after my haircut and looked at phones. I played around with the iPhone X for a while and really wished it had a home button. It seemed too big to fit comfortably in my pocket as well. Maybe I'd better buy an iPhone SE before Apple discontinues this sensibly sized model. It doesn't have a fancy camera like the iPhone X, but it's still twice as fast as my current phone.

Dash was still sleeping when I got home. He really sleeps a lot now. This is one of the reasons I think it is so important to continue our walks. If Dash stops moving, his muscles are going to atrophy very quickly. The vestibular disease and a bulging disc in his spine have already made his rear legs very weak. He doesn't need the Help Em Up Harness yet, but I'm going to have to bring some rugs home from the storage warehouse this weekend. We're starting to have mobility issues. Dash seems much steadier on the carpet. The bricks are becoming treacherous.

The stock market had another good day, but it didn't leave me feeling all that comfortable. The analysts say that extreme volatility is the new normal. Volatility will never seem normal to me. I long for a world where the pace is slower and most things are predictable. I don't think that's where we're headed, unfortunately. The future is going to be more like a Mad Max movie than Leave it to Beaver.

They say there will be thunderstorms tomorrow. I hope the forecast is wrong. I haven't been able to patch the leak in the roof yet. Actually, I haven't even been able to find the leak. I haven't been able to find the roofer either. A short rain shouldn't be a problem, but if we get a soaker there is going to be water on the living room floor again. Oh, well. I did buy a new bucket.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. If it doesn't rain and Dash eats his breakfast, we're off to a good start.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2288

Last night just before we went to bed, Dot's left rear leg became completely lame. She wouldn't put any weight on the leg at all and had a lot of difficulty standing even while I was supporting her using the Help 'Em Up Harness. It was almost impossible to tell whether the injury was a temporary numbness, a torn ligament, or another ruptured disc in her spine. I did my best to make her comfortable, putting her to bed on her side, with the bad leg on top in a relaxed position. We all went to sleep and when we woke up the next morning, the leg was fine.

This is how fragile Dot is these days. There is no margin for error. If she sleeps on her weak leg wrong, she is unable to walk when she wakes up. If she stumbles while we are walking in the park, it might take her two days to recover. The Palladia pills make her weak about 48 hours after she takes them. Just barking at Dash is enough to make her poop in the house. Right now, she is the definition of a high maintenance dog.

The dogs should have been happy today, since the weather has turned brisk and cold again. They weren't content with the weather though and pestered me all day. Dot would bark at me to help her up and take her outside. As soon as we were out the back door, she wanted to come in again. We did this over and over again. When Dot would settle down and go to sleep, Dash would start barking and get her riled up again. She pooped in her bed twice. She has one dog blanket I must have washed five hundred times. The thing is indestructible.

I balanced my checkbook today and made sure that I have enough money to finish the month. I wrote some large checks to pay credit card bills and deposited some small checks in the bank. I picked up prescriptions for myself and Dash and tried to make sure that I didn't get them mixed up. I definitely don't need to be taking phenobarbital. Dash needs the stuff to control seizures, but the last thing I need are downers.  Everyday life is enough of a downer as it is.

Just when I was finally warming up to the idea of getting a larger iPhone, Apple comes out with a new smaller model that is exactly the same size as my current iPhone 5. Maybe I'll get one of these new SE models. It's about time for me to upgrade and one of the reasons I've waited so long is that I really like a smaller phone. The larger 6 models just didn't fit in my pocket that well. Maybe these new phones will even fit in my existing case. I think I like my case better than the phone anyway.

Dash goes to the vet to have his teeth cleaned tomorrow morning. I'll need to take him in really early because he has to fast. Getting either of the dogs to do anything without breakfast is always a challenge. I'm glad we only have to do this once a year.

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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