Day 4147

I definitely didn't accomplish much today. I got up late, had a leisurely breakfast, looked at an endless list of lost or abandoned dogs on my Facebook feed, and started snacking well before lunchtime. Janet didn't have a lot to do today either, so she went with me on my daily walk. We were kind of hoping that Dawn would want to accompany us, but she just wanted her short one mile loop.

The park was really crowded today. I know it was Sunday but there are a lot more people on the trails than there were a few years ago. The city has grown, but I don't think that explains the crowds. More people are working from home and setting their own hours. Some people have given up working altogether. I wouldn't be surprised if more people were interested in staying healthy as well. The city is also promoting the park as a destination. It's a big change from the days when the place was virtually empty.

I miss the old days, but luckily the park is huge and there is plenty of room for all the extra people. There are lots of dogs as well. This is a popular place to walk your dog. Pit bull mixes appear to be the most popular breed in the city. Chihuahuas are probably next on the list. There are lots of German Shepherds and Labs as well. It's been several years since I've seen another Dalmatian in the park however. 

I need to start planning for my trip to the observatory. I hate packing and always wait until the last possible minute. This usually results in forgetting things. Like many photographers, I'm torn between a desire to take lots of equipment and a fear that the equipment will get stolen. Sometimes I think I'd be happier if I didn't take any cameras at all. Memories are often more vivid than pictures anyway. I don't think leaving the cameras behind is an option this time. The whole point of the trip is to learn how to take better pictures.

I'm still perplexed by Dawn's behavior. She's real friendly with me in the bedroom, but fearful of me in the kitchen. To this day, she has not set foot in my office. Outside, she has no problems with me at all. She comes when I call outside, but doesn't even listen to me inside. She sleeps next to me on the bed and likes me to walk her. The rest of the time she runs away from me. Dawn is a very complex dog.

I need to learn how to use my new star tracker. I haven't even tried it out yet. I guess I have an excuse. I'm apprehensive about leaving the yard at night and you can't see many stars in Dallas anyway. It's kind of weird to have an interest that I can't really use without driving hundreds of miles. I guess I could find dark skies much closer to home, but I don't know anyone who lives out in the country. It's probably just as well that I save my astronomy for West Texas skies. A few days of really dark skies is probably worth more than months of frustration in the city.

It looks like we will just be seeing Charlie and Cooper tomorrow. The new Dalmatian that I thought Dalmatian Rescue was getting was reunited with his owner, which was a much better outcome anyway. I'm glad the owners found their missing dog at the pound. Whenever I see a well cared for dog at a city pound, I'm convinced that there is an owner out there looking for them somewhere. Don't ever leave your gates open. It's way too easy for something bad to happen.

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2203

I had no idea how bad last night's storm really was until I turned on the television this morning. This wasn't your usual Texas tornado scare. It was a major disaster. I had always thought we had been spared from tornadoes in the past because we lived next to a lake, but the worst damage from last night's storm was right next to Lake Ray Hubbard to the northeast of us. Entire blocks of houses were completely destroyed. At least eleven people died. Cars filled with people were literally blown off a freeway overpass. This was a very serious storm.

It was unbelievable how many dogs got lost during the storm. All day long my Facebook feed was filled with shared requests to look for a lost family pet. There were hundreds of lost dogs. Someone I know actually saw the tornado pass right in front of her while she was trapped on a busy road with no place to hide. We didn't realize just how lucky we were when the worst of the storm passed a few miles to the east of us on its way to causing so much destruction in Garland and Rowlett.

The tornado danger passed as soon as a cold front arrived from West Texas. The temperature dropped forty degrees, but the rain continued. It's been raining all day. I can't blame the dogs for not wanting to go outside today. I didn't want to go outside either. The rain never really stopped, but I did manage to find a few periods when it slowed down a bit. It was too cold and nasty to take Dot outside, but I did take Dash for a short walk. Luckily he was sensible enough to do his business quickly.

Other than two short walks so Dash could poop in his favorite place, I didn't leave the house all day. With the furnace working properly and the dehumidifier sucking moisture out of the air, the house was actually quite comfortable. I spent the day updating the Dalmatian Rescue website and watching Dr. Who episodes I had missed.

Updating the Dalmatian website wouldn't have taken so long if I could remember how to code responsive websites. I don't do these things frequently enough for the knowledge to stay permanently in my brain. It's complicated, and every time I have to update a mobile friendly site, I end up having to relearn things I've already done before. Initially the code looks like someone else wrote it. Hopefully, the new skills I've learned will eventually become second nature. I don't think anybody's going back to using Dreamweaver and it's getting frustrating becoming baffled by my own code.

It's a good thing I viewed the Dr. Who season finale a second time this afternoon. I found Hell Bent to be confusing the first time I saw it, but it made a lot more sense when I realized that I had missed a full twelve minutes of the show the first time around. Maybe I fell asleep when I was watching on my computer. Maybe the dogs distracted me. Those twelve minutes made a big difference though. I actually liked the show this time. I didn't get around to watching the Christmas Special. I'll save that one for another rainy day.

I hope everyone finds their missing dogs. I'm going to put leashes on ours the next time we sit huddled in a corner waiting for the all clear signal after a bad storm. Dash panics easily and if our house was damaged, he might run away too. Hopefully, the weather will clear up soon. There is too much to worry about already.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1648

I found out a little more about yesterday's lost Weimaraner puppy. The dog had jumped out of a car window while the car was sitting at a stop light about a mile from my house. It quickly ran away and the owner couldn't find it again after hours of searching. This was one lucky pup. For starters, the puppy got it's leash tangled up in the hedge of a neighbor's who likes dogs. Not everybody would have taken the time to search for the dog's owner. Even worse, the dog could have easily been hit by a car on several busy roads.  If there's a lesson in this, it would be to never travel with dogs when your car windows are open. I see people doing this all the time. They'll be driving down the freeway at 70 miles an hour and their dog is hanging halfway out of the front window. It's just too easy for an accident to happen.

I make sure that the doors are locked and the windows are closed before I go anywhere with Dot and Dash. If they need a breeze, I just turn up the air conditioner really high. Dash always makes me nervous because he would be just like that lost puppy if he ever got the opportunity. Dash could dig a hole under a fence or jump out of a car window in a heartbeat. He wouldn't be trying to run away. In his mind, he's just being playful when he's bad. When I see pictures of dogs playfully running on the beach, I wish there was a place nearby where I could let Dot and Dash do this sort of thing. In a big city there aren't that many choices. Even the city's dog parks aren't completely safe, since there are way too many people who see nothing wrong with bringing their extremely dog aggressive dogs to the parks.

I've never taken Dot to her acupuncture session on a Friday before.  I don't think people work a full day on Friday anymore. At 2 PM this afternoon, the freeways were filled to capacity with rush hour traffic. It seemed like the entire city was taking the afternoon off. We were a little late to our appointment because of the heavy traffic, but our vet worked us in anyway. Dot did pretty well using the underwater treadmill this afternoon, but you can tell the Summer heat is slowing her down a bit. I understand. It's slowing me down too.

I had a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant this morning and a nice dinner at home this evening. In between was a lot of nothing. Dot had a good physical therapy session today, but I don't think we'll be doing this on a Friday again. The traffic is just too bad. Wednesdays worked well until we started going back to training class again. Now, it's one or the other for Dot. She's too tired to do both. I think we'll try Tuesday for her therapy day next week. Maybe that will work.

The neighborhood Hibiscus tree is in bloom again. These flowers always seem tropical to me, but they're just out in the park behind the house. I wouldn't be surprised to see a snake under the tree.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1647 - My Birthday

I received hundreds of birthday greetings on social media today. At most, I'd met less than ten of these people in real life. I tried to think if I'd seen any of them during the past year and could only come up with a single name: a guy I accidentally bumped into a few months ago at a guitar show. That's the way it is these days. Facebook has become the new neighborhood. Real life is kind of a wasteland. I was delighted to hear from everybody, whether I'd met them of not. Among the strangers who wished me a happy birthday were dedicated people all over the world who do their best to rescue and care for abandoned Dalmatians. There were fellow bloggers, who just like me, continue to tell their stories to a world where fewer and fewer people read. There were people who like wristwatches and probably a few like you, who just like to read this blog. I'm glad I heard from all of you. You keep me connected.

I got an e-mail early this morning from a neighbor up the street, asking me if I knew anyone who had lost a Weimaraner puppy. I haven't seen anyone walking a Weimaraner in the park for a long time, but I sent the lady all the information I had about reuniting lost dogs with their owners. If you find a lost dog without any identification, I hope you check to see if it has been microchipped first. If the dog has been chipped, this is definitely the easiest way to find the owner. When I left to go to the gym later in the day, I happened to see a "Lost Puppy" sign stapled to a telephone pole. I stopped the car and went over to look at the sign. Sure enough, the lost dog was a Weimaraner puppy that matched the description in the e-mail exactly. I called the number on the sign and left a message saying that I thought I knew where the puppy was. When the dog's owner called back a few hours later, she said the puppy had already been found and returned. Evidently there were lots of "Lost Puppy" signs and one of them had been seen by a friend of the lady who'd sent me the e-mail. My neighbors might not agree about politics, or even about what goes on in the park, but they do agree about dogs. I'm lucky to live in a very dog friendly neighborhood.

I didn't stay at the gym very long today. The gym was crowded and Dot had already made me feel guilty for leaving by barking up a storm as I was preparing to leave. I was also worried about the lost dog and wanted to check and see if the dog and its owner had been reunited. There was nothing to worry about. Dot was sleeping soundly when I returned and the Weimaraner puppy was already home again.

When I was walking the dogs this evening, we almost stepped on a huge snake. I need to get better at identifying these neighborhood snakes. Some are harmless and others are poisonous. It would be good to know which was which. In the mean time, we're going to avoid the shoreline and native prairie areas where most of the snakes seem to live. There are also lots of large hawks and owls in these areas. Maybe they'll eat the snakes.

We had Sprinkles cupcakes when Janet got home from work. These tasty little cupcakes have become somewhat of a birthday tradition. At a certain point we discovered that a big birthday cake was too much for two people.  These large, heavily frosted cakes just took up space in the refrigerator and eventually got stale. Cupcakes are much better.  It was a subdued birthday, but a nice one. I look forward to celebrating a few more.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 472 - April Fool's Day

I hate going to the doctor. It's always depressing. Even though my lab work was actually better than it was on my last visit, it's still pretty obvious that I'm already on the glide path to oblivion. Eating healthy and getting lots of exercise don't really make you any younger. They just postpone the inevitable a bit.

Today, we talked about cutting back on the sugar in my diet. It has to be done, because for the last year or so all the lab work indicates that I am pre-diabetic. I definitely don't want to become a diabetic if I can prevent it, but I certainly am getting tired of giving up all my favorite things. I've already given up bacon and alcohol. Now, I'm going to have to give up my morning waffles, drenched in a sea of maple syrup. Ironically, I didn't have this craving for maple syrup when I was drinking. My doctor say this is all pretty normal. The body immediately converts alcohol to glucose anyway, and when the alcohol is eliminated, the body tries to get the sugar some other way. When I has a glass of wine with dinner and a Martini before bed, I never felt like eating anything sweet. Now I want dessert after every meal. At any rate, I'm pretty good at giving up things. We'll just add sugar to the growing list of things I can no longer enjoy. Technically, sugar isn't even the enemy here. It is my desire to combine sugar with carbohydrates. Pancakes and syrup. Waffles or french toast with lots of syrup and whipped cream. Donuts. Not a great combination for maintaining proper blood sugar levels.

No April Fool's jokes today. Who knows? Maybe this week's lack of work was all an extended joke. I don't think so though. Things are just slow. I sure hope the economy picks up by Summer. So far, this year hasn't exactly gotten off to a stellar start. At least the stock market is hanging in there. An up day in the market can still balance out a bad day at the office.

I retrieved one of my neighbors dogs this afternoon. The friendly Chocolate Lab was just wandering around loose and appeared lost. I have returned countless neighborhood dogs to their homes over the years. I seem to be the only one around during the day. Kids leave the gate open. Parents leave the gate open. Dogs even learn how to open the gate themselves. Luckily, most of these loose dogs are very nice and it isn't hard to lure them home again. It's strange how casual many people are about their dogs however. I would never go off and leave my own dogs in the backyard when I leave the house. I feel much safer when they're inside sleeping on their favorite blanket.

Dalmatian of the Day

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