Day 2128

The vet said she thought Dash was walking better this week. I was thinking the same thing. He's not limping as much now and seems a little stronger with each passing day. It's clear that he does have a floating kneecap on his right rear leg. It's just not very clear how severe his luxating patella is. We did some tests and agreed to evaluate him again next week. Hopefully, Dash will continue to improve. If not, we can always make an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist. We'll do what needs to be done, but I'd like to avoid surgery if at all possible.

The watch winder company told me to return the defective winder in its original box, so I went to the storage warehouse to look for the box. I save a lot of boxes for precisely this reason. It took a while, but I eventually found the box and it still had the instructions and warranty card inside. I'll pack the thing up and take it to FedEx tomorrow. I'm hoping they'll just send me a new unit, instead of trying to repair the old one. Only one of the three winder motors is bad, but with my luck, one of the other motors will quit working as soon as they returned the repaired unit. I'm not sure how the watch winder company will handle this, but at least they were helpful and responsive. Some companies aren't.

I got my October invoices posted and in the mail today. It's a bit unsettling that my billings continue to decline, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. My business is slower because my client's businesses are slower. The whole economy sucks. Hopefully, things will pick up again before Christmas. Fall and Winter used to be one of my busiest times, but I don't have as many retail clients as I once did. One project a day is all I want. Any more and I'll be too busy. Any less and I'll start to go broke.

Someone will have to explain the Democratic debate to me. It didn't really seem like a debate at all. Every time someone said something, the rest of the candidates chimed in and essentially said "That's a good idea, but I'll do even more." Nobody criticized each other. It was just an odd love fest. Say what you will about the Republicans, but at least they dusted it up and got their hands dirty. Donald Trump was right. The debate was boring. I didn't learn anything new. That being said, Bernie Sanders was the most genuine. He may be an angry old man, but he's an honest angry old man. You can't say that about many of the others in either party.

There are no vet visits for either dog tomorrow. Actually, there's not much of anything scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2123

Everyone seemed tired today. Dash wasn't eager to leave the house and just slept on the bed for most of the day. Dot was slow on her morning walk and even slower in the underwater treadmill later in the day. I was tired too, mostly because I didn't sleep well last night. Dot had an accident in her bed during the night, but that wasn't really what kept me awake. Occasionally, I just don't sleep well.

There was a medical emergency when we went to the vet for Dot's physical therapy session and we had to wait a while to get started. It was OK though. We sat in a quiet room on Dot's acupuncture mat and I almost fell asleep. We had to slow the treadmill down a bit today, which was a bit of a disappointment. Dot did so well last week that I was hoping her improvement would continue. You've got to take things one day at a time with an old dog though. Some days are better than others.

When I mentioned Dash's recent problems with his rear legs to Dot's vet, she thought it might be more serious than I was initially led to believe. Of course, Dash wasn't even there, so this diagnosis didn't really mean much. I might not have even been describing his condition accurately. It was good to learn more about a luxating patella however. This floating kneecap condition can result in temporary lameness when the kneecap slips laterally out of position. The condition is often self correcting and the kneecap snaps back into position in a matter of seconds, but in severe cases it can get stuck out of joint and surgery may be required. If your dog has a floating kneecap, it is important to keep them moving, because strong leg muscles help keep the kneecap in place. Glucosamine and Fatty Acids can help lubricate the joint. Sometimes Adequan injections help as well. Dash has another appointment next week to see if the inflammation has subsided. Like everything else in our life, we'll just take this one day at a time as well.

The days go by so quickly now. Each day has a little ritual that acts like a placeholder. Today it was taking Dot to physical therapy and getting the week's trash hauled out to the curb. Tomorrow I have my breakfast outing and Saturday I stock up on groceries. There are monthly rituals as well. Pretty soon it will be time to sent out my October invoices. Every night before I brush my teeth I run a test print to keep the large printer from clogging. My morning smoothies have become a ritual and unfortunately, so has cleaning up dog poop in the house. People have learned that it's usually not a good conversation starter to ask me what I'm doing this weekend. Usually, they already know.

I hope Dash's condition improves. One lame Dalmatian is enough for anyone. It's good that slow walks are actually beneficial for dogs with a floating kneecap. Dot enjoys having a companion to walk with and slow walks are all she's got left. The walks are definitely a ritual. The dogs keep their noses to the ground looking for interesting things to smell, while I keep my nose in the air, looking toward the sky. Today the Moon, Venus, and Mars formed a tight little triangle in the eastern sky. I'm still hoping to catch a glimpse of Mercury.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day