Day 3389

I got up early this morning so I could walk Dash while it was still nice and cool outside. This seemed to help. Dash was still shaky on his feet and very slow, but he wasn't panting. Lately, each of his walks seems like it might be the last. Dash seems more confused and less coordinated with each passing day. I still think the walks are important because he seems to be at his best when he's outside smelling things. The smells seem to reconnect him with reality. There's a fine line between doing something that's beneficial and doing something that might cause further harm. Since Dash really seems to enjoy these walks even though they make him tired, we'll continue for a while, taking things as slowly as we can.

When I saw that Dash had settled in for his morning nap, I went out for breakfast. I'm starting to feel nervous about leaving him now. Usually he sleeps for a very long time after his morning walk, but you never know. There's always a chance that he'll wake up and be unable to stand up. There's always a chance that he'll poop on the floor too, but that's not a big deal anymore. I wasn't gone long this morning, but it was clear that Dash did get up while I was gone. He was in a different room when I returned.

I returned to the cool restaurant for Shrimp and Grits. The place is noisy and crowded, but the Shrimp and Grits are a winner. I'm not sure if this place is going to stay cool much longer. Old people have discovered the place. There were a lot of grandparents eating breakfast with their grandchildren today.

I have more art coming up for auction tomorrow in New York. There is a period of time before the auction starts where people can bid online. So far I have received no bids. There appears to be very little interest at all. Oh, well. Maybe things will improve at the live auction. Auctions are kind of nerve wracking. There are no guarantees and anything can happen. I think this is a great piece, but someone has to agree with me for it to sell.

I think I chipped a tooth. This sucks, because I was just at the dentist a few days ago. I'm tempted to ignore this because the damage seems very minor. The last time I ignored a chipped tooth though, I needed to get a crown. A crown is expensive and they don't feel natural to me. I don't want another crown

Dash has been very lethargic today. Janet says he's been lethargic for a very long time, but I've read so much about the Covenia controversy in the past several days that I can't help but wonder if the drug has something to do with it. Fatigue and lethargy are one of the most common side effects of taking this drug. Dash was already weak. Maybe the Covenia made him a little weaker. On a positive note, Dash's oral infection is already getting better. On the other hand, it's hard to ignore all those articles from people saying that Covenia killed their dog or cat.

We're supposed to have thunderstorms tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to that. I'd much rather have clear skies and a dog who felt like eating and walking again.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3345

Dash wouldn't walk this morning. I thought he'd be eager to get outside since the weather was nicer than yesterday. I even saw the sun and a few patches of blue sky for a while. Evidently Dash wasn't impressed by the weather. Before we'd even made it to the end of our street, he turned around and came home. He must have been feeling bad this morning, because he immediately went to sleep as soon as we returned to the house.

There was a post card in the mail this morning saying that there was an attempt to deliver a package and that I was to call the number on the card immediately. This was an obvious scam. The card didn't come from UPS, Fedex, the Post Office, or Amazon. I hadn't ordered anything either. Who were these people trying to fool? I put the card in the shredder, but there will probably be more dubious mail tomorrow. I feel like I'm under siege lately. Most of the mail that arrives at the house is junk. The phone is even worse. They say that 50% of all phone calls are telemarketers now. At my house the figure would be more like 90%. I really feel like the phone company should be paying me to put up with this nonsense. The telemarketing calls start earlier and last longer now too. We occasionally get them after we've gone to bed. I have Nomorobo installed on my phone and still way too many of these junk calls get through.

If we're going to build a wall, we ought to build some sort of electronic wall to stop these irritating intrusions once and for all. Stopping telemarketers might be the one thing that Democrats and Republicans could actually agree on. I wonder why telemarketers even bother. Few people even answer their phone these days. If you don't send them a text, you'll never get an answer.

Don't even get me started about Spam. Luckily my hosting company has a very good Spam filter, so I don't see most of it. Occasionally, I empty the Spam folder on the mail server and I'm always shocked at how many messages there are. Usually there are thousands of them.

Early this afternoon Dash seemed to have recovered and we took a nice walk. It doesn't really matter when Dash feels like walking. I've always got the time. I think it's great that he still has the desire to do things. Sometimes he has more desire than I do. Dash tires very easily and sleeps a lot, but when he's ready to go, we go.

I'd like to think the sunshine I saw today was a hopeful sign. Unfortunately, there are thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday. At least our weather isn't quite as bad as last February. If I remember correctly, it rained all month. The rainy season will be over eventually. The wildflowers will return. They won't last long though. When Summer arrives I'll be thinking that all this February rain was just an illusion.

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3265

Santa Paws is over for another year. We were really busy today. There were lots of walk ins that threw us off schedule for a while, but everybody went home with the pictures they wanted. Not only did we raise money for Dalmatian Rescue, we also adopted three of our dogs. We were all pretty tired, but everybody agreed that we had a good day.

Today was more hectic than yesterday because we photographed a lot of Dalmatians. Dalmatians are very photogenic, but they are strong, very active and can be stubborn at times. Little dogs that sit in Santa's lap are much easier to deal with unless they happen to be Chihuahuas.

Two of our volunteers adopted their first dog this afternoon. If you listened to the advice they were being given, you'd think that all Dalmatian puppies were incorrigible counter surfers who chewed your furniture, ate socks, got into the garbage, and insisted on sleeping in bed with you. Hey, it's all part of having a puppy. They are also more fun than you can imagine.

Having an old dog is fun too, but I wish there was a better way of dealing with incontinence. Several people I saw at the photo event today told me that their dogs were dealing with the same problem. Dash made a mess in the bed again last night. This was after I had taken him outside several times. I've learned to be patient and have become very good at cleanup, but getting up every night is tiring. Eventually, I'm going to have to put all the camera equipment away, but catching up on sleep is pretty high on my agenda right now.

We had to leave Dash alone for a little longer than normal today, but he did very well. Oddly, he never makes a mess when we are away. It's usually when we're sleeping a few inches away from him. I shouldn't complain though. Our biggest worry has always been the blood clot in Dash's heart and that appears to be getting better. He's eating well again too. I guess a little poop in the bed isn't all that bad.

Sometime tomorrow I'll start taking the photo gear and props back to the storage warehouse. I've got a list of little things I'll need to replace before we do this again next year, but I was pleased at how well the equipment held up. Nothing broke. Nobody got bit. And the backdrop is still usable. In the world of pet photography, I'd call that a success.

The year is rapidly drawing to a close. There are still a few Christmas parties to attend, but that's about it. Hopefully, I can just coast through the rest of the year before the inevitable home repair and medical problems demand my attention again.

You may be hoping for a White Christmas, but I'm not. Clear skies and a warm breeze sounds much better to me.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3193

I was so tired this morning. Dash got me up three or four times last night. As soon as I got him outside, he seemed to forget why he was out there and just wandered around aimlessly. As soon as I brought him in again, he would remember he needed to do something and head for the back door again. We did this over and over. Eventually he pooped and we went back to bed. About thirty minutes later, we woke me up again. This time he needed to pee. He wouldn't pee right away though. We had to leave the house three more times before he got the urge. This has to be some form of dementia. Sometimes he goes outside and has no idea why he's out there. This is one of the reasons why he frequently poops in the house. When Dash's brain finally kicks into gear and gets the message that it's time to go, it's often too late.

By the time I got back to sleep again, it was already time for Dash's morning walk. Janet got me up and we got Dash ready. I thought it was early, but I obviously wasn't thinking clearly. By the time we returned home it was almost too late to go out for breakfast. I was hungry though, so I drove to the hotel anyway. I made it a few minutes before they closed the kitchen.

I've been thinking that I'd found my new favorite place, but service was slow this morning and the place was crowded. The food was still good though, so I'll give Knife the benefit of the doubt. It was British Month at Central Market so I stopped by on the way home from breakfast and picked up some Steak and Stout pies, Celeriac Slaw, and Cumberland Sauce for dinner. Maybe next time I'll try a Scotch Egg and some Tikka Masala. When life is dull, something interesting to eat always does the trick.

I found myself falling asleep during the day. I really didn't get much sleep last night. I guess it didn't really matter if I wasn't very productive today. It's hard to get behind when there's nothing to do. I eventually made the bed, did some laundry, and repaired a pair of Dash's protective boots. I switched on the TV several times, but quickly turned it off again. I'm sick of politics.

It's nice that the market is at an all time high again. I think the last time was back in January. Why is it that every time the market is at a high point, my own stocks are actually lower than they were at the last market top? This happens frequently. I'd complain to my broker if it weren't for the fact that I've agreed with every trade we've made this year. You just can't predict the future.

I wish Dash was stronger, but I think he's doing the best he can. Getting old is a bitch. His overall weakness is caused by his heart disease and the shaky stance and vertigo are caused by the Vestibular Disease. There is no cure for either. I try my best to keep Dash as comfortable as possible. I know this is my own fate someday. I often wonder who will take care of me.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3163

Some days are all about Dash. He didn't want to eat today. I had to really use my ingenuity to get him to take his morning pills. When worse came to worse, I could always put a pill directly down Dot's throat. This trick doesn't work with Dash. He'd bite me if I tried. Our walk was exceptionally slow this morning. Dash didn't appear tired. He just seemed disoriented at times. We took our time and made it home OK. By the time I finally got him interested in breakfast, it was noon.

This disinterest in food  is making it difficult to cure Dash's loose stools. The real goal is to get him to eat anything at all. Eating something that will make his poop firm again is just a bonus. Something is wrong, but I don't know what. There is no sign of blood in his stools anymore. His gums are nice and pink. His blood work looks good too. Dash is taking so many medications now, that the vets hesitate to add more. We're kind of on our own here.

When I woke up this morning I was almost certain that I was going to need to make an emergency doctor's appointment. My wrist hurt pretty bad and looked swollen. I strapped on my brace and soon became preoccupied with Dash. Several hours later when I was finishing my own breakfast, I realized that the wrist wasn't as painful anymore. I took off the brace and noticed that the swelling had subsided a bit as well. As the day progressed, the wrist continued to return to normal. It was surprising that this had happened so quickly. I was expecting to live with the sprained wrist for at least a week. To make a long story short, I'm glad I didn't call the doctor.

Truthfully, I didn't do much of anything today. I didn't order a new dehumidifier because the water leak seems to have disappeared. Maybe cleaning the unit out was all it needed. I didn't go up on the roof for obvious reasons. I didn't call anyone about my collections either. As I said before, the day was mostly about Dash.

He likes to sleep under tables and in awkward places these days. It seems like I'm always trying to extract him from these cubbyholes when he gets stuck. I've read that dogs seem to feel safer in small enclosed spaces when they feel sick. This certainly seems to be true with Dash. There are still places in the house where his lack of mobility wouldn't hinder him. Dash isn't interested in wide open space though. He seems to prefer a cave.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm finally starting to get tired of my morning smoothie, but I don't know what else to eat. In five years of going out to breakfast on Friday mornings, I've tried just about everything. Nothing seems that appealing. In an odd way I can understand what Dash is going through. We both still need food to survive, but seem to have lost the joy of eating.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3140

We got a surprise today. It rained. I wasn't expecting rain, but another guy I see walking dogs in the park told me it was going to start raining in one hour. He said he needed to get home quickly because his dog was storm phobic and freaked out when it rained. I told him that Dash was the same way. We talked for a few minutes about the problems of caring for old sick dogs and wondered whether we'd ever have the energy to care for another dog again when our dogs were gone. My neighbor and I both love dogs and are both seventy years old. We didn't have an answer to that question.

Janet is coming home today, but her flight got delayed and she's still sitting in an airport somewhere. Dash is going to get a nice surprise later tonight. We actually did pretty well with pills and meals, but I can tell that Dash is more enthusiastic about eating when Janet is home. I was actually amazed that I was able to get the socks and protective rubber boots on by myself since Dash never stays still. We did OK though. I actually thought that Dash would want to take a walk this evening since the rain cooled things down considerably. He wasn't in the mood though. Maybe he already knows that Janet is on her way home.

I'm curious how well the roof repairs held up to today's rain. It rained pretty hard for at least an hour, so this was a good test. I didn't have the nerve to go look today. Maybe I'll climb up and inspect things tomorrow. I really hope the repairs worked. It was very hard to get the roofers to make these repairs. If they don't work, I know that it's going to be even harder to get them to come out again. I'm pretty sure that they're done with me now.

I'm still looking for a replacement for the location tracker app I've grown to depend on. I've downloaded three different apps that claim to have similar functions, but they all seem kind of buggy. Why did Facebook have to kill this app?  Probably for the same reasons they stopped supporting Networked Blogs. Everything they've done since the Cambridge Analytica mess has seemed to make the platform worse. I wish they'd just left things alone. Most of us knew all along that they were selling our data and just didn't care.

It's hard to believe that it's almost August. Unfortunately, August is just as hot as July. The weather won't get nice again until October. Until then we will continue to have sky high water and electric bills while I fret about the air conditioner breaking down. Dash has done better this Summer than I expected. It really helps to get an early start in the mornings. I'll be up at 6 AM again tomorrow, ready for our early morning walk. I won't have to worry about getting him to take his pills though. Janet will take over that task when she returns. She's better at it than me anyway.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3118

Often when I'm at the gym, I'm reminded of Andy Warhol's desire to be a machine. I feel like a machine sometime. So many aspects of my life are repetitive in nature. It's not just my time on the treadmill that is entirely predictable. Almost everything is entirely predictable. It wasn't always this way, but increasingly I find familiarity comforting. I like knowing what is going to happen before it happens. The good thing about this kind of life is that you really start to notice little things. If there is any change at all in Dash's behavior, I'm instantly aware of it. I can tell if this week's peaches and strawberries are different than last week's, and can feel if the temperature in the house is one degree warmer than is was yesterday.

The bad thing about predictability is that anything new seems ominous. I will stare at a menu forever before ordering something new for breakfast. I almost never take a new route to a destination. Forget about new friends. If I haven't known you for thirty years, I probably never will. I think about these things while I'm on the treadmill. Exercise is so predictable. That's the one thing I like about going to the gym. I can tell you what my heart rate is going to be at any given time and can predict within ten seconds how long it takes to walk a mile. I still don't know how long it will take to shoot ten free throws on the basketball court, but I'm working on it.

Maybe weather forecasts are frustrating to me because they aren't predictable at all. Yesterday, I thought it was going to rain all next week. Today the forecast has changed. I think it is only supposed to rain on Tuesday. I wish I really knew for certain when we were going to have seven days of clear, dry weather, so I could insist that the roofers come out and finish their repairs. The roofers know that the weather is their friend. The threat of rain is always a good excuse to postpone things.

It's amazing that they are actually getting those boys trapped in that cave in Thailand out alive. The threat of rain is really serious there. I can think of few things worse than being trapped in a flooded cave. Why do people even go in caves? My Dad was a zoologist who studied bats and he would take me in caves occasionally. Caves are wet and claustrophobic. I was always worried that a rock was going to fall and trap us inside. I frequently have dreams that involve being lost. When I was a child, I was usually crawling endlessly through a cave in these dreams. Now, I seem to be lost in a huge hotel. I guess that's progress. Hopefully, all the Thai boys will be extricated safely. I bet it will be a long time before any of them go inside a cave again.

Our house is becoming filled with cheap throw rugs again. Dash's rear legs keep getting weaker and I keep having to bring additional rugs home from the storage warehouse to keep him from slipping. The kitchen and dining areas are filled with rugs now, so Dash won't fall while he is eating. There are carpets in the bedrooms, so he is OK there. I hope we can keep the area where he typically poops on the floor free of rugs for as long as we can. It's a lot easier to clean up poop when it lands on the bricks.

I wish I could predict what was going to happen next with Dash. This is the one area of my life where I've got to stay flexible. He's getting old and frail, but so far, we've been able to adjust so that his life remains enjoyable. All that being said, I hope he lets me get some sleep tonight. I'm getting older too.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2661

The waitress was just bringing my breakfast when I decided to check the baby monitor to see how the dogs were doing. I couldn't see Dot, but I could hear her whining and barking. Not good. I immediately asked if they could put my pancakes in a take-out box, paid my bill, and returned home. I could see what happened as soon as I opened the front door. Dot had tried to get up, fallen down again, and gotten one of her rear legs stuck in an awkward position. Dot is not predictable anymore. It used to be safe to leave for breakfast on Fridays because she almost always slept for at least three hours after we returned from our morning walk. She still tires easily, but she's a lot more restless. I never know whats she's going to do anymore.

After I took Dot outside to pee and made sure she was comfortable in her bed again, I returned to my pancakes. The fancy pancakes looked pretty ordinary when I placed them on one of my own plates and put them in the microwave. I could have easily cooked pancakes like these without leaving the house. Oh, well. At least I tried to get out. I brewed some coffee, found some maple syrup in the refrigerator, and got ready for a long day.

It's time to get Dot fitted for a doggie wheel chair. Her rear legs have gotten so weak that she can no longer support her own weight. After breakfast, I called Dot's physical therapy vet to make an appointment to get her fitted for wheels. I thought I might be able to just buy the wheel chair in a size appropriate for her weight and then fine tune the adjustments at home. A nurse told me that it wasn't that easy. If the wheels weren't fitted properly by the vet, Dot could injure herself. Of course, Dot is already injured, but that's another story. Since I can no longer transport Dot by myself, I'm going to have to find a time when both the vet and Janet are available. I want to do this as soon as possible. I waited too long to have Spot, our first Dalmatian, fitted for wheels. He was only able to use them a few times before he passed away.

Dot could barely move her legs when I found her this morning, but her condition improved slowly throughout the day. By this evening, she was able to take a short walk again. I can't fool myself into thinking she is getting better though. Her rear legs have been getting weaker for a long time. In addition to her physical disabilities, Dot is also becoming increasingly senile. She still enjoys her meals and likes to smell things on her short walks, but sometimes I don't think she knows what planet she's on. Dot and I have bonded closely during her long, slow decline. She is very needy at times, but she trusts me completely and knows I am here to help. I think the fact that I am always nearby has allowed Dot to continue her life despite her many disabilities. I try to plan ahead, but I always feel bad when things don't work out as expected. Dot was fast asleep when I left for breakfast this morning. Who knew that she would really want to get up five minutes after I left.

By early afternoon, the house seemed normal and somewhat predictable again. I went up on the roof and cleared the remaining water away. Luckily, a lot of the standing water had already evaporated, so this job didn't take long. Since both dogs were still resting when I went back in the house, I decided to go pick up something for dinner at Central Market. I've become fond of their new Buddha Bowls and was pleased to see that they had added a few new varieties since my last visit. 

It's been a long day.  I'm tired, but I'm looking forward to the weekend. We're entering a new phase with Dot. Maybe a wheel chair will help her maintain her quality of life for a little longer. She definitely wants to keep on going. Sometimes I think the old girl is going to outlast me.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2618

I don't know why I even bother to get Dash's blood pressure tested. He gets so agitated riding in the car that his blood pressure is almost always elevated by the time we arrive at our destination. Today, he was even worse than usual, whining and barking in my ear all the way to the cancer center. He didn't even calm down once we arrived. Needless to say, his blood pressure was high. The only times I've ever been able to get an accurate reading on Dash is when he's already in the hospital for an extended stay.

Dash eventually calmed down a little, but by then the nurses had already moved on to their next patients. While I sat in a room waiting for the doctor to arrive with his evaluation, Dash fixated on a jar full of dog treats sitting on a counter and started barking all over again. He was basically just a bad dog today, but the doctor did say that his condition had dramatically improved. Nobody seemed terribly worried that Dash's blood pressure was high, which made me wonder why I was spending my afternoon taking Dash to the vet. I did have to admit that Dash appeared healthy though. I wish there was a way to test Dash's blood pressure at home when he actually was relaxed, but human blood pressure monitors don't work on dogs, and veterinary monitors are very expensive and hard to use. For the time being, I think we're all going to assume that Dash's medications are working.

I took the images that I shot yesterday over to the client, but we had a hard time transferring them to the office server. Fewer and fewer computers seem to have an SDHC card slot anymore. Even Apple has dropped the SD card slot on their latest laptops. This makes no sense to me at all. You've got to have a way to conveniently move pictures from the camera to the computer. I doubt that computer makers care much about professional photographers these days. They've all realized that the vast majority of their customers take pictures with their phones. Eventually, we found an older computer in the back of the building that still had a card slot and transferred the images. I apologized for how big the file folder was, but the art director wanted RAW files. Hey, at least all the images got transferred before somebody accidentally erased them.

I wish I could think of a way to help Dot grow stronger. It would be nice if there was something that kept her mentally alert too. With each passing week she seems to become a little weaker. There really isn't much I can do at this point. Dot still enjoys her meals and we take our slow daily walk to the end of the street, but she spends a lot more of her time sleeping these days. She just doesn't have the energy anymore. This year feels like a long goodbye. I just hope I can make the transition as pleasant and pain free as possible. This Friday we go back to the cancer center for another ultrasound scan. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that her cancer had advanced significantly. It feels that way.

I still can't tell whether I've got a cold or allergies. It seems like my eyes have been watering and I've been sneezing for weeks now. It's a bit early for Spring allergies, but I don't have all the usual symptoms of a cold either. At any rate, I wish the red nose and itchy eyes would go away. I'm probably just run down. A week with eight hours of sleep every night would probably cure everything.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2604

Dash had another seizure last night. This episode was much milder than the one he experienced on Sunday, but clearly something is wrong. This looks more like vestibular disease than a typical epileptic seizure. Instead of falling to the ground and having convulsions, Dash appeared dizzy and unsteady on his feet, moving his head from side to side during the episode. Dot had very similar symptoms when she was diagnosed with vestibular seizures four or five years ago. We ran a bunch of expensive tests and took her to a neurologist, but we never did determine the cause. After three seizures, she quit having them and was completely normal until she developed cancer a few years later. I made an appointment to take Dash to the vet tomorrow, but I'm not terribly optimistic about finding a solution to this problem. Neurological problems can be hard to diagnose and even harder to cure. If Dash does have geriatric vestibular syndrome, there isn't a cure anyway.

Now, I'm wondering if Dash's odd behavior on his afternoon walks might be connected to these recent seizures. Sometimes Dash will just stop for no apparent reason and look confused. Often, he'll appear nervous or refuse to move forward and then we'll have to re-trace our steps to return home. Other times he is even reluctant to leave the yard. If Dash has been experiencing vertigo or dizziness, which is common during vestibular events, this would explain a lot. We'll have to be real careful about the diagnosis, since Dash already has a history of epilepsy. You don't treat epilepsy and vestibular disease the same way. If it turns out that Dash is having vestibular seizures, we definitely don't want to increase the amount of phenobarbital he is taking. 

I miss the days when both dogs were healthy. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but really it's just been about three years. I often forget that dogs age much quicker than we do. Measured in human years, Dot would be well over 100 now. Dash is younger, but he would still be over 70. No wonder they are falling apart. Dog years are a bitch. I really wish that our pets lived as long as we do. Janet and I have had quite a few dogs, and sometimes it feels like I've spent the better part of my life dealing with dying animals.

It definitely felt like a Monday. Things got off to a slow start and remained slow for the rest of the day. Luckily Dot didn't have any major problems today. We took the dogs on a shorter walk this morning. Janet was already late for work when we got started and we were both worried about Dash. A seizure at home is bad enough. A seizure out in the park would be even worse. I'm caught up on work, so I spent the day doing some much needed bookkeeping and marking a few things off my to-do list. I even called a tree service to come out and give me an estimate for trimming the trees in the back yard. I skipped pruning last year and there are a few dead branches on the big oak trees that need attention. I have a healthy respect for falling tree limbs. Once, a large limb fell next to me and I quickly realized that if I had been standing fifteen feet to my left, I would have been dead.

I hope we can discover what's going on with Dash tomorrow. Seizures can be frightening and I want him to be able to lead a normal life. I want us all to be able to lead a normal life. It's just getting a little harder.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2571

Jeez. I completely forgot about my blogiversary this year. It was two weeks ago and it never even crossed my mind until today. Can you believe I've been doing this since 2009? Years ago, a blog's anniversary date used to be a big deal for many bloggers. Obviously this is not the case anymore. I didn't even remember the date myself.

I'm getting better at managing the dogs by myself, but it sure would be nice if they'd be more consistent. I never know what to expect when I wake up in the morning. Dash is moody. Some days he will race out the back door and other days he won't even get out of bed. It's hard to tell which dog wants their walk first, but it's easier to get Dot started immediately after she's finished her breakfast. Dash is lazy and usually doesn't mind sleeping a little longer. One way or another, everything gets done. I'm just glad that I wasn't very busy this week.

I decided to renew my Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer subscriptions for another year. It would be a miracle if I actually needed either of these applications again, but it's hard to abandon them. Maybe it's just a matter of professional pride. I want to be ready if the call comes. I'm not even sure  the latest version of Media Composer runs on my current computer. Each new edition seems to require faster processors and more memory.

Janet returned to Dallas today. In a perfect world I would have cleaned and straightened the house before she arrived, but it's far from a perfect world. At least things don't look much worse than they did last week. We got two new rugs almost a month ago to replace a large one in the living room that was becoming worn and haven't even found time to exchange them yet. The new rugs are still sitting rolled up by the front door. It's hard to get ahead of the game when Dot is always pooping on something. I wish the house had a big laundry room with giant commercial washers like some of the veterinarians have. I could keep them running full time.

Dot doesn't look like she's almost 17, does she? She tires easily and we stop to rest frequently on our walks, but she definitely hasn't given up yet. In her own mind, or at least what's left of it, she still thinks she's a young dog. Walking Dot is a strange experience. Occasionally I feel like she is a marionette and I'm the puppeteer holding the strings. She enjoys these short walks though. They are the high point of her day.

Only three more days and 2016 will be over. I'm strangely optimistic about 2017. The dogs both survived this year and I became a little more adept at dealing with adversity. I'm ready for a new year. Work slowed down quite a bit, but somehow I'm still able to pay all the bills. Maybe the nice little stock market rally we've been having will continue. Maybe Dot might actually make it to her 17th. birthday. I don't really expect all that much, so I doubt that I'll be disappointed.

Dot & Petey are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2444

I can't honestly say that Dot got a clean bill of health today at her annual physical exam, but the vet was amazed that she's doing as well as she is. Very few Dalmatians make it this far on their journey through life. Dot has already lived two years longer than any other Dalmatian we've had and she hasn't given up yet. These exams aren't as dignified as they were during her younger years. When the nurse tried to weigh her, she peed on the scale. A little later when the same nurse took her temperature, she pooped. Dot's teeth are bad, she can't walk without assistance, and she tires very easily. It's not all bad news however. Her heart is still strong, her vision is good, and she is still very enthusiastic about eating. We skipped most of the normal vaccinations because she is so old and frail, but the vet still wanted to give her the Leptospirosis vaccine. Leptospirosis is becoming commonplace in Dallas, and it is so easy to catch since we frequently walk in the park.

Today's exam took a while, but I was very pleased with the results. Dot is old and has many serious problems, but she is amazingly resilient. She is a high maintenance girl who is becoming more stubborn by the day, but she definitely hasn't given up yet. There are days when I think Dot is going to outlast me.

Last week's cooler weather lulled me into believing that Fall had arrived early, but I got a reminder today that we're still in the middle of Summer. The sun came out this morning and almost instantly it was twenty degrees warmer. By afternoon, temperatures were in the high nineties again and Dash let me know pretty clearly that he wasn't all that interested in an afternoon walk.

I had some website updates to make today. These modifications aren't an everyday occurrence like they used to be, but apparently people haven't forgotten about their websites completely. Occasionally, a website will go offline and it will often take days before the client even notices. Things have changed. If something is wrong with Facebook, they all notice immediately.

The park is full of Rain Lily's today. These small flowers seem to appear overnight after a big rain and then disappear just as quickly when things dry up. Luckily, they were blooming today, because I couldn't find anything else to photograph. There aren't many flowers left. Pretty soon, I'll start seeing Fall leaves and as soon as the time changes, I'll be trying to capture pretty sunsets again.

We need to do something special for Dot's birthday this weekend. We used to take the dogs to dinner at Cafe Lago, but that dog friendly restaurant went out of business quite a few years ago. Janet and I also used to make beautiful little dog cakes, but I don't even remember how anymore. She would bake a small three layer cake made with apple sauce, eggs, and oat flour. I would decorate the cake with a cream cheese and yogurt frosting. I took a cake decorating class once, and even had one of those special turntables, so I could apply the frosting evenly. Distant memories. All I have the energy to do anymore is buy some pupcakes at Sprinkles.

Tomorrow, we have our second vet visit of the week. We do water therapy and acupuncture on Wednesdays and then on Friday she goes back to the cancer center for another ultrasound scan. It's going to be a busy week.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2409

As a writer, I find all the talk about Melania's speech interesting. I don't doubt that there was plagiarism involved. Plagiarism is endemic is today's society. If you're a musician, you might call your plagiarism sampling, or perhaps a remix. If you're an artist, you might say you're paying homage to someone. Like it or not, there is very little original thought in this world.

I've been accused of plagiarism myself. Ironically, I wasn't plagiarizing others, I was plagiarizing myself. If you're an advertising writer, you write the same shit over and over again for different people. How many ways can you tell someone that a bank offers friendly service or a hamburger is juicy? Sometimes I like the way I've described something and I'll use it again. I'm not even aware of doing this, but apparently clients aren't very happy if you use the same words more than once. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," I'll say and quickly substitute some other adjectives that say exactly the same thing. I guess I'm not surprised that several people might say that if you work hard you can achieve anything you want in exactly the same way. How else would you express this thought? That being said, someone should have run the speech through one of those plagiarism checker websites that teachers routinely use with students papers. As a lazy person myself, I can tell you that there is no real excuse for being lazy. There's no excuse for trying to destroy someone for a few lines of identical text either.

I don't think I was lazy today, but I certainly didn't accomplish anything significant. I did get out of the house at least. I  found a $20 REI coupon in my wallet, so I went to the store and bought another pair of cargo shorts with huge pockets that could hold my cameras when I walked the dogs. T-shirts and cargo shorts has become my new Summer uniform. I'll probably continue wearing a longer version of these things next Winter. Lots of pockets are great.

Dot is still pretty weak, so I canceled her therapy appointment for the second week in a row. We're still just going around the block in the morning. It's not very far, but it seems to be the right balance between getting no exercise at all and becoming exhausted. I wish I knew what I know now when my first Dalmatian was getting old. It takes a long time to learn what dogs are trying to tell you. I think I'm getting pretty good at interpreting Dot's moods and desires, but I've still got a lot to learn. I hope she manages to teach me the wisdom of dogs before Dash gets old. Dash is going to be hard to handle.

I spent quite a while trying to remove some sticky road tar from my car this afternoon. Tar is much more difficult to deal with than dog poop. I don't think I need to worry about anyone plagiarizing me. I've pretty much cornered the market on writing about dog poop. Why would anyone else even want to copy this.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2400

I like big, round numbers like 2400. I'm only 100 days away from the halfway point of this journey. I wonder if I'll be able to continue this peculiar marathon for 5000 consecutive days? Will I run out of things to say, or have I already run out of things to say. It's often hard to tell the difference. When you spend year after year ending each day with a 500 word recap, you start to realize that life consists of a relatively small number of recurring themes. There are so many thing that all of us do over and over again. I'd still like to think that this somewhat monotonous journey is a grand adventure. There has to be some small justification for the thousands of hours I've spent telling this tale. I hope I don't wake up one morning thinking that this has all been a monumental waste of time. I'd really like to make it to Day 5000.

I've learned some valuable things about life along the way, but I definitely don't learn something every day. Some days I just try to chart a course that takes me from waking up to drifting off to sleep again. Today, I thought I'd clean the house before I went to the gym. One reason the house is so dirty is that when I wait until I return from the gym, I'm too tired to do anything else. I vacuumed, did the laundry, and returned the rugs that had been drying in the back yard to their original places. I finished my chores and arrived at the gym a few hours later than usual. I was surprised at how crowded the place was.  Could a few hours really make this much difference?

Dot seemed a bit tired today. Janet thought we should just let her rest, but I thought she still needed a little bit of exercise. I felt a bit guilty when she immediately went back to her bed looking exhausted and went to sleep as soon as we returned. Maybe she did need to rest today. I really try not to push her too hard, but I know that physical therapy is not a part time activity. You have to be relentless with physical therapy in order to make any progress. Later in the day, Dot bounced back and I felt a little better. It's still hard to know where to draw the line however. If Dot seems to want to walk, we walk; even if it takes us forever to go around the block.

I think desire is everything and I want to encourage Dot to maintain her desire to live. We must be doing something right, because if she makes it through the summer, we will be sharing our lives with a 17 year old Dalmatian. There aren't many 17 year old Dalmatians. In many ways, the journey Dot has already made is much more remarkable than my own quest to create a 5000 day journal.

In addition to my household chores and workout routines, I updated some websites this afternoon. Working on weekends is commonplace now, mostly because my clients seem to have more important things to do during the week. Websites aren't as much of a priority now. Everybody still has one, but they often don't spend much time thinking about it. I guess getting my assignments on Friday afternoon is still a lot better than not getting them at all.

I continue to do my assignments immediately, as if they were rush jobs, because I don't want to acknowledge how irrelevant I've become. I continue to post a blog entry every single day, because I'm afraid that if I skip even a single day, I'll conclude that the whole experiment was a silly pursuit and just quit. I continue to walk Dot each and every day, because I realize how quickly one can become an invalid. I never give up, but there are times when I would like to.

Good grief. Dot just pooped in her bed again and it looks like she's about to eat it. Gotta go.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2333

It's kind of two steps forward, three steps back with Dot. She has an amazing ability to rebound, but at the end of the day, we're still losing ground. We skipped the walks today and let Dot sleep. It seemed to help. By lunchtime, she wanted to get up and have her rice cake and by dinner time, she was eager to go outside again. Sure, she pooped in the house a few times, but her abdomen doesn't appear painful anymore and she's putting weight on her left rear leg again. It's a delicate balance. It's is essential to keep Dot moving to prevent the muscle atrophy in her legs from getting even worse, but it's equally essential not to overdo it.

If Dot continues to improve, we'll try a short walk tomorrow morning. When Dot needs to rest, Dash gets to enjoy a much longer walk by himself. We call it our 'Boy's Walk." All I have to say now is "Do you want to take a Boy's Walk Dash?" and he gets all excited. Dash is very good about walking slowly in front of Dot in the mornings to give her something to follow, but I'm not sure he understands how essential he is. I can tell he misses the old days when the three of us would walk for miles at full speed. Before Dot became ill, we could cover three times the distance in the same amount of time that our slow journey takes now.

I'm still having serious connectivity problems with my office network. The hosting company says everything is fine on their end and that the problem originates with my ISP. The ISP says they are unaware of the problem I describe and tell me to call the hosting company. After doing a little research on my own, I've discovered that my ISP is selectively blocking several servers owned by the hosting company, saying that the machines are known sources of malware. The hosting company says than none of the accounts on their servers are spammers or hackers and nobody should be blocking them. Neither party will actually admit to doing anything at all when I press them on the issue. When I tell them that there are tons of other customers complaining about similar  connectivity issues on Internet forums, they basically just tell me that you can't believe what you read on the Internet. It's frustrating. It appears like my ISP is having a little war with my hosting company and I'm caught in the middle.

I still haven't called the plumber. I think the leak originates under one of the fixtures, but I'm reluctant to deal with the issue, because I've already tried to get these faucets replaced before without much success. When I was having plumbers out to the house almost every day during our big underground pipe leak last year, I asked if they could replace the aging faucets. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but the plumbers made all sorts of excuses. They told me that they didn't carry faucets or fixtures on the truck and that I would have to purchase the fixtures myself if I wanted them to install them. Since the sink is very old, I knew I could never find a match for the old faucets at Home Depot. I thought the plumbers would be happy to take care of this for me, but apparently not. I didn't press the issue because they were trying to fix a major leak under my foundation and I didn't want to make them mad. I'm beginning to think that absolutely nothing is easy to fix anymore.

I don't know where to eat tomorrow morning. I'm just floundering around, in search of a new Friday breakfast place. There are only about five restaurants that serve breakfast and are close enough to the house to meet my somewhat strange criteria. I guess I'll try them all again and see if something clicks. There was a reason that I abandoned each of these places in the past, but things change quickly in the restaurant business. Maybe one of these places is fabulous now.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2201 - Christmas Day

We had a pleasant day. It was unusually warm for Christmas Day, but that's Texas for you. The warm weather was fine by me, because it made it much easier to walk the dogs. As far as Christmas activities go, that's about all we did. Dot and Dash got two nice walks and then slept for the rest of the day while Janet cooked a Christmas dinner and I cleaned up around the house. With eggs and bacon for breakfast and a big traditional Christmas dinner, I feel like I've had a week's worth of food in a single day.

Dot and Dash have always enjoyed unwrapping presents. They are convinced that every package is for them and seem genuinely disappointed if it doesn't contain something they can eat. We give them a taste of each of their food gifts and then put them away. If they had their way, they would eat everything at once and make themselves sick. It's fun to watch them get so excited over a simple bag of dog treats or a piece of cheese. Dash got a little too excited. Once he started barking, it took him about thirty minutes to calm down.

I was surprised at how many people were out in the park today. Maybe taking a walk after your Christmas meal is a thing to do now. At any rate, there were entire families walking on the trails and plenty of other dogs. One dog got loose and came running over to Dash. Luckily, it was a friendly dog and no harm was done. I do wish people would keep better control of their pets, however. This happens far too often.

I couldn't figure out why I wasn't able to get on the Internet to write the blog tonight. Nothing was wrong as far as I could tell, but everything was impossible slow. It finally dawned on me that the fancy U-verse connection just didn't have enough bandwidth. Janet was talking to her niece on the phone. I was taping the Dr. Who Christmas Special on one TV while a Hallmark movie was playing on another TV in the kitchen. There just wasn't enough bandwidth left over for me.  I wasn't going to let this stop me however. I fired up the little T-Mobile WiFi hotspot and kept on writing.

Our holidays have become very quiet and stress free. It's surprising how enjoyable doing nothing can be. We didn't go to a Christmas movie. We didn't visit family. We didn't do much of anything. Janet cooked and went to the gym. I cleaned and fiddled around with the dehumidifier. I thought the thing was broken for a while, but apparently cooking a big meal raises the humidity a lot. Now, everything is back to normal again. My favorite Christmas gift was a pair of soft grey fleece running pants with Dalmatians printed on the fabric. These pants will make your average ugly Christmas sweater look tame by comparison. To each his own. Hey, the pants are very comfortable and will probably become my new around the house uniform.

We slept in until after 7 AM this morning. Janet, Dash and I could have slept longer, but Dot couldn't. We all had to get up when she pooped in her bed. She had another accident in the kitchen while Janet was cooking Christmas dinner. We didn't let this slow us down a bit. I took the big rug outside and hosed it down. The little rug went in the washing machine. This is life with a very old dog. We are just happy that she is still here to share this special day with us. Getting to spend another Christmas with both dogs was the best Christmas gift of all.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2174

I think Dot is back to normal. Of course, normal is a very old dog who can barely walk and poops all over the place, but we can live with that. I'm grateful that we dodged a bullet one more time. We are all learning to live with age and infirmity, but adding something new to the mix might have been too much. I don't know how Dot got so sick or recovered so quickly, but I'd like to find out. I don't want this to happen again.

I need to be more careful with the little ceramic heater I use to keep warm on cold days. Yesterday I almost melted the vinyl slats on some mini-blinds covering the window next to my desk. I put the heater too close to the window hoping to evaporate the condensation that was starting to return. Ceramic heaters are generally pretty safe. There is no flame and the case doesn't even get hot to the touch. What I forgot was that the air itself coming out of the heater is very hot. I have seven partially melted slats in the blinds to remind me of that.

I seemed to remember that I had some more mini-blinds in the storage warehouse so I thought I'd replace the one I'd singed. I took the old mini-blinds down, found the new ones and then realized they weren't the same size. They almost fit, but not quite. It was a wasted effort. While I was looking at the aluminum window frames, I realized that there was mold in the track where the window slid open. I got some Clorox wipes from the kitchen and cleaned all the frames in the office. They were filthy. Now I have a burnt shade covering much cleaner windows. I guess that's progress.

I'm learning more about humidity. When it's really cold outside and the furnace runs all the time, the humidity goes down. When the indoor and outdoor temperatures are closer together and the furnace or air conditioner only runs sporadically, the humidity goes up. I think this must mean that the house isn't insulated very well. Hot air does dry things out, but moisture creeps back in quickly when the furnace is off. The air conditioner does a good job of lowering the humidity too, but it's Winter now. We won't be using the air conditioner again for a while. We certainly won't be using it this weekend. The temperature might go down to freezing tonight.

Since several forecasts were predicting freezing weather, I didn't want to deal with ice on the roof. Ice on the roof is even worse than water on the roof. Even though it was nasty outside, I braved the elements and got all the water off the roof while I still had a chance. We've had thick ice on the roof before and I still think this is what caused some of the Sheetrock in the living room ceiling to crack.

I think some people will be confused by this week's Heaven Sent episode of Dr. Who. Was the whole thing a weird dream sequence, or did the Doctor really spend millions of years trying to break out of this strange Rubik's Cube castle? The entire episode was just a very convoluted set up for next week's season finale. I think I liked the series better when each show was a self-contained little adventure. This new series is a single very long show that is meant to be binge watched from beginning to end.

The rain is supposed to continue through Monday. The challenge for me will be to do something useful around the house without breaking anything. The brown melted spot on the mini blinds and the continuing leak in the shower stall are graphic reminders that I'm not exactly off to a good start. Maybe I should just go to the gym tomorrow and wait until Summer to deal with the house.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day