Day 3280

Janet and I both wonder how we used to accomplish so much when we were younger. It seems to take so long to do even simple things now. It's a good thing I don't have a full schedule these days. By the time I make the bed, clean up dog poop, get Dash dressed for his morning walk, and fix my breakfast, I'm ready to call it a day.

It's dark when I wake up, but by the time I finish making the bed, it is already time to get Dash ready for his walk. I guess I could just leave the rubber sheet and protective pads on the bed, but I carefully fold all the nighttime bedding and put it away so the bedroom looks nice for a few hours. Protecting Dash's feet for his walks is a complicated ritual. First we put on a par of fitted bandages that are secured with velcro. Over the bandages goes a cotton sock and on top of all this go the Ultra-Paws boots. Dash has four pairs of these boots now because I need to keep reinforcing the toe with Shoe Goo to cover worn spots caused when Dash drags his feet. It takes the Shoe Goo 48 hours to fully cure, so I rotate the boots to make sure there is always a good pair available. In addition to his special footwear, Dash also wears a brace for a partial ACL tear in his right knee along with his Ruffwear harness that I can use to keep him from slipping and falling. Needless to say, I can get dressed much quicker than Dash can.

It was cold and overcast on our walk this morning, but there was no sign of rain. Knock on wood. I'm going to be nervous about the roof until the roofers com back to finish their repairs. In fairness, the damaged areas probably need to dry another day before they can be successfully patched, but I still wish I'd seen the crew working today.

I didn't accomplish a lot today. I never do. I picked up a Plavix prescription for Dash at the pharmacy and paid a bunch of December bills. I still need to pay my 2018 property taxes, but I've got until the end of the year to write that check. I always pay my bills on time, but I find it irritating living on a fixed income. Especially when the stock market is tanking. Hey, welcome to retirement. When I was working I always felt like I controlled my own destiny. Now I feel like the world is always throwing me a curve.

The house smells good tonight. Janet is doing Christmas cooking this evening. Most of the goodies will be given away as gifts, but maybe there will be some leftovers for me. I'm sure that Dash is thinking the same thing. I especially like the sausage balls. We should have these around all year. Of course, if we had Christmas food around all year, I'd be twenty pounds heavier.

I hope I see the roofers tomorrow. Sadly, even if they are successful in patching the leak, it is only a temporary solution. The high-tech silicon membrane just wasn't a good solution for this house. My new year's resolution is to start over and put on a new roof. I'd rather have a new car, but it's much more important to have a dry house.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3261

Dash got a good report card today. Nobody said he was healthy, but he was very well behaved. I think the vet was as surprised as we were. Considering that Dash had to endure a number of procedures he normally hates, I was amazed. The vet was able to draw blood for a necessary test, give him a Bordetella shot, express his anal glands, and trim his nails without much of a fuss. The little guy made us proud.

I feel much better now that his nails have been trimmed. They grow rapidly since the protective boots keep them from being worn down on walks. I remember how much he bled the day he ripped his dew claw out and I don't ever want that to happen while he's taking blood thinners.

Now that Dash has survived his trip to the vet, I need to start thinking about this weekend's Santa Paws photos. I tested my back-up camera today and began charging batteries. I'll continue checking equipment for the rest of the week so everything will be ready by Saturday morning. My equipment is getting older now and I don't entirely trust it. I'd hate to have to replace something at the last minute, but hopefully everything will last for one more year.  I hope I last for one more year as well. I'm not very agile anymore and photographing pets is hard on my knees and shoulders.

The good news is that we're only doing two events this year. We used to do more, but the volunteers and I are all getting older. The Santa photos are still quite popular, so we should have a good turnout. In recent years people have started bringing their children as well as their pets because they say we are much better than the shopping mall Santas. It's amazing how long we have been doing this for Dalmatian Rescue. The team we've put together over the years is very good. I'm probably the only grumpy one in the bunch.

Christmas is definitely on the horizon. In addition to preparing for this weekend's Santa Paws events, I put our Christmas tree up this afternoon. We haven't bought any ornaments for quite a while, but luckily very few of the ornaments have broken. I don't think I broke anything today. Everything on the tree is a Dalmatian. We used to buy Dalmatian ornaments whenever we would see one, but we ran out of room on the tree a long time ago. If we break ornaments now, we can always get a smaller tree.

Our vet had never seen the slip-in bandages Dash wore to his exam before. She was interested in getting some for the clinic. It weird that Janet and I have inadvertently become experts at protecting a dog's feet. I guess necessity is still the mother of invention. It's too bad we haven't come up with a way to make Dash's legs stronger. If he could walk normally we wouldn't need all the protective gear. Amazingly, we may even need more gear in the future. The vet detected some instability in Dash's left knee today. He may need to wear a brace on both rear legs at some point.

I watched the latest episode of the National Geographic Mars series after I finished my chores today. The story arc is still pretty interesting, but I don't like the show's format. They continually switch back and forth between the present and the future in an effort to show that the Earth could wind up like Mars if we don't quit screwing up the planet. Everything they say is true, but the show is far too preachy for my taste. Dr. Who has become the same way. Can't we have a good old fashioned adventure without all the social justice and environmental lessons?

Janet said that we have to get up early tomorrow because she has to leave the house at 8 AM. Piece of cake. Dash has been waking me up early for months now. Just pick a time. I'll probably already be up cleaning up poop.

Scooter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day