Day 3515

Hank is a 50 pound puppy. You couldn't find a sweeter dog if you tried, but he knows nothing and tries to eat everything. We thought we'd dog proofed the house pretty well before we brought him home last night. Within a matter of minutes Hank had found things we didn't even know we had and was carrying them around in his mouth. After we retrieved a ball of lip balm, a rubber door stopper, and several shoes Hank had snatched, we methodically went room to room and placed everything loose on a high shelf. We had forgotten the primary rule of puppyhood: if you can chew it, you will chew it.

We don't know much about Hank's background. He's probably around two years old. He was picked up as a stray and clearly whoever owned him first never bothered to provide even the most rudimentary training or socialization. It's a shame that a beautiful, sweet dog like this has gotten off to such a bad start. Despite his lack of manners, Hank was good around the house. We weren't well prepared with gates and crates, so we just let him sleep on the bed with us. He did pretty well. For the most part he slept soundly, although he did wake me up once trying to pull the Fitbit off my arm and had an episode of the zoomies, chasing a rubber ball around the house at 3 AM. He also tried to drag the blanket off our bed. All of this was pretty normal for a young dog. We've had old, sick dogs for so long that we'd almost forgotten what a young Dalmatian is like.

Hank seemed healthy and happy while he was at our house, but after we took him up to the vet for evaluation, they reported a few hours later that he'd had bloody diarrhea again. He wasn't throwing up blood after all. The blood was in his stools. This will help the vet diagnose the problem, but we're still not sure what is going on. His blood work and lab tests look normal and an x-ray showed no obstructions in his stomach or intestines. There are many things that can cause bloody diarrhea. The fact that the blood is still red would indicate that the problem is probably in his colon instead of his stomach or upper intestines, but he will need further tests to determine what is wrong. Hank is still at the vet. He is eating a bland diet and taking medication that will help with any irritation he might have in his digestive system. Hopefully nothing is serious. Hank is young and deserves a long and healthy life.

I took Janet to one of my breakfast restaurants on the way home from the vet and then we both resumed our daily routines. It took a long time to get the dog hair out of the car. Hank sheds even more than Dot and Dash did. The cable guy came and hooked up the new buried fiber optic cable this afternoon, although I never saw him. When I came home from my morning walk, the old temporary cable was still attached. The next time I left the house, everything had been fixed. I never heard a thing. The technician must have come while I was taking a shower.

Taking Hank to the vet in rush hour traffic made me glad that I am retired. Drive time traffic in Dallas is horrible now. I don't know how people can stand to do this everyday. It's been so long since I've driven to work on a regular basis that I forget how much Dallas has grown. It feels like I'm driving in Los Angeles now. I'm glad I was able to work out of my house while I had my own company. It kept me sane.

If we have another dog emergency, we're going to have to assemble a dog emergency kit. It would have been good to be able to gate off a few rooms last night. We definitely need to retrieve some water and food bowls from the storage warehouse. Leashes, a sturdy harness, poop bags, a first aid kit, and a few indestructible Kongs are all necessities. I'm glad we were able to help Hank last night. It was nice to have a dog around the house again.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3403

I tried a new hotel for breakfast this morning. Actually, this was an old historic hotel, but you know what I'm talking about. This place was further from home, but I have plenty of time to kill, so why not. The food was great, the dining room was quiet and relaxing, the waiters were attentive, and it was nice to eat with real china, but I doubt that I'll be going back soon. The traffic was terrible. No breakfast is worth fighting rush hour traffic. Maybe I'm not adventurous enough. Maybe I've just become spoiled. Either way, I think I'll just stay in the neighborhood unless it's really necessary to leave.

I can't even remember why I started going out for breakfast on Friday mornings. I've been doing this a long time, but probably the first Friday breakfast outing is recorded in the blog somewhere. I don't think I've been going out for breakfast for more than ten years. Like many things in my life, I'm sure this started as an attempt to be more spontaneous and ended up becoming an iron clad rule that must be adhered to at all costs. I do know that I've gone out for breakfast when I wasn't even hungry on occasion, and have even driven to my breakfast restaurant in the rain. We all know how much I hate to drive in the rain.

Today I retraced the route I used to take with Dot and Dash when they were young. The path was over three miles long and the walk took me over an hour. I probably walked a little quicker when the dogs were two years old. Young Dalmatians can be very energetic. It was a nice day and I enjoyed the walk, but I was tired when I returned. I can't believe I did this twice a day for so many years. When My doctor used to ask me how I stayed so healthy, I always told him that I walked six miles a day with Dalmatians.

I can't decide whether to go see High Life or not. I don't like horror movies but I do like science fiction. This movie is both. It's not showing at nearby theaters either. Maybe I'll just wait until the film is available on iTunes. I did enjoy seeing Apollo 11 in a theater, but I probably would have enjoyed it on iTunes as well. I have a really big computer screen. Unfortunately, neither movie is available on iTunes yet. That's the problem with having too much time on your hands. You end up going to a movie when you'd really rather stay home.

I probably should go to the gym tomorrow. I got an e-mail today saying that my gym will be closed on Sunday. I guess this makes sense. It's Easter. The park will be filled with tons of children having Easter egg hunts on Sunday. There is more trash in the park on the Monday after Easter than on any other day of the year. Nobody ever bothers to pick up their trash. For weeks after Easter I had to watch carefully to make sure that the dogs wouldn't eat candy the kids left behind or fried chicken bones that the parents left behind. Dot was the worst. She had a nose for garbage. I guess kids don't really hunt for eggs anymore. They hunt for plastic eggs filled with candy.

I cleaned the inside of the car today. I'll never get all the dog hair out. I'm not even sure that I want to.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3396

Today was tough. Dash refused to eat or drink today. Not eating is bad enough, but not drinking is even worse. Dogs that refuse to drink water can have kidney disease among other things. I've always worried about renal failure, but I think one of the symptoms for that is drinking too much water. At any rate, refusing to drink water definitely isn't normal.

 I called Dash's vet at the cancer center and he said that if we couldn't get Dash to drink water by later this evening, we should take him to an emergency vet and put him on IV fluids overnight. With so many serious problems already, we definitely don't want to let Dash become dehydrated. I was just about ready to make an appointment with the emergency vet, when we tried one more time to get Dash to drink. This time it worked. Dash drank a lot of water from his bathroom water bowl and then about thirty minutes later he drank some more from the kitchen water bowl. Crisis averted.

We're still going to take him to the vet tomorrow morning to check his blood work and make sure his kidneys aren't starting to fail. We aren't out of the woods yet, but he's had enough water so that I don't think we need to put him on IV fluids tonight. Eating is still a problem. Dash refused to eat anything for most of the day. He wouldn't even take his pills. After we got him to drink water this evening, he finally was able to eat a small ground beef patty and some bread. That's not much for an entire day, but at least it's a start. We'll try the appetite enhancer the vet prescribed tonight.

Janet was home today so I was able to keep my haircut appointment. The only time slot that was available was later in the day, so I ended up driving home during rush hour. I try to avoid this time of day at all costs because the traffic is horrendous. It certainly wasn't this bad when we moved to Dallas. How are people able to put up with this day after day? I'm surprised that road rage isn't worse than it is. It's been decades since I've had to deal with any type of commute. Working out of your house spoils you. I don't think I could handle commuting anymore.

While I was out this afternoon I renewed some prescriptions for Dash. This was being optimistic, since at the time, Dash still hadn't taken any of his daily meds. Luckily, we were able to give Dash his evening pills about an hour ago. I think today was the first time we've had to skip some of his meds entirely, but it couldn't be helped. This morning we weren't sure he was going to make it through the day.

I look more presentable after a haircut, but I don't feel any better. Today has been stressful. Hopefully, we can get some answers when we go to the cancer center tomorrow morning. Something is definitely wrong. Dash's periodontal disease might make his mouth hurt too much to eat normally. Maybe he has kidney disease. This is not uncommon with older Dalmatians. Maybe his cancer has returned. It could be almost anything at this point. A dog needs to eat and drink though. When they stop eating, it's all over. If we can get this problem resolved, we can work on the other things later.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3340

I wish the Shrimp Grits weren't so good, because I find the trendy restaurant troubling. The place is crowded and loud. You often have to wait a long time for a table. Worst of all it provides me with a glimpse of the future. Apparently, the future will be filled with fat people wearing skinny jeans, man buns, over the top painted on eyebrows, and very delicious food. There is a friendly vibe to the place. The waiters are super friendly and the customers appear to be enjoying themselves as well. Jeez. How can they enjoy all this chaos and noise? It is clear that I am the odd duck in this place.

The reason I went to the trendy restaurant is that I got off to a late start again. Dash was ready to walk on his own again this morning, but he was very slow. He took his time, smelling every bush and clump of grass. Dash does seem to walk better without the leg brace, so we'll go with that. I want him to enjoy these walks. When we got back home, Dash found multiple reasons to keep me from leaving for breakfast. He would head for the back door, so I would let him out to pee. He would head for the kitchen, so I would try to get him to finish his chicken. He would head for the bedroom, so I'd see if he was ready for a nap. Basically he was just not ready for me to leave the house.

Eventually, Dash settled down and took a long nap. This was a good thing, because I needed to go pick up my Aeron Chair. The Herman Miller people had finally finished their repairs. It was a long drive to the warehouse and the route took me past a lot of places I used to frequent. It always amazes me what a transitory place Dallas is. Virtually all the restaurants, computer stores, client headquarters, and other places that were familiar to me were gone. Every five years Dallas seems to completely reinvent itself.

The chair repair people were very nice but they said they had no way to take my money. They let me walk away with the chair without paying for it. "Are you sure this is OK" I asked? "Don't worry about it," the head repair guy told me. "Eventually, you'll get a bill from Herman Miller." Works for me. I wish everyone were this trusting.

Aeron Chairs have a reputation for lasting forever. "You ought to be good for another twenty years," the repair guy told me as I left. "I'll see you then" I told him and we both laughed nervously. The repair guy was about as old as I am. Chances are that neither of us will be around twenty years from now.

We were having pizza for dinner tonight, so I had to go park the car on a side street around mid afternoon. I knew I would need to pick up the pizza. The traffic has gotten so bad that I can't get out of the driveway during rush hour anymore. Businesses come and go in Dallas, but one thing stays the same. The traffic always gets worse.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2939

I had a surprisingly enjoyable meeting with my financial adviser today. I basically quit going to meetings when Dot got sick, so this was the first time I'd actually seen the guy in person in several years. It's much easier to talk about your financial future when the stock market continues to set new records. We did make some contingency plans today, but both of us agreed that the business climate was still fundamentally sound. Hey, I heard Warren Buffett say basically the same thing on TV this morning, so I don't think we're out on a limb here. As long as Kim Jong Un doesn't decide to nuke somebody, the near-term future looks relatively bright.

We spent a little time talking about estate planning today. It's not a subject I like to think about, but I've seen the estates of several people I know turn into a horrible mess after they died. At least I have a will. I can't believe how many people my age don't even have a will. You're never going to see "Brought to you by the Sealander Foundation" at the end of your favorite PBS program, but maybe there'll be enough left over to rescue a few dogs after I'm gone. Nobody can predict the future, but it never hurts to anticipate the future. Hey, at least I've started the conversation.

I got caught up in rush hour traffic on the way home from my meeting and started worrying about Dash. He can't hold his bladder very well anymore and sometimes he has a vestibular incident when he wakes up from a sound sleep. Dash was asleep when I left and was asleep when I returned. I have no idea what happened in between. I used to obsessively check the baby monitor when I was away, but if you're 45 minutes away from home, it's sometimes better not to look. At any rate, everything was fine today.

I didn't get started on my second writing assignment until I'd finished feeding Dash and taking him on an afternoon walk. This didn't give me enough time to finish the article, but I needed something to do tomorrow anyway. I wish I had an article a day to write indefinitely. Writing is much less stressful than website design or film production. Even commercial copywriting is strangely relaxing. I'm not sure how to get good writing jobs anymore though. Nobody reads. I find it ironic and a bit humorous that Facebook and Instagram "stories" don't really involve writing. Nowadays, what people call stories are really just little videos.

I've got to make an appointment to see a podiatrist soon. My left foot is really starting to hurt and I don't know why. I suspect that it has something to with this summer's dog bite. There was internal bleeding when I got bitten and my foot became swollen. Even though I slept with my feet elevated and used icepacks to reduce the swelling, a hematoma formed in my leg. Maybe there is still a small hematoma in my foot that is causing the discomfort. Or maybe there is something else going on. That is why I need to see a podiatrist.

The refrigerator is getting kind of bare, so I'm going to need to pick up something for dinner tomorrow. Do I go to the smoked meat store and get something delicious and unhealthy, or go to the vegan store and get something healthy and a little bland? It shouldn't be so easy to do the wrong thing.

Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2729

I'm always amazed at how terrible morning traffic is when I have to drive somewhere during rush hour. This morning's early morning errand was taking Dash to the vet for his triglyceride test. When a dog has to fast for twelve hours, early morning is the way to go. I can't imagine waiting until noon to feed Dash. I'd rather face the traffic than listen to Dash barking in the kitchen all morning. Luckily, everything went smoothly at the vet and we were back home in time for breakfast. Dash was hardly inconvenienced at all. Hopefully, his triglyceride levels are back to normal. We've got a big problem if they aren't.

I forgot to pick up Dash's blood pressure and thyroid medication while I was at the vet, so I had to go back later in the day. When I got home, I thought I'd picked up the wrong meds, but after talking to the pharmacist, we determined that the prescription was correct but the label was wrong. I put the new pills in the old bottle with the correct label and everything was fine. You should always check your meds carefully before you take them. A lot of pills look alike and it's very easy to make a mistake.

As I listened to the news while I drank my fruit smoothie this morning, a felt sad about the level of hate in this country. This wasn't a middle eastern terrorist shooting at congressmen this morning. It was a Bernie Sanders campaign worker. Our politics have become tribal and we're really not that different from the Sunni and Shia anymore. I really never thought I'd see this happen in our country. I wish people would realize that politics isn't worth fighting about. Eight years of George Bush didn't change much. Eight years of Obama didn't change much either. I can't imagine that Trump is going to end up changing very much. Real change doesn't happen over election cycles. It takes generations. When the baby boomers are gone and the millennials take charge, it's not going to matter what political party you belong to. Things will definitely change when my generation is just a memory. They'll probably change a lot.

I was planning on doing some more house cleaning today, but my veterinary errands ended up taking more time than I thought. I'm really not good for more than one task a day anymore. Somehow, whenever I manage to check one thing off my list, the day is gone. There's always tomorrow though. With any luck, I'll accomplish one more thing tomorrow.

The more I read about the August solar eclipse, the more I'm thinking that driving to the totality zone might be a disaster. According to reports, most accommodations in the totality zone are already gone. Enterprising municipalities are now selling spots in high school parking lots for $100 a night. I think your $100 includes access to a porta potty, but maybe not. State highway departments are predicting total gridlock on eclipse day. They say that if you are not exactly where you want to be at least a day ahead of time, you are probably out of luck. I may have to rethink this trip. I hate crowds and one of my worst fears is having car trouble in heavy traffic.

If I can wait seven more years, there is going to be another total eclipse of the sun that comes straight through Dallas. Seven year is a long time when you're old though. I might not even be around by then. It would be nice to see the eclipse this summer. It's just not going to be as easy or trouble free as I thought.

Tomorrow, it will be two weeks since Dot passed away. I still find myself listening for her breathing when I wake up at night. It's weird to only fix one bowl of food for Dash at mealtimes. Life is different now. I'm going to miss that dog for a long, long time.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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