Day 3164

A small stray dog ran past us while we were walking this morning. The dog looked scared but appeared healthy. I was simultaneously happy that the dog wasn't going to cause trouble for Dash and sad that I was unable to help. It wouldn't approach us and quickly disappeared down by the shoreline. Did someone dump this dog? Did it escape from someone's yard? It didn't look familiar, but that doesn't prove anything. There are a lot of new people in the neighborhood.

Finding strays in the park is all too common. It appears to be a dumping ground for people from all parts of town. Occasionally I've been able to catch these dogs and take them to a rescue organization.  Once, a long time ago, I was even able to find the dog's owner. Now, I've got my hands full with my own dog. Walking a dog like Dash is a full time job. I just wish that the owners of these strays I keep seeing would take their job as pet owners a little more seriously.

Dash seemed to rebound a bit today. He slept well last night and was eager to walk this morning. He wanted to go down to the shoreline which is always a good sign. Often he doesn't have the energy to take this more adventurous route. We stumbled slowly along the shore for over 45 minutes and even though he was tired when we returned home, he ate his breakfast.

It's weird how every day is different. Dash still seemed exhausted at times and had his forgetful moments, but I could tell that he was having a good day. I didn't even care that he pooped on the floor again. It's nice to see that there are still moments when there is a sparkle in Dash's eye and it's clear that he still enjoys being a dog.

I have good days and bad days too. Like Dash, my good days are rarely dramatic. To me, a good day is just when nothing bad happens. I guess today was a good day because very little happened at all. I paid my Mastercard bill and picked up a frozen pizza on the way home from the post office. I should never eat pizza because it always gives me heartburn. That doesn't stop me unfortunately. A frozen pizza is often the perfect solution when you've eaten all the leftovers and you don't feel like cooking. The pizza was tasty, but I'll pay for this tonight.

I haven't done a major website in so long that I think I'm starting to forget how to code. The same thing happened when I stopped playing the piano. Oh, well. I think we spend the first half of our lives learning things and the second half slowly forgetting them. I've learned a lot over the years, so I've still got a lot to forget. Something to look forward to, I guess.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3039

I'm happy to report that there are still a few good people in the world. When Janet and I were walking Dash this evening we saw an injured dog in the park. Several other people noticed the dog as well and we all tried to convince it to come to us without scaring it away. The dog was very young and needed medical attention. He appeared to be very friendly with the dogs we all were walking, but was frightened of humans. It looked like he had been dumped in the park. He was very hard to catch, so I went back home to get a slip leash and some dog treats. It took some patience, but eventually the dog started to trust us and one of the women was able to put a lead around his neck. She was going to take the dog to her vet for treatment and see if they would help her get it into a good adoption program. I have no idea who the folks we met this afternoon were, but they were all good people. The injured pup won't be eaten by coyotes tonight and hopefully his next family will appreciate him much more than the people who dumped him.

Before all this dramatic activity, it was just a normal Friday. I had a nice breakfast, picked up some groceries for the weekend, and made an appointment for the appliance repairman to come out again. It's not the refrigerator this time. The refrigerator is fine, but there's a problem with the stove. Whenever we turn on a burner, the stainless steel counter top gets really hot. I think you could fry an egg on the countertop. This definitely isn't normal. I asked for the same repairman who fixed our refrigerator, and the dispatcher laughed. "He's our MacGyver ," she told me.

I'm reasonably good at fixing things, but I'm definitely no MacGyver. I was pretty much of a klutz today when I tried to repair the silicon fitness tracker band. I was super careful with the Sil-Poxy adhesive, since the warnings on the label seemed ominous. Despite my best intentions, I still managed to get some of the evil stuff on my hands. I know I should have worn gloves, but I'm even more clumsy with gloves on. Also this stuff fuses rubber together, so I thought if I spilled the stuff on the gloves, I might have trouble getting them off again. At any rate, the repaired band is curing now and my hand seems OK. We'll see whether the fitness tracker still works in the morning.

With or without a fitness tracker, it's pretty easy to tell that I'm not getting enough sleep. Dash got me up in the middle of the night again. I don't even need a watch to know what time it is. If Jupiter is in the sky, it is still pretty early. If Saturn and Mars are in the sky, it is near morning. It's been very clear outside for the past several nights, but I can't linger and look at the sky. If I don't get back to the bedroom quickly, Dash will steal my place on the bed.

There are a lot of new Dalmatians in the rescue program, so I may go up to the boarding kennel with Janet this weekend so I can take pictures of them. I'm not as good about keeping the website current as I used to be, but then I'm not as good about anything as I used to be. As always, I'm hoping for an uneventful weekend. I still haven't heard anything from the roofers. It looks like I might have to repair the leak myself.

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day