Day 2847

I was surprised at how cold it was this morning. The furnace was running when we woke up and I needed to wear long pants and a jacket on our morning walk. Typically, these nice October mornings don't last very long. As soon as the sun comes up, the temperature is quickly above ninety again. Today was different. I don't think it got above seventy degrees all day long.

Since the weather was nice and cool, I thought it would be a good day to fix the big gash in the front yard. I measured the bare spot where the runaway car had ripped away the grass and went to buy some St. Augustine sod. I'd forgotten how messy is is to carry grass around in your car. I used to haul sod in the Defender quite a bit, but I don't think I've ever done it in this car. I had quite a bit of cleanup to do when I got home.

I can't say that I did a super job on the yard, but at least the dirt is covered up now. With this chore marked off my list, I went looking for a cheap orthotic insert for my dog walking shoes. I found something at CVS that looked identical to the expensive REI inserts for 1/3 the price. If I was willing to go to Walmart, I might have found something for even less.

Now that we're feeding Dash what he wants, he's eating quite well. I hope the loss of appetite scare wasn't just an elaborate ploy to get us to change his diet. Dash can be pretty clever when it comes to getting what he wants. I feel confident that what we're feeding him now is healthy and nutritious. The only thing I don't like is that his poop is softer and harder to clean up. He may be getting too much protein as well. We don't want to deal with crystals in his urine again.

I've noticed that the refrigerator is starting to get a little warmer again. If the replacement part doesn't arrive in the next day or so, I'll have to manually defrost the evaporator coil again. It's easy enough to melt the ice with a hair dryer, but it takes a while to remove all the food from the freezer and unscrew the back wall plate so the coil is exposed. I wonder why this coil freezes up so quickly? I remember having an old fashioned refrigerator without the frost-free feature in one of my first apartments and I think I could go six months without having to defrost the thing.

I guess I'll just watch the new Blade Runner movie on my computer. It's going to be available on iTunes soon and I don't feel like dealing with theaters or driving at night. I can really understand the appeal of Hello Fresh, Netflix, Amazon, and all the other things that bring the world to your doorstep. When you look at what the world has become, there's a lot to be said for just staying at home.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2846 - Columbus Day

I was thinking about seeing Blade Runner 2049 and was surprised to discover that there wasn't a matinée. The film was showing at multiple theaters but all the showtimes were at night. Some theaters only showed the movie late at night. Maybe this is why some folks have been disappointed with the box office returns for this movie, even though the reviews have been great. The audience for this film is me. You have to be old enough to have seen the original Blade Runner before you're going to be looking forward to the sequel. What were they thinking by not having a matinée? Let the Millennials watch movies whenever they like, but remember that old science fiction fans sometimes prefer a matinée.

When I was growing up, I never would have dreamed that Columbus Day would become controversial. For most of my life, this has been a bland, largely uneventful day. I don't understand the desire to rewrite history. Columbus was no saint, but he is still revered in many countries. There wouldn't be a Latino culture today without Columbus and the Spaniards that followed him. Sure, the Native Americans were here first, but it wasn't like indigenous people were leading peaceful, bucolic lives before the Europeans arrived. They'd been fighting with each other for centuries. You could make a pretty strong case that the Aztec's were even more brutal than the Europeans.

Every culture throughout history has done horrible things. Some of the horrible things have turned out to be significant. If we try to erase history, how can we possibly learn from it? I wouldn't make Christopher Columbus a role model, but I wouldn't throw red paint at his statue either. Many of the people we admire today will be reviled by future generations. That's just the way life is. Truthfully, I'm amazed that there is still life on this planet at all. Even the animals are mean and nasty. Cute and cuddly dolphins are actually stone cold killers who routinely murder their own babies. We prefer to think that all dolphins are like Flipper though. It's just easier that way.

I love dogs, even though I've been bitten five times. I've learned that you can't just divide the dog population into good dogs and bad dogs. Given the right circumstances, any dog could bite you. I think people are the same way.

We learned today that Dot was going to be the cover of the 2018 Dalmatian Rescue Calendar. She's a beautiful cover girl. When I saw the proof of the calendar, it made me want to cry. Such a wonderful tribute. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of these calendars around our house next year.

I called Janet's doctors this afternoon and asked how to become a patient. It's taken me a long time to make this switch, but I probably should have done it a long time ago. I'm not getting any younger and staying healthy is increasingly becoming my top priority. I feel a bit disloyal abandoning my primary care physician, but I've gotten to the point where I'd be nervous depending on him if something serious happened. There are no perfect doctors, but I hope that a year from now, I will still think I made the right decision.

Dash did pretty well today. I'm getting better at putting on his protective gear by myself in the morning and he seems to be walking more naturally using the knee brace. He never did throw up last night and ate a pretty good breakfast. I'm really hoping that his next echocardiogram will show some improvement.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2845

Dash's new boots are doing a good job of protecting his feet, but they're already starting to wear out. This is probably because we're using the indoor version of the boots while we walk him outdoors. The outdoor boots are stronger, but they are so stiff that Dash can't walk while wearing them. Maybe they work for some dogs, but I don't know how. I'm going to have to go looking for some of that rubbery stuff that you can use to repair running shoes. I could probably patch the worn spots in these boots for a long time if I could find another can of this stuff. Nobody is very interested in stocking things that can be used to repair shoes. They'd much rather just sell you a new pair of shoes. The dog boot folks would probably love to sell me a pair every week, but they are much too expensive for that.

I stopped at REI on my way to the gym to look for the rubber sole repair goop, but of course they didn't have any. There were hundreds of shoes to choose from, but nothing to repair them with. They did have orthotic inserts, which I was also looking for, but they seemed way too expensive. $50 for a little extra arch support? I don't think so. One of the orthotic insert brands said it was made from recycled wine corks, as if this would justify the price. Jeez. These are just cheap house shoes I'm trying to fix. I refuse to pay more for the insole than I did for the shoe.

I've been doing better at the gym lately. I don't know what this means, but I'll take it. I'm still not any closer to my goal of three trips to the gym a week. Dash has a major vet appointment this week where  we will recheck his heart to see if the blood clots are becoming smaller. The refrigerator repairmen are scheduled to come out again and install the new mother board that is supposed to fix all my problems. I need to go buy some St. Augustine grass to fix the front yard. That pretty much takes care of the week. On the odd chance I get some work, I'll really be busy.

Janet cleaned the brick floors yesterday, so I finished the job by cleaning the carpeted rooms today. It's amazing how dirty our house gets, considering how careful we are not to track mud and dirt inside. Dash is pretty clean too, although he does shed a lot. Dalmatians actually shed more than long haired breeds. If you have a Dalmatian, you'll find dog hair everywhere. I've found it inside my computer, inside the refrigerator, and once an appliance repairmen told us that the reason our dryer had quit working was that dog hair had gotten into the main bearing of the dryer drum.

Dash went outside and started eating grass right after we gave him his evening  meds. This always makes us nervous because the medicine he is taking now is very important and we don't want him throwing up before the meds have a chance to work. We brought him inside and have been trying to keep him calm. It is not an easy task. For the past thirty minutes or so the house has been very quiet. I think this means Dash is asleep. I don't want to wander out to the front of the house and check though, because I might wake him up and start him barking again. He needs to stay calm for at least another hour.

Let's hope we make it through the night without an incident. I'd actually like to make it all the way through next week without an incident. Especially Friday the 13.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2844

Dash tried to get us out of bed this morning. This is a good sign. Lately, Dash has been so lethargic that he'd sleep all day if we didn't make a real effort to get him outside to pee in the morning. We won't really know what's going on until we go back for another echocardiogram next week, but it appears like Dash's condition is improving. For the first time in over a month, he wanted to walk down by the shoreline this morning. Even though this route usually results in Dash getting covered with sticky pollen and burrs, it was nice to see him enjoying himself. When we returned and cleaned him up, he ate a good breakfast. Things are looking up.

When I went to the grocery store this morning I saw several people who looked a lot like Stephen Paddock. It's disconcerting to think that almost any of the hundreds of ordinary looking people we see everyday could be consumed by hidden demons. How would you know? "See something, say something" wouldn't have worked in his case. Every time I turn on the TV, someone is speculating about this guy's motive. Maybe he didn't even have a motive. They say Paddock mostly played video poker when he was in Vegas. People who play the slots a lot seem really detached. They are completely different than the animated, shouting people gathered around the craps table. Being too detached isn't good. Detachment leads to neighborhoods where nobody knows their neighbors. Video games replace board games and texting replaces conversation. Maybe when you become too detached, people don't even seem real anymore. Of course anger is not much better than detachment. Anger leads to road rage and needless political arguments. I don't have any answers. How do you become a productive member of society when the society itself is crumbling around you?

I stay sane by walking my dog. I watch clouds and try to identify flowers and plants I see. I count ducks and listen to bird songs. I never wear ear buds or use my phone on these walks. What would be the point? When the dogs were young and strong, I used to walk for hours. Dash is much weaker now, but I think he still enjoys his time in the park. As long as we don't encounter aggressive loose dogs or bicycles, we're good.

Once again, I postponed doing any serious household chores. I filled the car with gas, ran my usual Saturday errands and came home. I was pleased that Dash ate well today. I'm really curious to see what next week's echocardiogram reveals. I wouldn't think that the Plavix would work this quickly, but maybe it does. Dash is still sleepier than usual, but that's OK. I was feeling sleepy as well. Dash and I took a nap together this afternoon. It certainly seemed like a better idea than vacuuming.

I need to see if it's too late in the season to buy St. Augustine Grass. I still need to repair the big gash the car that crashed through our front yard made. I need to start pestering the roofer again too. It's important to get the repairs finished before the rainy season starts. None of this will happen tomorrow. If tomorrow is like today, I'll be lucky to make it to the gym.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2843

When I noticed Dash heading for the back door this morning, I rushed to get him ready for his walk. It's all a matter of timing. If I can catch him when he needs to pee, it's pretty easy to get him out the back door and headed toward the park. It's too bad I can't get his knee brace fitted and his boots on a little quicker. Sometimes he's out of the mood before I can get him ready. Today I was pretty fast and Dash was still eager to take a walk. In my haste today, I forgot my watch and my phone. In today's world I hate to be without a phone. It's not like I'm eager to talk to anyone, but its nice to always have the ability to call 911 if the need arises.

I almost didn't go out to breakfast this morning, but I knew that the day would just seem longer if I stayed at home. Going out for breakfast on Friday doesn't seem as interesting anymore. It's amazing that I was able to find a place that I liked for almost three years. Now I rarely go to the same restaurant twice. I anticipate going out to breakfast and then I am disappointed by it. I have a feeling that I'm just not as interested in eating anymore. It's not just breakfast. I'm not that interested in dinner either.

I'm glad that Dash still seems interested in eating. He's still picky and won't eat dry food in the morning, but he seems to love the Castor and Pollux Venison recipe. This brand gets good reviews but I think it might have too much protein for Dash. He needs to be on a low protein diet so he won't get urinary and kidney stones. We'll worry about these details later. The important thing now it to just keep him eating something reasonably healthy until we can get his heart issues resolved.

I've got to figure out how to rekindle my interest in the world. I'm not interested in anything these days. When work kept me busy, I didn't have time to wonder what I was interested in. Now, I've got plenty of time and not much desire. I have little desire to travel. I don't feel like going to movies. I rarely pick up a book. I haven't had a gallery show in years, I don't write songs anymore, and I don't even play the guitar very much. This can't be good. I keep feeling that this is temporary, but then months go by and I still feel the same way.

I need to start using my time to straighten out the mess in the storage warehouse and begin making some substantial repairs to the house. The trouble with doing physical things like this is I get tired a lot more easily than I used to. Unfortunately, if I wait another year to face these realities, the job will become even harder. The time to start downsizing is now. The only good thing about my lack of desire is that I've lost the desire to collect things too. At least I'm not accumulating stuff anymore.

I still care about Janet and I still care about Dash. Perhaps it it good that I've lost most of my youthful obsessions. Dash is certainly going to keep me busy in the day to come.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2842

It's getting harder and harder to see and touch something in a store before you buy it. Specialty products are almost never available in retail stores anymore. Everything is online. We ordered some new protective boots for Dash because the description sounded perfect on the website. When the boots arrived in the mail today, they were a lot different than I imagined. They were certainly sturdy, but they were also stiff and heavy. Dash doesn't lift his rear legs very well anymore, which is why we wanted him to wear the protective boots in the first place. When I got him fitted with the new boots, he immediately started stumbling. The boots were too stiff and heavy for him to walk normally. We'll have to return these boots, but if we could have tried them on in a store, we never would have bought them in the first place.

The boots we're a failure, but at least Dash is walking today. He wouldn't walk early in the morning like he normally does, but while I was having my smoothie this morning, I could tell he was ready to go outside. I put my drink in the refrigerator, got Dash's harness, put on the old boots, and off we went. He actually took a pretty decent walk and his boots only came off twice. I'm learning to keep a careful eye on his rear legs when we walk. The boots aren't hard to put on, but they are almost impossible to find if they become lost in the grass.

I went ahead and purchased the new mother board for the refrigerator. I figured that if this expensive part didn't solve the problem, the remaining parts that might cause the evaporator coil to freeze are all pretty cheap. I miss the days when washers, dryers, and refrigerators were controlled by simple mechanical switches. Now, just about everything has a computer inside of it. You can't fix these mother boards. You can only replace them. I've already had to replace the mother board in the dryer when a power surge fried it.  

Power outages and surges are common in our neighborhood. I have surge protectors and filtered power for the computers, put it's too much trouble to protect everything this way. I depend on electricity, but I don't really trust it. I have experienced too many power outages and had too much equipment ruined by leaking bad batteries. I'm intrigued by the idea of electric cars, but I don't think I'd ever buy a Tesla. The thing is powered by 6216 lithium ion batteries. What could possibly go wrong.

It's been a long day, even though very little happened. I fell asleep after dinner and almost forgot to take the trash out. Actually I forgot is was Thursday as well. We may not need to start Dash on the Cerenia pills again. He is still challenging to feed, but I can tell he is eating better. I must be eating better as well, because I'm starting to gain weight again. That won't stop me from going out for breakfast tomorrow. I'm hungry for pancakes and sausages.

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2841

Time slows down when you're waiting for a repairmen. They never tell you when they are going to arrive, preferring to keep you guessing. If you think they're going to be early, they'll be late. If you think they're going to be late, they'll arrive when you're taking your morning shower. I wish they'd just tell you how many service calls were ahead of you. Maybe then I could plan my day a little better.

Since the most likely components to fail have already been replaced, the list of things that could still cause the refrigerator to malfunction is growing smaller. I did a little research and found two more parts that could cause the evaporator coil to freeze. One of these parts costs $14 and the other one costs $250. You can guess which one the repairman said I needed.

It's kind of hard to decide at this point whether to give up on the refrigerator and buy a new one or just keep replacing parts until it finally works. The repairman said that if I bought a new refrigerator, I shouldn't expect it to last more than five or six years. "They don't build these things to last anymore," he said. I'm sure this is true. We live in a throw away society. Our whole economy depends on people replacing everything they own every five or six years. My parents had a refrigerator that lasted twenty five years. I don't think that's even possible anymore.

I'm inclined to buy the part and hope for the best. The weekend we went looking for refrigerators, I didn't see anything I liked that would fit in the small space we have available. If Janet has strong feelings one way or the other, I'll just do what she wants. That usually ends up being the best solution anyway.

Dash seemed to have a little more energy today. He still wouldn't take a walk this morning, but his appetite has improved. I don't know if we'll ever convince him to eat dry food again, but if he's healthy I don't even care. After sleeping most of the day, Dash seemed eager for an evening walk. When Janet got home from work we took him to the park and were genuinely surprised at how perky he seemed. Maybe the Plavix is starting to work. Since it is still important to keep Dash calm and rested, we actually had to slow him down this evening. I wasn't expecting that.

Last night the battery charger for my Anton Bauer batteries quit working. This morning the wireless mouse for my computer quit working. I wonder what will quit working tomorrow? Surprisingly, the shower didn't leak today. Go figure. As long as Dash keeps eating and continues to hang in there, I'm not going to worry about the little stuff.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2840

Dash was really lethargic today. He had no energy and wouldn't even take a morning walk. I guess this is understandable, considering his heart condition, but it makes me sad to see him this way. There is nothing we can do at this point. We just have to be patient, keep Dash eating the best we can, and hope that the Plavix works.

Although Dash mostly just slept today, he is continuing to eat. I'll take this as a good sign. His diet has changed, but I think he is getting enough nutrition. He eats a Castor and Pollux stew in the morning. We have several varieties on hand. If he turns his nose up at Venison, we'll try turkey or chicken. There's too much gravy in this stuff to hide his morning pills, so we're still using banana bread at this point. At lunch time he'll eat a mix of dry food mixed with a rice cake. He won't eat the dry without the rice cake. Go figure. By evening, he'll eat just about any wet food, so we usually feed him Hills ID since we still have a lot of that on hand. It's complicated, but the good news is that he is continuing to eat without the Cerenia pills.

The refrigerator is starting to fail again. I don't think the new heater the repairmen installed last week is working. The symptoms are always the same. After about a week, the evaporator coil becomes frozen and cool air stops flowing from the freezer to the refrigerator. I never really realized that this is how a refrigerator works. A thermostatically controlled vent lets cold air from the freezer into the refrigerator. When the evaporator coil freezes, this vent doesn't work anymore and the refrigerator starts to warm up.

I made an appointment for the repairman to come out tomorrow. While I was waiting to get the appointment scheduled, the dispatcher told me that she had the same brand of refrigerator and that they were impossible to fix. I'm not sure her boss would have wanted her to say this, but it's probably true. Tomorrow's repair visit is free, but if the repairman can't figure out why the defrost heater isn't working, I'm probably looking at buying a new refrigerator anyway. This is all very disappointing.

A former client asked me if I could check and see if a security breech warning she received was a scam. I did a little research on Google and concluded that it probably was. I didn't want to contact the company though because I was afraid that the scammers might start targeting me. It's a shame that the  world has come to this. I feel like I'm under siege. Almost all my phone calls are from telemarketers. Most of my e-mail is spam or thinly veiled phishing schemes. Facebook is a sea of fake news. Even gift cards aren't legit anymore. A gift card I received for my birthday was drained of funds before I even opened the packaging. If you're surprised that I'd like to find a time machine and travel back to the 1950's, you shouldn't be.

I was always worried that Dot would get too excited and frantic when repairmen came to the house. That's not the case with Dash. He can sleep through just about anything. I'm just worried that he will go to sleep sometime and never wake up.

Hobbs is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2839

For the sixth time since we moved here, a car ploughed through our front yard at a high rate of speed, knocked over several small trees in our neighbor's yard, and eventually came to rest about 100 yards away in an adjacent side street after knocking over a stop sign. It's amazing that these accidents happen again and again. They either occur around 2 AM, right after the bars close, or early in the morning when tired shift workers are headed home from their job.

I heard the crash this morning when I was cleaning Dash's paws in the back yard after we returned from our morning walk. By the time I went out front to see what had happened, I could already hear the sirens of first responders arriving. There must have been injuries, because an ambulance and fire truck were on the scene in minutes. The busy street we live on makes a slight turn just before our house. If you're not paying attention, I would imagine that it would be easy to just keep going straight and end up on our front yard. Maybe that's not what's going on, but it's all I can think of. At any rate, the errant car tore up the yard again and I will have to go buy some sod to replace the grass that is no longer there.

Dash was walking so slowly this morning that our walk took over an hour and a half. Dash would walk about twenty feet and then stop and smell things for the longest time. I couldn't figure out if he was enjoying himself, or having trouble walking with his new knee brace. He seemed to be enjoying himself, so we just kept walking.

Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear about the shooting in Las Vegas. I was kind of shocked to hear about Tom Petty too. I used to spend a lot of time in Las Vegas and always considered the city very safe. One by one, all my favorite places are becoming war zones. Barcelona is in turmoil and wants to succeed from Spain. Paris has been plagued by terrorist attacks. I wouldn't dare visit Turkey again. And now Las Vegas has joined the fray. I guess it's not surprising that I mostly just stay home these days.

Dash still seems to be eating after we discontinued the Cerenia yesterday. Just to be safe, I went and picked up some more Cerenia tablets at the vet. I'd rather not have him taking the anti-nausea medication, but it is essential that he keeps eating. After I picked up Dash's pills, I renewed one of my own prescriptions at my doctor's office. There were so many sick people in the lobby that I wished they had a drive through window. The crowded lobby made me seriously consider switching doctors again. The fact that my doctor fired me as his web designer doesn't help matters either. Maybe it's time for a change.

Every night I go to bed hoping that the next day will be calm and peaceful. It certainly wasn't a calm day today, but maybe tomorrow will be better. I can't keep the world from disintegrating, but I'm hoping that I can help Dash get well again. So much is out of my control now, but I can still help a sick dog.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2838

I think we've found Dash's Halloween costume. He looks like a pirate wearing his new knee brace. Hopefully, the brace will help prevent his partial ACL tear from becoming worse while we are dealing with his heart issues. The last thing we want right now is a situation that might require emergency surgery. Dash seems to walk fairly normally wearing the brace. The rubber boots on his rear legs still fall off, but we've got some better ones ordered.

Dash has finished his first week of anti-nausea pills. We are supposed to go without the pills for a while and see if the nausea returns. Although this makes sense and is something we need to do, it makes me nervous to go without the pills. They did seem to make a difference. Dash's appetite still isn't good, but at least he's eating now. I'd hate to be back to square one again. I guess we can always restart the Cerenia if the nausea returns. Both of his vets say it is very safe.

I did pretty well at the gym today. I'm burning more calories now and I may even extend my workout a bit next week. Physically, I don't think it would be that difficult to go to the gym three times a week. I just don't have the time. I wonder how people who go to the gym on a regular basis find the time. It's weird that even though my writing and website work has slowed down to a crawl, I'm still constantly busy. I've probably just slowed down a lot. I think it takes me twice as long to do just about everything.

I get twice as tired on active days too. Today, in addition to going to the gym, I cleaned the house, changed the sheets, and washed the dog beds. I was going to use some epoxy stuff I found at Home Depot to seal the leaky shower drain, but when I got my other chores sone, I just didn't feel like it. I hate working with epoxy, silicon, tile grout, and other messy products. No matter how hard I try, I always end up spilling something on my skin or clothing. I have a bad feeling about this epoxy. If it doesn't work as intended, it's going to be hard to remove.

I did finish my article today and shipped it off to the client. I wish I had more writing jobs. Writing is a great way to earn money when you're taking care of a sick dog. There are seldom any meetings, no fancy equipment is required, and it is a very quiet, peaceful activity. Writing was one of the few things I could do well while Dot was sick. I can leave Dash for short periods of time, but I wouldn't feel comfortable being away on an all day photo shoot anymore. If I leave the cone on Dash for more than a few hours at a time, he's going to get himself in trouble. We don't need the cone when I'm here. Dash usually just goes to sleep under my desk while I'm working.

It's hard to believe it's October already. It's been a rough year, but I guess there are still three more months for something fun to happen.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2837

We have time to experiment on weekends. We walked Dash before we tried to feed him this morning to see if it would improve his appetite. It didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference. He is eating a little more consistently now. He'll eat the Castor & Pollux stew in the morning, but still wants to take his morning pills with banana bread. After 11 AM he'll usually eat other brands of wet food, including the Hills ID he is supposed to be eating. By evening he'll sometimes even eat dry food. It's complicated feeding him, but I do think Dash is getting enough nutrition now.

The knee brace we ordered came in this morning's mail, so we gave that a try on our evening walk. I think we must have attached it wrong, because it didn't seem to stay in place very well. The rubber booties we've started using to protect Dash's paws seem to stay on a lot better in dry weather. It's also a lot easier to find them again when they slip off when Janet and I are walking together. I'm still worried about Dash getting a cut. The vet said that the blood will still clot when using Plavix, but it will take longer. A nurse told me this morning to apply compression to the wound for five minutes and use an ice pack. I'm not sure how practical that is with a frantic dog. Hopefully, we'll all be careful and Dash won't get cut.

Today was filled with routine weekend errands. I filled a prescription, got gas for the car, went to the bank, and picked up the things we buy in bulk from Sam's Club. Premium gas seems to be in short supply again. I had to go to three gas stations before I found one that had premium. Peaches and strawberries must be going out of season because I've noticed that they've been getting more expensive for the past several weeks. I always forget something when I'm out shopping. Today I forgot laundry detergent and peppercorns.

I got a letter from my supplemental insurance plan saying that they were planning to discontinue several benefits that I've grown to like. I bet this is going to continue happening as long as I'm alive. Healthcare is such a mess that I can't imagine that it will ever get better. I just hope that it gets worse slowly. One of the few benefits of being older is that I don't have to worry about a lifetime of lousy care. The insurance system worked pretty well when I was younger and Medicare works reasonably well now. I just hope the program stays solvent for the next twenty years.

Now the the reality of Dash's medical condition has set in, I think we're going to be OK. We don't have a lot of options, but we still have a wonderful dog. We'll take things one day at a time. We'll monitor his condition the best we can. And we'll do our best to keep Dash's life enjoyable and fun as long as we can. If we're lucky with the Plavix, his condition may even improve.

If I want my own condition to improve, I really need to start going to the gym more often. I'm going to try to go tomorrow. I've got to finish my article tomorrow as well.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2836

I stayed home this morning and made pancakes. Every time I put a pancake on the griddle, Dash went to the back door and scratched to get out. Even though the pancakes got burnt, Dash still took his sweet time to do his business. Yup. It was another rainy day.

Dash wasn't eating dry food today, but he was eating wet. I got him to eat most of a can of Castor & Pollux stew that he likes while I was finishing my own breakfast. I remember asking the vet yesterday what I should be feeding Dash. "Let him eat whatever he wants," the vet said. I'm convinced that this is vet code for "your dog is going to die."

By the time I finished breakfast, the rain had subsided to a gentle mist and I decided to take Dash on a walk. "Slow walks are good, overexertion is bad," the vet told me yesterday. I didn't think this was going to be a problem. Dash always walks slowly now. I put on his protective boots and off we went. About halfway through our walk, I noticed that one of the boots was missing. I wanted to turn around so we could find it, but Dash stubbornly wanted to keep moving forward. Before we made it home, he lost the second boot as well. I realized then that protecting Dash wasn't going to be easy.

After Dash had gone back to sleep, I retraced my steps through the park and managed to find both missing boots. Dash's dewclaw has healed, but in addition to the small rubber boots he'll be wearing on walks, I still have him wear the cone when I leave the house. Now that he's taking Plavix, I don't want him licking or injuring anything.

I had to go pay my storage warehouse rent today because my year is up tomorrow. I always pay a year in advance because I get the thirteenth month free. I was complaining to the manager about the relentless rent increases I get every year and he tried to convince me that I was actually was getting a good deal. "Almost everybody pays month-to-month and we raise their rent every nine months." "Your rent only goes up every thirteen months," he said.  As he was trying to figure out how to give me the thirteenth month free on the company's new accounting software, we both started complaining about all manner of things. That's just what old men do.

The manager told me that he was working at the storage warehouse because he'd been laid off from his last two jobs because of his age. "You don't fit in with our corporate culture anymore," one of the companies told him. "I'm right there with you," I told the manager. It sucks to be cast aside because someone thinks you are too old. Maybe I'll end up working at a storage warehouse someday myself. If you're not already a Walmart greeter, that's where most of the old people seem to wind up.

Dash was moody today, but he eventually did end up eating enough. I had trouble writing my article, because every time I sat down at the computer Dash started slapping at my leg. He wanted me to come in the bedroom with him and take a nap. A nap sounded good, but I had lots to do today. I'm still waiting for the vet to tell me what to do in case Dash starts bleeding. I'm not sure what to feed him anymore either. Today seemed like the first day in a new long march. I'm determined to give Dash the best chance possible to stay alive. A lot of his future is up to luck, unfortunately. The blood clots in his heart could move or break apart at any time.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2835

The news isn't good. Dash has two blood clots in his heart. I asked the vet how large and he told me that one of the clots was about the size of a quarter. How is that even possible? The vet said that the whistling sound Dash's heart murmur makes and all the seemingly unrelated symptoms we described to him made sense once he saw the clots on the echocardiogram. Dash's heart isn't pumping enough blood. This leaves him fatigued and probably uncomfortable at certain times of the day. He said the heart problem could also explain the loss of appetite.

We expected to find something wrong when we took Dash to the cancer center for an extensive series of tests today. We just didn't expect this. I thought Dash's cancer might have returned. Maybe the loss of appetite was a long term side effect of his vestibular disease. I never expected to find two giant blood clots inside his heart. I asked the vet how he planned to remove the clots and he just gave me a sad look.

"If you try to break up the clot, the smaller pieces could travel to the brain or lungs," he told me. "What about surgery," I asked. "There are no blood banks for dog blood," the vet said. "Without an adequate supply of blood, you can't hook the dog up to a heart lung machine during surgery like you would with a human patient." He said there have only been a small handful of successful open heart surgeries on dogs in the entire world.

This was not encouraging news. The vet wants Dash to start taking Plavix, to prevent additional clots from forming. He said that at least 50% of the time, the body will eventually reabsorb the existing clots and the dog will be fine. I filled the prescription and we starting giving Dash Plavix tonight. I don't think we have any other alternative. The downside to Plavix, and most other blood thinners, is that the blood no longer clots. If Dash cuts himself, he could bleed to death. When I think of all the times Dash has gotten cut, including his dewclaw injury just a few weeks ago, keeping him from getting cut seems like an impossible task.

It rained a lot this morning. I got up on the roof and removed the standing water before Janet and I took Dash to the cancer center. Since the leaves are starting to drop from all our trees, the roof was a mess. The leaves turn the water on the roof into little duck ponds that never drain. It's very discouraging. I did get a writing job today. Ordinarily, this would be good news. Dash's vet bill this afternoon was ten times what I'll make from the writing job. It kind of makes me wonder why I even bother.

It was not a great day, but you can't give up. I got some little rubber boots for Dash so he won't cut his paws on walks. He's done that several times before. I'll do my pitiful writing job and hope to get more of the same. I'll call the roofer again and hope that he keeps his promise to make things right.

At least it's Friday tomorrow. I'm not even sure if I'll go out for breakfast. I'm not very hungry. I'm just tired and discouraged.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2834

It was difficult to get ready this morning. The anti-nausea pills seem to have no effect on Dash's appetite. I had a lot of trouble getting him to take his morning pills before I had to leave for my dental appointment. I need to remember to start making all appointment later like I did when Dot was alive. It's not fair to rush a sick dog.

Dash spit out his pills twice when I put them in a ball of wet dog food. I retrieved the pills and finally got him to eat them by putting them inside a small slice of banana bread and mashing the bread into a ball. Dash won't eat bananas any more, but for some reason, he still loves banana bread. I was worried that I had given his pills on basically an empty stomach, but just before I had to leave, I tried another can of food and this time he ate it. Save by the bell again.

Every time I go to the dentist there seems to be a different dental hygienist. Janet says a lot of dentists don't hire their own hygienist anymore. They just get them as needed from an employment service that specializes in that sort of thing. That would explain the frequent turnover. Of course it might just be a terrible job. I wouldn't want to poke around in people's mouths all day long.

We fitted Dash for a knee brace today. I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth a try. The vet said it really helped her dog. Dash is a little old for TPLO surgery, so maybe the brace might prevent his cruciate ligaments from deteriorating further. Failing knee joints have nothing to do with Dash's loss of appetite. They are just one more thing that has gone wrong.

It rained today. This was a surprise. It's been over a month since we've had any rain. The plants in the yard can definitely use the moisture, but I still wish the roofer had made it over to inspect things before the roof got wet again. At least I was able to remove the large elm tree branch from the roof. It would have been a real mess if that was still up there.

We're trying to train Dash to sleep on the floor, so he won't ruin his knees by jumping on and off the bed. Dot was ready and willing to sleep on the floor when her legs became weak, but Dash is a lot more stubborn. It's going to be an uphill battle to train him to do anything new at this point. I really wish that Dash had managed to stay healthy a little longer. I'm still exhausted from three continuous years of being Dot's nurse.

We should learn more about Dash's heart tomorrow. We've got an appointment at the cancer center for a consultation and an echocardiogram. If he's retaining fluid around his heart there is medicine he can take. Lasix can help eliminate the retained fluid and reduce the chances of congestive heart failure. There are side effects though. There are always side effects. I wish the specialists would tell us tomorrow that Dash is just a spoiled dog who wants to eat people food. I think his condition is a lot more serious than that though. There are too many signs that something is wrong.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2833

There are so many things wrong with Dash that we're going to have to go through a process of elimination to determine what is causing his eating disorder. The first step is to determine whether he really has nausea. We'll give him Cerenia for five days and see whether his appetite returns. Cerenia is a very effective anti-nausea medication, so if he still isn't eating this weekend, the cause probably isn't nausea. The vet discovered that his heart murmur had changed and suspects that it might be caused by fluid buildup around the heart. He does have an enlarged heart, so this is entirely possible. I've scheduled an echocardiogram for later this week. We'll check his heart and also his abdomen to see if there are any tumors evident.

On top of all this, the vet thinks that Dash may have partially torn a cruciate ligament in one of his knees. She suspects that this, rather than his vestibular disease, might be causing him to drag his rear legs on long walks. So many things are wrong that it impossible to know how to treat Dash until we learn more. The vestibular disease could be causing nausea. Poor appetite has many other causes too, so it might not be nausea at all. The agitation he often shows before he goes to bed at night could be caused by Pericardial Effusion. Evidently fluid buildup is worse at night while the dog is sleeping and over time they can become nervous about going to sleep. Maybe this explains why he gets upset about going to bed at night. It's also possible, but somewhat unlikely, that Dash has sundown syndrome, or even cushings disease.

It's all kind of sad. Dot and Dash used to love to run like the wind when they were young. I was hoping that after Dot passed away Dash would get another chance to be active again and really enjoy himself. He liked being around Dot so much that he had to slow down to her pace as she got sicker. Now, it appears he is sick as well. Dash has a really good team of doctors, so I'm hoping that they'll be able to return him to good health. He's not getting any younger though, so his days of running like the wind might be over.

The refrigerator repairman came back this afternoon and finished the job. When the repairman began taking things apart, I was surprised to see that the evaporator coil had already become frozen again. Jeez. It's only been a few days since I spent hours thawing everything out. Hopefully the new parts that were installed today will fix this ongoing problem. The repairman installed a new heater that periodically defrosts the coil when ice starts to form. He also installed a new thermostat that will tell the heater when it's time to start the defrost cycle. I can't decide whether refrigerators are crude simple machines, or hopelessly complex. I'm glad someone invented the refrigerator. Modern life would be pretty difficult without one.

I've got a dental appointment tomorrow morning. It's only a routine cleaning, so I shouldn't be long. It still makes me nervous to leave Dash, but sometimes it can't be helped. I'm hoping he'll just sleep while I'm away.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2832

If I'd waited just one more day, I wouldn't have had to repair the refrigerator myself yesterday. The appliance repair folks called and said the thermostats finally arrived. They want to come out and install them tomorrow. Oh, well. It was a learning experience.

It's going to be a busy day tomorrow. In addition to having the appliance repairmen out at the house, I've got a vet appointment for Dash. I hope the vet can shed some new light on Dash's ongoing problems. I"m worried that something is seriously wrong. I doubt that she'll have a definitive diagnosis, but maybe we can narrow down the range of possibilities. Dash has some very obvious symptoms. We just have to connect those symptoms to a plausible ailment.

I have a feeling that we'll be going to see a specialist again. All Dash's basic vital signs look good. If there is some new form of cancer lurking inside of him, it's probably going to take a MRI to discover it. The dog frequently has nausea in the morning and is not interested in eating. This could be a symptom of idiopathic vestibular disease. His rear legs seem weak and sometimes he drags his feet. This could be an early sign of degenerative myelopathy. His cancer could have returned too. Basically, almost anything could be wrong at this point. We've just got to find out what is causing all these problems.

I mowed the grass again this morning. Fall has definitely arrived, so hopefully this is the last time I'll have to mow this year. You never know in Texas though. We could get a lot of rain and the growing season could start all over again. I'm amazed at how tiring it is to mow the grass now. This task used to seem so easy. One of these days I'm going to have to give up and hire someone to maintain the yard. I'm not ready yet though. I keep thinking that the activity will do me good.

I wrote a letter to my luddite sister this afternoon. You'd think it would be easier to just call her on the phone, but this is how we communicate. I can't recall ever calling her on the phone. I think there are too many phone calls and far too few letters. Writing a letter helps to focus your thoughts. It's also a good way to avoid getting tangled up in family fights.

Dash is getting pretty good at leaving his injured dewclaw alone, but I still put the cone on him when I go to the post office or leave the house. We've made real good progress this week. I'd hate to ruin it all by leaving him to his own devices for an afternoon. Maybe after another week the wound will have healed enough so that we can retire the cone permanently.

On my way home from the post office I stopped at the storage warehouse to see when my annual rent was due. Just as I thought, it is due at the end of the week. Damn. One more big bill to pay. I have a feeling that I am going to be perpetually poor. The stock market continues to do well, but it isn't enough to replace a regular income. I've got to cut expenses. One obvious way would be to get rid of a lot of stuff in the storage warehouse so I could rent a smaller space. Lots of luck with that. I guess I've got another year to think about what I can part with.

I sure hope the vet can figure out how to get Dash eating again. Making sure he eats enough to stay healthy has become an all day activity.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2831

I fixed the refrigerator this morning. I remembered what the appliance repairmen did the last time they were here and did exactly the same thing. I was a little worried about electrocuting myself since I didn't unplug the refrigerator before I started taking it apart, but the repairmen left it plugged in too. The repair won't be permanent because there is still a thermostat that needs to be replaced, but I think I did a good job. Everything is working perfectly now and I saved $175 by not calling in another emergency repair.

It took me about two hours to get the refrigerator running properly again. I put all the frozen food in an ice chest while I was working and nothing thawed. I could do this again if I have too, but I would prefer to have the two thermostats replaced so the automatic defrost circuit works properly again. I wonder why it is taking so long to get those parts? Either the repairmen have forgotten about me, or the parts are on backorder. I'll call tomorrow and remind the guys that I'm still here.

Dash is still not eating well. I eventually got him to eat enough to make sure he is still getting proper nutrition, but it was an uphill battle. Feeding Dash these day involves lots of little meals and judicious food substitution whenever he refuses to eat something. I sure hope that his vet can come up with an explanation for this odd behavior. He'll turn up his nose at something and then two hours he'll scarf the same thing down like it was his favorite meal. He won't eat wet and dry food mixed together anymore, but he will sometimes eat dry for if it's mixed with a broken up rice cake.

Walking Dash has become equally problematic. I'll put his harness on, lace up my boots and then he won't go out the back door. It took four tries to get him interested in an evening walk. The first three times he refused to leave the house. The fourth time he walked eagerly out the door and headed straight for the back gate. I don't know what's going on in that dog's head anymore.

Once I was sure that Dash was ready for a long nap and wasn't going to lick his injured dewclaw, I went outside and began cutting the pile of branches I had thrown off the roof yesterday into smaller pieces so I could take them back to the alley. Cutting up the Elm Tree branches took me even longer than fixing the refrigerator, but I did get the job done. Now there is a neat pile of wood in the alley that will have to sit there for another month before I can take it to the curb for October big trash pickup.

Dash was happy to see Janet when she returned from the Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament this evening. She brought him some hand made dog treats she won in the silent auction. For some reason Dash had no problem at all eating these.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day