That Dogs Eyes Are Rull Weird Lookin'

Gorgeous blue marble right eye

I think this is the most beautiful photo of Louie.
Look at his shiny, velvety coat, his floppy ears, his gorgeous blue eyes... wait, eye. We can only see one.

Well that's right ladies and gentlemen.
Louie's eyes do not look the same. Louie's right eye, that you can see in the photo, is blue in the light and still has much of it's shape. Notice that there is no pupil in this picture. I have not modified this photo in anyway. It was taken on a really sunny day in front of a window with the sunlight streaming through. Louie was basking in the heat of the sun shining onto the bed, his favorite. The sunlight shining into his widely open eye makes it look bright blue. That in itself is strange, because if Louie could see, he surely would be squinting from the light in this photo.

Sunken, sleeping, bad left eye

Louie's left eye is a whole other story.
Louie's left eye has always given us more trouble. It was the eye that had a white spot on it when I brought him home at 7 weeks old. It was the eye that caused him pain when the pressure spiked, and he was blind in that eye by time we got him to the vet the next day. It was his left eye that didn't respond well to the surgery at first, and we had to redo the surgery in only his left eye. Now it is his left eye that has shrunken and receded much more than his right eye. It is still weepy, runny and gooey and it doesn't match his other eye at all.

When Louie sleeps, his eye rolls back in his head.
His left eye is already sunken and when he sleeps hard, it rolls back in his head. Since it is sunken in, it doesn't hold the eye lids closed and they are always open a crack when he sleeps. Without a flash, a camera will pick up a small opening with only darkness inside. With the bright flash of my camera we can see the pink second eye lid that covers his sad, useless little eyeball.

Fact is, Louie doesn't need either of these eyes, beautiful or not. He is completely blind.
Louie's eyes are just for show. They trick people constantly into believing he can see. Some insensitive individuals have called me out on lying about his blindness. 'Well look at him.' they say. 'He's staring right at me and he can move his eyes.' Why yes he can move his eyeballs, and he will follow sound with those eyeballs, but he cannot see you with those eyeballs. He can 'see' you with his ears, nose and he can sense you and your ignorance from a mile a way! I've never really said that... inner thought. It's sad though, because Louie is blind and still has his useless eyes, so it calls for a lot of questions.

One of these things is not like the other...

Oh gosh! Is he okay!?
Yes, Louie is fine. In fact, he is nearly pain-free now. His eyes may look bruised and painful. They may weep and ooze and look yucky, but Louie is just a happy handsome guy. No big deal. People look to each others eyes to judge character, to see if a person notices them, to assure attentiveness, and to see into another soul. People look to dogs eyes to see if they are friendly, submissive or aggressive. Dogs look to each others eyes to find their place in the pack, to see if they are being challenged and to see if the other dog is about to attack.

You will get none of these answers from Louie's eyes unless you are looking with the knowledge that he cannot look back at you. Other dogs will often attack Louie, misjudging his vacant stare for a intimidating glare. Louie will only be trying to 'find' the dog that he clearly hears and smells and suddenly he's attacked. Louie's only defense is to bark really loud! It's sad, because of how he looks and how Louie's bark sounds, the owner of the other dog will often come over blaming Louie for attacking their dog. I will explain Louie couldn't even find them, and he just barks really loud. People don't like confrontation, nor do I or Louie like it, but sometimes it's part of life. No one wants their dog to be at fault in a scuffle, but that is just part of being a dog. Small wrestling matches and barking contests, no one is hurt. That is how we know where we stand.

Example of Louie's Ferocious Nature

So next time you are out and see a dog with 'weird eyes'.
Remember it's okay to ask questions, but don't believe you know more about it than the owner of the dog. It's okay for dogs to 'argue' and it's not necessary in most cases to place blame. Also, when you see a dog that 'looks mean' ask yourself how you came to that opinion. What about a dogs looks make them 'look mean'? Is it the color of their coat? The size of the dog? The deepness of their bark? The size of their head? Is it because they look like a 'Pit Bull' or 'Rottweiler' that you saw on the news, killing little kids?

None of those are very good indicators. Try to read the body language of the dog, you can do this even when you can't look to their eyes. Is the fur standing up on their back? Are they snarling? Growling? Moving slowly toward you with their head down? No? Is their tail wagging while the bark or howl loudly with their head up? Are they bounding toward you? Big differences. If you love dogs, and you like to pet them when you see them on the street. If you frequent dog parks or dog socials. Please study up on these signals, lose your stereotypes and allow yourself to be surprised. Dogs want to be good.