Meet Paula & Lucy

Hello Life with Blind Louie friends. I'd like to introduce you to Paula & Lucy.
Paula runs a support site for owners of blind dogs. I found Paula in September 2012. I had finally decided to quit thinking about writing about Blind Louie, and start writing about Louie! I started my blog and I searched the internet for dogs with vision loss. I had searched for this before when Louie was first diagnosed at six months old. In 2006 there wasn't much info online at all. Anything that was there was outdated and the sites seemed abandoned and dusty. It was lonely not knowing what to expect and not finding anyone who had really been in my situation. It is so comforting to hear other, similar story and know they survived! Not just the dog, but the owner also survived.

I am so happy Paula's site exists today! When someone who's dog is first diagnosed with any eye issue, they will find this site and be able to find a place to ask questions and find support from other who know just what they are going through. www.blinddogsupport.com

Paula & Lucy

Hi Paula! Thanks for joining us. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself and Lucy.

 My name is Paula and I run the Blind Dog Support site to help people who own blind dogs. My dog Lucy was diagnosed with glaucoma in October 2011 and because working online is what I do for a living, it was only natural for me to build a website related to the topic.

How did you and Lucy find each other?

It was about eight years ago that Lucy and I first met, 2004. I was shopping with a friend and while she was browsing in the health food store I popped in next door to see the puppies in the pet store. The young girl serving behind the counter had taken Lucy out to play with her and I was immediately hooked. I knew I had to have her.

Aww, love at first sight. That's sweet. I bet she was a very cute puppy.
How did Lucy lose her eye?

Lucy's problems started in October 2011, the day after her vaccinations. Her right eye was weepy and she was miserable. A trip to the vet led to a diagnosis of glaucoma. There weren't any real warning signs. Glaucoma comes on so quickly and a dog can be completely blind within hours.

That is tricky. Glaucoma can be the surprise no one ever wanted. It's often misdianosed at first, like in Louie's case, so by time you know what you're working with at least one eye is blind.
Was there anything you could do for Lucy?

Lucy had the regular glaucoma medications to try and save both eyes had the regular glaucoma medications to try and save both eyes – Xalatan, Predneferin, Forte and Cosopt. (check with your vet and pharmacist. these medications may have different names depending on what country you live in) None worked over an extended period and in December 2012 her right eye was removed. I think that was a relief for both of us because her pain was gone. In around May 2012 the second eye started to have similar problems. We tried laser surgery but by that point it was too late for Lucy. Although she still has her left eye she is completely blind in that eye.

I know that feeling of bitter-sweet relief. They aren't hurting, but they are blind. So happy and so sad at the same time. I had a rough go after he was diagnosed and I knew Louie would be blind. My vet said a lot of owners have a rough time but the dogs usually handle it really well.
How did Lucy handle the loss of her vision?

Lucy handled it extremely well! Much better than I ever expected. Sometimes I wonder if she is even blind. She can get around the house and garden fine, she can find her water bowl and the dog door without any assistance. The only time she has issues is when she gets excited, then she will start to run into things.

Yes, when someone comes home and Louie gets excited he gets disoriented and bumps into things as well. So, if you've ever said 'When I come home after work my dog completely loses their mind they are so excited.' Well, they really do. Louie forgets where he is and jumps around so eagerly trying to find his friend. I have to say I am very impressed with her being okay to use the dog door. That is a small space that makes a weird sound, I'd be scared to squeeze through if I couldn't see at all. Go Lucy!
How does Lucy get around without being able to see?

She gets around as if she were sighted, no difference really. Although I do notice that she does use her nose a lot more. When I take her for a walk she will still pull on the lead which is amazing really, because she has no idea what is up ahead. She is just confident that everything will be okay I guess.

Do you have any other pets?

We have another dog in the house, Bronnie. She is an Australian Terrier cross and has a lot of issues. I know if she were to go blind, it wouldn't have been as easy as it was with Lucy. I don't know her history before I found her at the pound but it probably wasn't the best.

Can you tell us about a time you were really impressed with Lucy's navigation ability?

I am impressed every day. She is very inspiring really, because she just takes it all in stride. I know that if I went blind I wouldn't handle it that well, most people wouldn't. Sometimes she will look straight into my eyes with her remaining eye. she looks right at me, just like she can see.

If thought the same thing myself. It feels like Louie forgot the day after he went blind that he could see before. He wasn't crying about it. I know I would really be mourning my loss of sight, anyone would. I was more upset about Louie going blind then Louie was!
I know you are currently dealing with medical issues, can you tell us a bit about that?

The problem of Lucy's glaucoma is actually done with. Although the laser surgery didn't save the it did stop the pressure spikes. Her issue now is the she has a nasal tumor and that is causing her a lot of grief. Even today I was at the vet because she is not well, her eye is weepy, her nose is bleeding, she has a temperature and she is just plain miserable.

I estimate I've spent around 15 - 20 thousand dollars on Lucy over the past year or so on both the glaucoma and cancer combined. Is it worth it? ...definitely. She has been such a beautiful dog and so loving. I always say that if you are going to get a dog then you need to be prepared to look after it.

Yes, personal responsibility for your pets is a very important thing to remember. When you pick up a cute little puppy you are making about a ten year or more commitment (hopefully). Remember, you'll be seeing this dog through everything, including difficult medical issues and end of life stuff. We have to stick it out. Don't get a dog to just be their fair weather friend.

Tell us a little about your website and how people can keep in touch with you and Lucy and learn more about dogs with vision loss.

My site is devoted to helping people with blind dogs. When Lucy was first diagnosed I managed to find a few different blind dog sites but unfortunately most of them hadn't been updated in years. I even offered to buy on of those websites but was met with a slightly gruff response. So I decided to take the plunge and start my own.

I love interacting with people on the site. It has become a real community with everyone helping and supporting each other. It's difficult when your dog first goes blind because you really have no idea what's involved. So getting together with people in the same boat lets people see that 'yes, I can do this - I will cope and my dog will cope.

Thank you so much for joining us today Paula! You've been a huge inspiration to me. The more we share and the more we make a presence online, the more people will be able to find us and learn from our experiences. I hope that people will no that euthanasia is not the answer and your dog will adapt to their blindness amazingly. A quote from the front page of your website is a very powerful one. I hope people find this and it changes their lives.

"So if you are thinking of euthanizing your dog or giving your dog away then can I just suggest one thing….give it 6 weeks before you make the decision. I can guarantee that after the 6 weeks you will see how easy it all is." -Paula, Blind Dog Support

Like them on facebook! at www.facebook.com/blinddogsupport
or find Paula and Lucy at www.blinddogsupport.com

Recovery

After Louie's operation we had a few pretty rough (ruff?) days. Louie was tired, uncomfortable and all sorts of drugged up. He hadn't ever had pain meds before. As sad as it was to see him hurting, it was also funny to see him a little loopy. He deserved a little mind vacation from the pain.

After those first few days things really starting looking up. Louie gradually came out of the fog he was in and starting acting like his old, wonderful self. I started to notice pretty shortly after that his eyes were shrinking. As you've seen from the earlier photos, Louie has large bulbous, protruding eyes. They are cloudy and seem to be constantly weeping

Louie's swollen eyes started to change quickly.

I almost forgot what his eyes should really look like. They've always been bulgy. Louie is a pit-lab mix. He is not a pug, boxer or other brachycephalic breed who tend to have bulging eyes and commonly have eye problems. He should have eyes like his step (dog) brother Snorp.
Yes, that's right. The dog my husband has had since I met him is named Snorp. I will give him the proper introduction he deserves very soon. Snorp has pretty brown almond shaped eyes, gentle and emotional. He's a lab mix too. Louie's eyes will never be that, but at least they won't be sticking out of his face! I always worried about injury from just bumping into something, even something flat. His eyes were so full I felt like they could just pop at any moment.

Louie, Snorp, Paul and I are a very lucky bunch.

We have wonderful people around us. Our friends and family were very supportive during this difficult time. Everyone who meets Louie falls in love with him. People are just amazed and inspired by him. He just has a great attitude, he's very friendly. I had the idea to send out thank you cards. I had the even better idea to make them myself and have them star Louie himself! How could I go wrong? I got right on it. I ran upstairs and grabbed the following:

• 1 pair of scissors
• 1 old peachy folder
• 1 large permanent marker
• 1 hole punch
• 1shoelace
• my camera

Oh, and who can forget the most important part? I couldn't because 'Mr. Most Important' followed me all the way upstairs and then all the way back downstairs when I was gathering the items for our project. I could never forget about Louie, he's always reminding me he's there by bumping into my legs or stepping on my feet.

There came a time when I just accepted that part of loving a big blind dog
is having bruises on the tops of my feet.

I cut the peachy folder in half and cut off the inner flap that would hold the paper when used for it's original purpose. I wrote 'Thank You!' in bold letters on the white inside with the black marker and punched two holes in the top of the sign I'd created. I tied the shoestring in through one hole, then I asked Louie to sit and adjusted the string to the correct length around his neck before tying the other side.

I had Louie sit outside on the back porch. Louie did as he always did when I told him to sit when we were on the back porch. Louie walked forward until he felt the edge under his front feet, lined straight up with the edge, backed up one step and sat down. I figure this way, he knows where the cliff is so when he gets back up he won't accidentally step off.

'Good sit. Stay.' I said to him. I stepped back from Louie and the porch, standing in my lawn. As I brought my camera up to take a shot, I looked at this beautiful dog. This sincere look in his otherwise vacant eyes. I was so filled with love for him. I couldn't help but think to myself:

"We should have been homeless beggers, we could make so much money.
Look at this guy! We'd be rich by now!"

Thank You!

Thanks to all our friends and family! Extra special thanks to Dr. Todd Perry DVM and everyone at Fountain Veterinary Hospital in Bellingham, WA.

Thanks to my husband Paul, you're the best step-pup pep-pep ever!

Surgery Part II

Louie about a week before surgery, March 2012

The day we went in for Louie's surgery I was sick to my stomach. I'd been obsessing and worrying for weeks, each day closer to the date getting worse.

Louie wasn't. He was his happy, wonderful self.

My husband and I drove to the veterinary hospital where Louie's vet was. We'd rehearsed what we were going to do when we got there. No matter how scary this was for me, if removing Louie's eyes meant he would be pain free for good, then I had to do it. The only thing Louie thought suspicious was that he missed his beloved breakfast. He kept reminding me with his goofy 'roo-roo-roooow, I'm hungry!' bark. Louie is so fricken cute.

We met with a vet, a man that had been in practice for a very long time.
He told me he had never done a double enucleation (eye-removal surgery) before. This terrified me. He had done many eye-removals, but not both eyes at the same time. We talked about what it really meant; that his eyes would be completely removed and his eye lids would be sewn shut. That's the part that really got me. I'm well versed in horror films and I'm sure I've seen it more than once. I tried not to picture an evil doctor cackling in a lightning storm.

We confirmed that we did indeed have a full understanding of what this surgery entailed and what recovery would be like, how it would look and so on. Everyone in the room agreed that if Louie could be free of pain, he could sacrifice his weird looking eye balls. He wasn't using them anyway.

We left Louie that morning and I cried my eyes out on the drive home.
Good thing my husband Paul was driving. I took me a bit to get it together before I went to work. I didn't think of anything else all day. I constantly checked my phone, I held it in my hand waiting for a call. It felt like forever. Around noon my phone rang. My mind was immediately racing, is it too early to call? did something happen? ah!

"Hello? This is Lanni."

First they say Louie hasn't had anything done yet, phew. The vet had spent some time talking with his son, who is also a doctor there. The younger of the doc's is who Louie normally saw for regular check ups. He said he knew of another option; We could have a antibiotic injected into a specific part of the eye ball that would destroy some of the cells that were producing fluid. The problem with this procedure, and why I think it's not more well known, is it will cause the eye to go completely blind with no chance of regaining any sight. Well, who could think of a better candidate than Louie? He's already blind! They wouldn't have to put him under for as long or as deep as the enucleation and he would be able to come home the next morning!

We were beyond thrilled. Louie could keep his eyes. I starting researching online as soon as I hung up the phone. The more I read about the antibiotic injections, the better I felt about the last minute change of plans. The only downside? The eyeball will shrink in size, and recede into the socket a bit. There's a chance of an injury because he's blind and still has eyes, he just doesn't know when to flinch or blink. So don't store your pool cue's at dog-eye level anymore, okay? No big deal!

The next few days were hard. Louie was on some pain meds and needed lots of help up and down the stairs. I had cleaned the house and made sure everything was in it's spot when he came home. I always thought, 'maybe he can see a little.' Just maybe. This surgery was taking that last little bit of childish hope away for good. I knew that was okay, although I did mourn the loss.

As Louie healed from the operation, I knew this was for the best.

Louie's favorite 'year-round' hot dog costume, notice only 2 legs on the floor.

When Lou was off the pains meds he was back to his jolly self, only better! He had so much energy, he didn't sleep as much and he had no more of a problem getting around! His left eye became a little stubborn. We ended up doing another injection in that eye a few months later. That was difficult but much easier now that I had such trust in my vet. Everyone at the hospital loved Louie! This is when I first really saw it. Louie just has a way of inspiring people by just being himself. He's brave, optimistic, friendly and honest. Everything you'd want in a best friend.

My vet said to me one day when we were back for a billionth time "Louie's a nice guy, it's like if he barely knew you and you puked in his car, he wouldn't even get mad and he'd clean it up and still give you a ride home the next day." I'm sure my awesome vet would be very proud of this moving and passionate quote. Louie is that kind of a friend. He couldn't have been more spot on.

*Authors Note: The injections mentioned in this post are called intravitreal injection sometimes called chemical ablation, or pharmacologic ablation. I hope this helps when discussing your options with your vet.

Surgery Part I

Louie sporting his new Doggles

Louie gets some cool blind guy glasses after his surgery. Doggles to be exact. Goggles for dogs of course.  He had injections in both eyes to stop the production of fluid that causes incredible pain. It was a tough recovery, and he had to go through it twice, but he got to keep his eyeballs and he is now almost totally free of pain! He started surgery in March 2010 and by summer time he was free and clear! Todd at Fountain Vet took great care of Louie and I'm sure Louie misses visiting Todd so often.

By the time I really started to consider surgery, we had been doing eye drops three times a day for three years. He had slowly lost almost all of his vision. What he could see would scare him. Louie would be fine until something caught his eye and he'd be really scared and worried. He couldn't figure out what this was he could see. It seemed as if he was just trying to ignore his sight at that point.

The medication only helped so much, and it was expensive to say the least. Around $100 for a bottle that would you last about three weeks or so, and I had three different kinds of medication! I was recommended to try a Canadian pharmacy online to save money on prescriptions. I'm very thankful for that, it really helped. They were about half the price even after shipping.

So, we're spending loads of money on something that is only half helping, he's in pain and he can't even see anymore. Just doesn't seem right. In the beginning, I had written off the idea of any kind of surgery. There was an option to have laser surgery where his lens would be removed and they could be a stint in to drain the...
I work at an auto body shop, I can relate this better to cars. You'd have to disassemble the car only to put a bunch of aftermarket parts in there that might not even fit and they're a ton of money. This eye is a total beater too, it's no Porsche. See what I mean? It's just not fair to Louie to make him suffer through surgery when it might not help at all.

Louie on a very bad eye day.

Now, we know the drops are no longer working, he's mostly blind and still in pain. I refer back to a website with a good page on Glaucoma. There again, I see it and I'm reminded, bold letters read:

A PERFECT SOLUTION FOR GLAUCOMA DOES NOT EXIST!
AND . . . GLAUCOMA IS AN EXPENSIVE LIFETIME DISEASE TO TREAT,
ESPECIALLY GENETIC GLAUCOMA IN DOGS.

 Then, I came across something else:

"Note: If the eye is blind, controlling glaucoma with long-term medical and CAM treatment is usually not the best choice, because eventually it fails, requiring surgery to relieve chronic discomfort. Medical treatment delays the inevitable, in most cases. Why commit to lifetime medical treatment for an eye that will never see again? Also, the cost of glaucoma medications and ophthalmic examinations is not cheap–usually this is a far greater expense than the cost of removing the blind eye. Do not be fooled into thinking that your pet's blind, enlarged, glaucomatous eye is not bothering them. It is. Besides surgical eye removal, there are other surgical choices depending on the desired cosmetic outcome, cost, and the patient's general health. For example if the pet is not in good general health, then a prolonged surgery under general anesthesia might not be possible. However, there is a very brief procedure (for dogs only) called intravitreal injection (or "chemical ablation", or "pharmacologic ablation") in which a drug that lowers the IOP is injected into the eye while the dog is briefly anesthetized or deeply sedated."

"For permanently blind eyes, the choices are: the eye can be removed (enucleated) with the option of placing a sterile prosthetic ball implant in the eye socket prior to skin closure; an implant can be placed inside the eye giving the pet a partially artificial eye; or an injection of a drug into the eye can be performed, that kills the fluid-producing cells and reduces the pressure."

This is A LOT of information to take in, especially since I don't fully understand everything that is being said here. All I can see in this is "surgical eye removal... the eye can be removed (enucleated)... prosthetic ball implant..." what?! Really, this is it? Louie's eyes just have to go?

My husband and I talked it over again and again. We both agreed that we need to do what's best for Louie even if it freaks us out to think about it. We made an appointment for Louie to have a double enucleation, both eyes removed.

Next Installment: Surgery Part II

It's Not All Puppies and Rainbows Part II

Louie's eye shortly after the accident.

Accidents Do Happen

As much as Louie is talented, he is equally or more so blind. This should not be, but can easily be, forgotten. Because Louie has such amazing mapping skills it's easy to forget, he just gets around so darn well!

One spring day, after his first surgery, Louie and I were getting ready to go for a walk. He gets so excited when he hears his leash and harness coming out. Louie's bouncing all over, bumping into my legs as I walk over to a chair to put my shoes on. He barks at me "are we gonna go, are we gonna go, come on come on come on".

With this enthusiasm we leave the house. Usually after about one block Louie falls into place and just happily walks along next to me. For that first block, however, he can be a bit rambunctious. He's smelling everything! He wants to go in every direction at once, smell this tree, smell that bush. That was the case that spring day. We had only walked past the neighbors house when Louie, walking on my left side as usual, took a very sudden and hard right. This happened just as I was lifting my left leg to move forward another step.

This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.

We connected, I felt sparks of pain and looked down. Louie's left eye and my knee made contact. I kneed the poor buddy straight in the eye! If it hurt me this bad, I can only imagine how bad it must have hurt him. He didn't yelp though, he didn't whine. He simply stopped and pawed at his eye. I turned around to head back the few feet to our house. I sat down on the porch and looked at him. Louie's eye was filling with blood! It was hard to tell because his eyes are already so cloudy and weird looking, but instead of a swirly grey-blue I saw red forming. Louie kept squinting and his eye was watering. Of course, it was a Sunday and my vets office was not opened. I tried to calm myself from the panic that was rising. I needed to think clearly, not just freak out.

Quick! Research!

I went upstairs and referred to my blind dog book. There was no real information of eye injury. I got online. I found information on hyposphagma.

From Wikipedia:

"A subconjunctival hemorrhage (or subconjunctival haemorrhage) also known as hyposphagma, is bleeding underneath the conjunctiva. The conjunctiva contains many small, fragile blood vessels that are easily ruptured or broken. When this happens, blood leaks into the space between the conjunctiva and sclera. Whereas a bruise typically appears black or blue underneath the skin, a subconjunctival hemorrhage initially appears bright-red underneath the transparent conjunctiva. Later, the hemorrhage may spread and become green or yellow, like a bruise. Usually this disappears within 2 weeks.

Although its appearance may be alarming, in general a subconjunctival hemorrhage is a painless and harmless condition; however, it may be associated with... trauma to the eye."

What?

Okay, skip over some words I don't know how to pronounce, look up some words I don't know the meaning of, pet Louie who's happily sitting next to me resting his head in my lap and... Phew. I felt instant relief. Finding photos that looked about what Louie's eye was like and confirming is was pretty much just a bruise felt better. I still made a vet appointment for first thing Monday morning. I wanted to be sure everything was okay, since he had just had surgery.

Can We Laugh?

When speaking to my vet the following day, he explained that the only danger with this kind of injury would be that blood clots may form and they would need to drain out of the eye. In a healthy eye this may plug the drain, making the pressure in the eye rise. This would essentially be causing temporary glaucoma, and if gone untreated, could cause irreversible damage and blindness.

Yes We Can.

Even in black and white: Louie's left eye never looked the same.

The vet and I both laughed. Louie was already blind, he already had glaucoma and he wasn't in much more pain. We dodged a bullet, I guess. Yay! Louie won't have any side effects from this but, boo! he already had those problems.

I reminded myself that it's all about how we look at things. Should I see this as positive? Or would this just serve as a painful reminder that my dog was blind and hurting? Screw that! Louie didn't think that was a problem. Louie wasn't mad at me for accidentally kneeing his face, just as I wasn't mad at Louie from crushing my knee cap with his eye socket. Louie was even happy to see our vet. The last time he saw him he just jammed needles into his eyes that made him hurt for three days. He still loved him! Louie's okay, we're all okay too.

It's Not All Puppies and Rainbows Part I

Super close up, Louie's eyes after beginning medication, swelling way down. 2008

So far, what I've written about life with Louie has been really positive. It really has been a wonderful experience overall. The way we are now makes all the struggle seem so small but at times we were dealing with some really difficult stuff.

 Louie has had chronic pain since he was so young he didn't know anything else. He just learned to deal with it, to maintain. Louie was always okay, and sometimes he was even great or wonderful! The lessons I've learned and taken away from Louie far surpasses what I feel I've given him.

When Louie was very young, I thought he had the smallest bladder in canine history. Louie learned quickly to go to the bathroom outside and how to tell me he needed to go out. He would sit by the front door and whimper or yawn, maybe he'd do a little tap dance on the wood floor. I would get up and let him out and sit on the porch steps and wait for him. Something changed when he was about 10-12 weeks old.

Louie would sit at my feet looking up at me and whine. Whimper, cry almost. He would let out a whine and his little chin would quiver making his cry sound so pathetic. I would stop what I was doing and take Louie outside. He would just stand on the porch and look at me or sometimes he'd walk down and smell around in the grass a little bit before going back inside. "What's going on, quit screwin' around Louie." and we'd go back inside. A few minutes after he's start the same crying and staring and me blinking, squinting, blinking.

Louie playing in the sunshine with our new kitten, Meatloaf. Aug. 2012

I began thinking about his eyes again. Leading me to do more research, get a second opinion and ask more questions. When I found out it was glaucoma, and understood what glaucoma was, it all made sense. I had no idea he was in so much pain so often! It was like little Louie had constant migraines. His eyes were literally filling like tiny balloons until they would rupture, causing irreversible damage. AH! It made my skin crawl! I wanted to scream but I couldn't because all we can do is move forward, if he was already this great, imagine what it will be like when we figure out how to get him pain-free.

What a good sport! He was sure a jolly guy, he loved to play and meet people. Louie was always up for a walk, a game of fetch or a ride in the car. For Louie, standing still meant dealing with pain, instead he'd drown that out with enjoyment. I feel like if I didn't help show him what should be an enjoyable outlet, then he would get his jollies by getting into the garbage, digging holes and fighting. He showed me that would be the case, because these were his tendencies. He is a dog, an animal. While I know Louie is just a super cool guy, I should also give myself some credit for steering him in the right direction. Pat myself on the back here, one more time... okay. Nice. This feels good. It's rewarding and fun! I know that all that is just a lesson I needed to learn. I need to move forward and tried to keep myself happy in a healthy and productive way.

I think everyone should blindfold their dogs from now on! Kidding? It's not the same. Louie is special.

There's Something a Little Off Here

Louie, 6 months old. Christmas 2006

Bouncy Normal Puppy

As time went on and Louie and I developed our routine I started to notice some silly behavior. Louie liked to watch TV, for instance. When I would turn the TV on he would immediately stare and tilt his head. Tilt to the right, pause. Tilt to the left, pause and repeat. How cute that was! I've seen pets be curious about the TV before but not like Louie. It seemed like he loved to stare at the TV and was trying to figure out what it was telling him.

Other times it was like Louie had seen a ghost. His eyes would follow something I could not see. They usually ended up focused on the ceiling. Sometimes this would scare the little guy. He would hunch down like whatever he could see was about to fall on him. I would talk to him and pet him gently and redirect his attention. "Are you being a weirdo again?" I'd say lovingly.

Growing Like a Weed

He was getting so big so quick! He went from an eight pound pup to a fifty pounder in no time. His legs were gangly and too big for his body. It seemed he was constantly tripping over himself and bumping into things. You couldn't set a glass down on any coffee table or floor or Louie would find it with his nose and knock it over.

Time for Shots

Louie's first vet appointment I brought up the subject of Louie's eyes to a new veterinarian I was meeting for the first time. I mentioned they looked 'funny' and that he stared off into space sometimes. She gave him a quick look and said he was young so his eyes were still developing. Mix breed dogs almost never have eye problems, especially when they are puppies. He seemed to follow her hand when she waived it in front of him.

I tried to believe her but something was just gnawing at me.

Louie started to whine one night shortly after and kept pawing at his face and rubbing his head up against things. I pet him as he whimpered. I fell asleep spooning him, he was fully under the covers. He stayed there all night. The next morning I noticed a small white spot on one of his eyes. It's almost like a tiny bubble. This was more alarming and I began to really worry.

I asked the vet again on our next visit for round two of Louie's shots. He was only about four months old at the time. Growing quickly, learning, running, playing, an active little guy. The same vet looked at his eye and said it looked like he had bumped it and I should just keep my eye on it. I knew Louie hadn't bumped his eye on anything, he hadn't been our of my sight.

It Hit Me Like a Ton of Bricks

I went over to my parents house to use the internet. I searched for information on eye health in dogs and puppies. There was absolutely no information on puppies and just minimal basic stuff about dogs. I did find a veterinary website that had information on different diseases of the eye. Reading along I came upon a page about glaucoma. Everything I read was text book Louie. When I got to the photo of the eye itself I knew Louie had glaucoma and he was probably already blind in one eye. I also learned that it was most certain he would go blind in the other eye and I had been doing things, like simply using a collar and leash, that could cause his pressure to spike. On top off all of that, I found out that Louie was suffering through tremendous pain. This tiny adorable puppy. My heart broke. I cried and cried. Louie licked my face and tried to tell me it was no big deal, but I didn't listen yet.

More Info on Glaucoma

For those of you who don't know what glaucoma is, here is a link to that exact sight I stumbled upon that day: Glaucoma - Animal Eye Care

By This Time, Louie Was Only Six Months Old

Snow Day! Louie December 2006

It was almost Christmas. Louie played in the snow. He LOVED it! Full speed ahead, watch out world! I got him a little sweater, he loved to be wrapped up, under a blanket or wearing clothes. The sweater seemed to give him added confidence. He was fearless!

I went to see a different vet after finding more information online. I requested a pressure test for glaucoma that I had read about. (More info on Tonometer Tests)

The vet gave Louie the test and confirmed my fears. Louie had glaucoma in both eyes and it was pretty advanced in the eye I had noticed the white spot in. The vet had never seen glaucoma in a dog so young. It was almost unheard of in a mix breed dog. He figured that is why the other vet didn't think anything could be wrong with his eyes, there wasn't supposed to be.

Our new vet referred us to a animal eye clinic in our area. I made an appointment for the next day. I walked out of the specialists office with a hole burned in my pocket and not a whole lot of answers, just options without reassurance of success. I also had three different kinds eye drops to give Louie. One drop of each kind in each eye, three times a day. Each bottle was over $100 dollars. This was the same medicine people use to control glaucoma. I picked it up from my local pharmacy, too bad Louie didn't share my medical insurance.

This medicine did not cure glaucoma, it only kept the pressure down which would keep him from having more injury to his eye, keeping complete blindness at bay and controlling the pain. Louie definitely felt relief right away. He didn't cry so much and he wasn't always rubbing his eyes. We continued on with eye drops and just tried to enjoy the day to day. This changed the plan I had to play catch with the frizbee at the park. I had to rethink everything I knew about training a dog. I couldn't point to the ground for him to sit, he wouldn't see me.

Can you see me now?

I tried a few test I learned about to determine how much vision he had. I held a cotton ball at my eye level. I snapped my fingers to get his attention directed to the cotton ball. When I let go of the cotton ball, Louie did not follow it with his eyes. He only moved when it hit the ground. "Wow, he can't really see." I thought. That was quickly followed by "Holy shit he just heard a cotton ball hit the ground! That's amazing!" I didn't even know it made a noise. I tried again and again with the same results. I did that same trick but with a dog treat. This time Louie did follow it to the ground when I let go. This showed me that he could follow the smell. Again, I was amazed beyond belief.


It finally dawned on me: Louie didn't watch TV, he could see a bright flashing light! He would only follow my hand if I passed it in front of the TV or in front of a lamp. I realized he could probably only tell changes in light. The ghosts Louie would see were just floaters in his eye. He would follow them and they would move with his eye. This increased daily. This was ridiculous! How could he be doing everything he was without really being able to see? This couldn't be right, or could it? The doctors said he had more sight than that, no one believed me when they met him that he was different at all. Louie had been keeping this secret since birth, but really, he didn't even know he had a secret. He is just Louie.

Little did I know this diagnosis was just the beginning.


Next Installment: Training a Blind Dog