Yesterday was Ray's appointment with the eye doctor. He calmly walked through the door and calmly went over to greet a fat, old, blind dog of indeterminate breeding. Then he gave a quick lick to the dog's owner and came back to where I was standing. I couldn't help but think of the first visit to that doctor's office which is still so fresh in my mind. Although, whenever I think of it, Lucille Ball is always the one holding the dog leash.
While we waited to be called, Ray edged over to stand near the front door, just in case I changed my mind and decided to leave.
We were called in fairly quickly. The doctor did her usual tests, checking Ray's eye pressure and looking for any other changes. Ray's left eye, the one with the detached retina, glaucoma, and cataract is the one I always worry about.
"Well," said the doctor, "His eye pressure is still within normal limits but it has gone up. We can give him another eyedrop or you can monitor him, bring him in again in four months, and we'll see how he is then."
"What's normal?" I asked.
"The top level of normal is 22; he's at 21. Last time he was at 15," she replied.
I thought about it for a second. While I was visiting my folks the week before, I had forgotten to give Ray his drops a couple of mornings. Maybe that had affected his eye pressure.
"I think I'll monitor him a bit and bring him back," I said.
"Look for tearing and/or redness," replied the doctor.
We paid the bill and left.
That night I told Gregg about the visit and how I've been second-guessing my decision ever since I made it.
"Why don't you just monitor him and bring him back in two months instead of four," suggested Gregg rationally.
So that's what we'll do. We'll keep a close eye on Ray's eye for a couple of months then run him back to the vet for a checkup.
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I agree with the two month re-visit, good idea Greg. As The Mom to an Australian Cattle Dog with detached retinas, I understand your worry. We go for check-ups at the university veterinary teaching hospital every six months (Brook loves the attention!) If Ray ever needs enucleation and you want to talk about it, my Hiker had it done this past spring. It's not as bad as it first seems. Good luck Ray!
ReplyDeleteI too think 2 months is good, especially after your trip and some missed drops then. Like acd6pack said, if the eye has to go, for his comfort, it isn't as bad as some would think. You follow Rolling Dog Farm, don't you? Lots of them have no or fewer eyes and they do fine. I know you will be doing whatever is the very best for your wonder hound. He is a very loved dog. Hugs to MooniePie and Cool Man Hugo too.
ReplyDeleteOur little terrier Fizzie had to have one eye removed after developing glaucoma which went undetected for too long, we felt so bad we did not realise despite vets visits, but once the eye went she was fine and sort of looked like she was permanently winking at us, I'm sure its more traumatic for us than them.
ReplyDeleteAlice had to have Tonka's eye removed and he has a prosthetic now. I'm pretty sure she wrote about it in Tonka's blog...
ReplyDeleteTina
Yeah, I remember reading about that.
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