My 7yo Shihtzu/Bischon mix just had surgery to remove her eye due to a Corneal Ulcer that perforated. It was only 3 days from first noticing a problem to her surgery to remove it. I am devastated. We’re not even sure how this all happened. Everything happened so fast. Now I question if I should of gotten a second opinion although Doctor was an eye specialist. I have so many questions going through my head. Why didn’t I notice it soon enough to save it. I guess I am just looking for support. I have been crying for days.
So sorry to hear about your fur baby losing her sight. I understand what you are going through. My 10 year old Schnoodle was diagnosed last month with SARDS and is now blind. I still cry off and on.
I want to be with her all the time, because I imagine she’s scared or lonely. But honestly, I think I’m taking it harder than she is.
What has helped me is reading/researching on ways to help her adjust, and reminding myself that she can still have a great quality of life.
Some of the ways I’m helping her adjust is by being more vocal and placing non skid material on my wood stairs. I bought her a harness/halo so she doesn’t run into walls or objects when we’re in unfamiliar locations. It looks funny, but it helps.
So sorry for what you and your pup are going through. Hope this post helps.
Carrissa,
I understand the pain, sadness and grief you feel. I just found this website today as I searched for a treatment for glaucoma. My beautiful golden suddenly developed glaucoma on Monday and my heart aches. He is on 3 different eye drops and the swelling around the eyes has gone down some, but the eyeball is remains large and completely milky. I bring him back to the vet on this coming Friday. After I read and saw on this website what it looks like when a dog’s eye is removed I broke down in tears! He’s my best friend and constant companion and it breaks my heart to know what he is facing.Dogs seem to handle injuries, aging & illness which such grace. I will pray for you and your beloved dog.Be strong for you dog. He needs you now.
I’m a Veterinary Nurse & my 10yo Shih Tzu also lost her L eye about a year ago due to a corneal ulcer. We were really aggressive with treatment & care, but could not save the eye. Very sad fact. However, the reality was that my dog was MUCH MUCH happier 1day post-op than she had been for the previous 2weeks when we were trying to save it & she was in pain. The remaining R eye has a moderate cataract but she’s coping very well!
I am so sorry for your situation and our situation is frightening in its similarity. After crying out in pain, our little Shih Tzu was diagnosed by our primary vet as having a corneal ulcer on his right eye. We too were very aggressive with treatment and got the first eye cleared up (it developed a scar where the ulcer had occurred) only to have one start on the left eye two weeks later. We went to a veterinary ophthalmologist who recommended a conjunctival graft on both eyes, which would have left our little buddy with only light/dark sensitivity. So we opted to try and treat the eyes with antibiotic and analgesic drops, to no avail. The left eye ruptured first and was removed with the surgeon performing the tissue graft on the right eye. We had a follow up appointment a week post-surgery and was told that his right cornea had ruptured in two places beneath the tissue graft. So he had his second surgery in a week to remove the right eye.
We got him from a rescue 11 years ago and he has always been such a timid little guy. While I can say that he no longer appears to be in pain, the past four weeks have been a struggle for him to adapt. He circles constantly when we try to take him for walks….like he’s trying to figure out which direction to go, but can’t quite get there. It took us 11 years to get him to the outgoing, loving little boy that he is, but this has really pushed him back into his shell. I’ve had dogs my whole life and have had to make really difficult decisions to let them go when they got too sick to go on, but this is the worst yet. My little guy is fairly healthy for his age – our primary vet thinks he’s about 12 years old – and I can’t believe that he’s having any fun whatsoever. I am heartbroken and cry constantly when I’m home with him. Everyone tells me that he will adjust, but it’s been really slow going. The only consolation that I can offer is that, at least in our situation, I don’t believe things would have turned out any differently if we had proceeded with the tissue graft on both eyes when first recommended by the ophthalmologist.