Our beautiful, loving Redbone Coonhound, Daisy is a Hurricane Katrina survivor from Mississippi. She was found as a puppy in a library with a bunch of other animals. When we heard her story, we knew that must be the reason she is so smart!
We are her 3rd family and have had her about almost 8 years. Her first 2 years were spent at a less than savory home and she was then rescued by an animal loving woman who found her tied up to a tree in bad neighborhood. Her “cute puppiness” wore off so the family just ignored her aside from feeding her table scraps. Disgusting!
The woman that rescued her had her for a little less than a year and was transferred to CA for work. She couldn’t take Daisy where she was moving. Enter my husband and I. We fell in love with her the second we met her and her previous mom was thrilled to have us take her and make her part of our family. I feel that if God sent an angel from Heaven to Earth, Daisy is definitely it. We made her a big sister by rescuing another dog, Axel a Yellow Lab/Redbone mix about 2 years after we got her. They are thick as thieves! The two of them together is pretty funny to watch. Daisy is definitely the Alpha Dog.
About 8 months ago, I noticed that Daisy’s left eye was very red and weepy. I thought it was an eye infection and since it was a Sunday, I’d call the vet in the morning. By morning her eye was about 3 times its regular size, cloudy looking and her other eye was just rolling around in the socket. I was so incredibly alarmed. I called the vet and they had me rush in. I was still thinking it was an infection. I was in a daze when the vet said glaucoma, pain management, blindness, eventual eye removal, I nearly fainted!
My sweet little girl was in severe pain and I felt so guilty. I just lost it right there in the exam room. My vet is such a sweet girl and she comforted me as best as she could saying there wasn’t anything I could do and that this can come on so fast.
Over the next few weeks and the last 8 months Daisy became a fixture at the vet office getting her eye pressure checked and making sure she was comfortable. The drops worked until about a week ago. My heart sunk knowing what the inevitable would be. Her eye started to get worse and we could tell that she was in severe pain. I called the vet Monday and by Wednesday (2 days ago) she had the eye enucleation.
The first day was the hardest so far. Taking her to the vet and knowing she’d be going under and having surgery and then looking different in a few hours was frightening BUT I was relieved to know that she’d not be in any pain. That first night was tough. Since we have a 2 story home and she was still wobbly from surgery. We decided to keep her downstairs. My husband slept in the recliner chair and I slept on the couch. She woke up every 3-4 hours but she would just stand there and stare into space or stare at the wall. She was also still shaky and dazed. She didn’t go to the bathroom until late last night. We took her out frequently as we were told she would have to go more often due to the fluids from surgery. We figured out that if we took off her cone, she could actually sniff out a spot and “go”. What a relief for all of us!
I’m happy to say that she’s pretty much her old safe as of today. She ate a full meal and drank a ton of water. She then ran around the house and played with our other dog, Axel. He’s been by her side for a lot of her recovery so far. When I came home from the vet without her, I could tell he was sad. He kept looking for her. So sweet.
Seeing Daisy the way she is now is a little heartbreaking but we know it’s for the best in the long run. She’s been through so much in her life and she’s a trooper. She’s still our sweet little girl and now has a “perma wink”. 😉
We are trying to keep her routine pretty similar to what she had before but she now needs to be led to different parts of the house or around our property. Not sure if this is temporary but knowing Daisy, she’ll figure it out and so will we.
I’m so sorry you and Daisy had to go through this. There’s just nothing that makes it any easier or less fraught, even knowing that many of us have gone through it before. I’m sure your vet told you that once one eye goes, the other won’t be long behind it. Presumably you’re continuing the drops in the remaining eye; I managed to get two years distance from the first enucleation until the second, but it was three medications 8 times per day toward the end. Now she’s a “pinball dog,” but after the initial confusion wore off, she has adapted and finds her way around all right most of the time, and we still play ball and take our walks. Sounds like you’ve adapted to this pretty well and I have no doubt you’ll continue to cope. Best of luck to you from me and my Sadie!
Thanks Diana B! Yes, we are aware that her other eye will most likely be afflicted with glaucoma. It stinks but we will take each day and cherish them as they come. Hugs to you and Miss Sadie. 🙂