I was blessed with the adoption of Wilma the Pug, last month. She is approximately 5-7 years old and the sweetest girl.
Her left eye is completely blind and her right eye is extremely dry and ulcerated. She is currently on antibiotic drops two times a day and wetting drops 4 times a day. I took her to my vet since I trust him the most and had him check out her eyes. He suggested the removal of both eyes due to the fact they are painful.
I had a Pug that recently passed away that had to have an eye removed about a year ago. But it was only one eye. Having this lovely girl lose both her eyes, even though they aren’t working still seems scary to me. Am I doing the right thing? Will her life be ok?
I don’t want Wilma in pain. I can’t live with that thought. But at the same time I want to ensure that I am making the right decision for her.
I foster for a rescue and currently have a 5 month old yellow lab and a 7 year old German Shepherd that are both completely blind. It took both of them about 5-7 days to learn their way around the house. They both play with the other sighted dogs and both have learned to even find and use the new doggy door after only about a week of showing them. You would never know they were blind. It takes a little adjusting and you don’t want to go rearranging furniture every month. they learn to use hearing and smelling a lot more. But they live happy lives. If it means no pain… then do it. A small adjustment is a lot better than a life of pain and drugs..
Good luck
Heather Snavely
This is a tough decision that you’re facing on Wilma’s behalf and there’s no easy answer. However, you said you took her to a vet you trust; if he has reason to believe the eyes are painful, I would be inclined to follow his advice to remove them both. Having a completely blind dog is a very different thing from having one with vision in only one eye; it’s much easier for the dog to adjust to total blindness than the owner, but it’s trying and scary for both of you. Still, as you say, you don’t want her to be in pain.
If you do decide to remove her eyes, please be sure it’s done as an inpatient, with Wilma staying overnight for at least one night, preferably two. Intravenous pain medications are much more effective than oral pain medications. I think a lot of vets do a poor job of controlling pain, for whatever reason, so you have to be a strong advocate for Wilma. If your vet can’t or won’t do this, ask him for a referral to a vet who will or see if you can pick her up after the surgery with the IV lines still in and take her to a 24-hour vet who can continue the IV pain medications.
Good luck to you both.
Diana and Heather, thank you both for your responses. Wilma is going in on Monday and I will make sure that she spends the night so she can have the proper pain management. I will be fortunate enough to be able to stay home with her all next week so we will get through this adjustment together. She is just days away from a new life with no pain after she has healed. Bless her little heart…..