Poor Freckles. Although she's been doing amazingly (incredibly) well since her brush with death many a month ago, she's been dealing with a booger-y eye for several weeks. It's been really gross. I'll spare you the details--suffice it to say it's been gross to look at and it's been even grosser knowing that she eats her boogers.
Just sayin.'
So, today when I took her and her sister for their annual check-up, I pointed out the booger-y eye (not that it needed to be pointed out--it's insanely obvious). The vet agreed that that was one booger-y eye ball. She took a gander and did all sorts of things--even measured the amount of tears in her eye. She poked at the eye, she wiggled her finger in front of the eye, she motioned back and forth in front of the eye.....the vet looked a bit perplexed and then said, "I think Freckles is blind in that eye."
Ah. Confirmation of what I already knew to be true: Freckles is a one-eyed shih tzu.
I've been watching her for the past few months...she's been having trouble going up and down the stairs when the lights aren't on, she's been refusing to come down one specific set of stairs, no matter the bribe, she didn't move when I would sneak up to clean her booger-y eye.....I was pretty sure she was blind in that eye but it's not like she could tell me the status of her eye sight.
The vet was very nice, noting that there are surgeries and treatments for the blindness. I could tell she didn't think these were necessary or even good ideas--she was just doing her job, giving lip service to services available. She noted that such treatment would be very expensive. It was at this point I made fun of how much money I had already spent on Freckles this year.
You know it's been a long year when the vet refers to your dog as "the money pit."
As the eye and blindness don't hurt her and it's not like she's going to take a driver's license test or anything, I asked that we focus on the boogers and not worry about the blindness. The vet was very agreeable with this and thus gave me two medications to put in Freckles' eye. She did mention the medication is expensive....but, I assured her that the cost was fine, as the money pit deserves a booger-free eye, blind or not.
I wasn't disturbed at all about having a one-eyed dog but it really seemed to bother the wife. She is not doing well with the dog's aging process. I'm just so glad that Freckles is still alive that I don't really think about it. To me, she's aging appropriately, getting lumpier and stinkier every day. I can make her a pirate for Halloween. What's not to love about that?
I am here to tell you that it is MUCH easier to put eye drops into a blind eye than into a seeing eye. It's almost wrong how easy it is 'cause the dog can't see it coming. Gives a whole new meaning to turning a blind eye.
I'm looking forward to a booger-free dog.
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