Scamp At The Eye Doctor

Last Thursday I took a truck load of dogs to see our veterinary specialists in Burlington. On board were Wilbur, Clyde the Yorkie, and new arrivals Bentley and Scamp. It was a long day of multiple appointments with different specialists, so I can't cover it all in one blog post. But I'll start with Scamp, who was there to see the ophthalmologist, Dr. Sarah Hoy. I took these photos when Dr. Hoy was doing an ultrasound examination of his eyes, which helps determine if the retinas are detached.

Scamp's eyes were kind of a mess when he arrived. It seemed multiple things were going on, and I couldn't quite figure out what all was involved. I had mentioned in his arrival blog post that one minute he seemed like he could see just fine, darting through an open door, and the next minute he'd run right into the wall. Well, after a thorough eye exam, we now know why.

I've often thought of the eye as a house of cards, because when one thing goes wrong, it seems to cause a chain reaction of other eye problems. In the case of Scamp's left eye, he initially had a cataract, which then led to his retina detaching, which then led to glaucoma. The result: one blind eye. Scamp also has keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) or dry eye, in both eyes. This means he is no longer producing adequate tear production. Dry eye can lead to corneal pigmentation and scarring, which can diminish vision and even lead to blindness, Dr. Hoy says. It can also lead to corneal ulcers.

His right eye has a hypermature cataract that has become loose. During the ultrasound examination we could see it just floating around. The reason it seemed like Scamp could see at times is because if it moved just enough to open a "line of sight" to the retina, he actually could see momentarily.

The good news is that the electroretinogram, or ERG, showed his retina in the right eye is still working just fine. This means he is a candidate for surgery to remove the cataractous lens, the same procedure Wilbur had a year ago. This will leave Scamp far-sighted but with vision, which is a huge improvement on his current situation.

So on Tuesday this week Dr. Hoy will remove Scamp's left eye and do the lens surgery on his right eye. Scamp will also need to have twice daily applications of cyclosporine eye ointment to treat his dry eye for the rest of his life.

When it's all done, I guess he and Wilbur can compare notes to see who's more far-sighted! 

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$1,000 From The Shelter Challenge!

Thanks to your dedicated votes, we were the weekly winner for week 6 in the Shelter Challenge, and I just picked up the $1,000 check at the post office on Friday! I know some folks have told me they're frustrated that we can't seem to move up beyond the No. 6 spot nationwide, but please remember that in contest after contest, your votes have generated at least $1,000 every time for the animals here. So even though we're not No. 1 or No. 2, your daily votes really do make a difference!

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Shelter Challenge Contest -- Please Vote for the Farm!

The latest Shelter Challenge started Monday, January 7 and ends on April 28. Grand prize in this round is $10,000, $3,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.

*** You will find us listed as Rolling Dog Farm.  The state is NH for New Hampshire. ***

Please remember, you can vote every day ... consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.

We just won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the current contest, and thousands more in the previous contests. The Shelter Challenge really does bring in a lot of money for the animals here!

You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.  

Thank you for your votes!  

Comments

[Carol]

Over the past 5 years my dog has an eye that has gone the same progression as Scamp - cataract (and cataract surgery), detached retina and then glaucoma. He just had it removed 3 weeks ago and, I believe, is feeling much better with the darned thing gone. Thank you for posting about your medical experiences. That bit of prior knowledge helped me make my decision about eye removal much easier. I think my opthalmologist was taken aback at how I seemed prepared when he recommended eye removal. His advice came on the very same day where you posted pictures of Louie's bilateral enucleation. I loved your title of that post "I'll Feel Better." I took that to heart when I made my decision and... you were right!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[Carla Polastro-Nigro]

I'm keeping Scamp in my thoughts and prayers today...

Alayne & Steve: thank you so much, once again, for taking such great care of your furkids!

A huge hug to you all from Italy.

[Betsy]

Great news on winning $1000! That can help so many of the animals. What a great post to start the week.

[Tonya Allen]

That's good news for Scamp! I'm sure he'll be happy to be able to see again, and will soon learn to adjust to his far-sightedness. Wilbur can give him some tips.

[Az fan]

We vote twice. My husband from my smartphone and me from the laptop. We love your dedication to the animals, and love the blogs. Remember too, you can donate through United Way via your employer ;)

[Katy]

Alayne and Steve - once again I am so amazed how you even have time to add in giving another dog medicine twice a day! I just had both my dog and cat on various meds for several weeks and it took a lot of my time (first catching the cat of course). You two are really just awesome,and those are the luckiest doggies on the planet! :) Yea for Scamp!

[Margaret]

So wonderfully thrilled for Scamp!!! Looking forward to great things for him (no pun intended).

I've learned so much from reading your blogs about dog vision issues and really appreciate it. THANKS!