Smelling the grass: the eyes may not work, but the nose still does!
Linda Savage writes:
When Sandy's elderly owner died, her adult children did not want Sandy,
so it was off to the Annapolis, Maryland shelter.
CRUSA pulled her from there on June 1, 2007.
Hangin' out in the backyard
Sandy does have some issues.
She does not like to be picked up
and will turn her head like a snapping turtle
to snap at your fingers & hands.
Maybe that is why the adult children did not want her.
Resting after hangin' out in the backyard
(and smelling her feet)
Sandy started off in her new foster home with Debbie Hodgens,
until Wieland attacked Sandy and bit several holes in her tiny little head.
She was moved to another foster home in Baltimore, Maryland,
but the foster mom did not enjoy listening to Sandy
barking when she wanted to go out or eat.
She really barks to let you know that she wants to eat & eat NOW.
Getting ready to relax after dinner
So Sandy came to her forever foster home with
Linda & Herb Savage and their pack of dogs.
Sandy was never really adoptable because of her nipping when picked up,
but she gets along very well with Linda's pack of dogs.
Sandy's DOB is May 1, 1996, so she just turned 15 years old.
The other day Sandy was out in the back yard
where Linda was watching her from the kitchen window
and noticed that Sandy was rubbing her right eye on the grass.
Linda looked at her right eye; the eye ball was so swollen
it looked like it could fall out of its socket!
Linda's vet is not an ophthalmologist,
but he did the best he could with the equipment he had.
He told Linda that Sandy's eye pressure should be 25; it was up to 96.
He prescribed some eye drops.
Dr. Corcoran holds Sandy
Herb called Dr. Corcoran, a veterinary ophthalmologist,
to see Sandy the next day. She was given a complete physical of both eyes;
she has glaucoma in her right eye.
Dr. Corcoran said that Sandy's eye was so swollen
that she could not tell if there was a tumor behind the eye or not.
Linda asked Dr. Corcoran if Sandy was in pain and she said yes.
Poor Sandy, she never acted like she was in any pain.
Her eyes were then cleaned out and she was given two different
eye drops, antibiotic ointment and some pills.
One of the eye drops goes into her right eye twice a day
and she takes the pill twice a day.
The other drop goes in her other eye once a week
to help with what vision she has left.
Sandy went back for a one-week check up;
the pressure in her eye has gone down to 46.
She was given another eye drop to put in her right eye.
Sandy goes back to Dr. Corcoran in two weeks for
another follow-up to see how her eye is
and if she has a tumor or not.
Dr. Corcoran is hoping that there is no tumor and the eye ball will just shrink on its own.
She might have to sew the eye lid closed.
Unfortunately, old age has not been kind to Sandy.
She is now blind in her right eye and has only limited vision in her left eye.
Sandy's vet bill has reached $496.00 so far.
She will be on eye meds for the rest of her life and
will have to see Dr. Corcoran several times a year for follow-up treatment.
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