Being a dog mama can be tough sometimes. We’ve barely had Greta a month, and I had to take her to the vet this week. Her eye snots have been getting really thick, and she’s been itching her eyes quite a bit. When I got home the other night, her right eye was full of yellow goop. So, to the vet we went.
She was a bit nervous yet excited about the car ride, but was a very good patient when we got to the doctor’s office. Since I didn’t really have much of a history on her other than what the shelter told us, I decided that we should do a full workup just to know where we’re at. Of course, the first news came during the consult. The vet didn’t believe that Greta is 3, like the adoption papers say. He had me show him her teeth, and then he said, “I’m not buying three. I think she’s a little older than that.” He puts her closer to 5.
Then he started throwing out a bunch of technical terms for what could be wrong with her eye, but he was zeroing in on dry eye. We’d had her about 3 weeks, the issue has been getting progressively worse, and later, after we got home, Mister said, “Remember at the shelter when they said she might need eye drops?” Yeah, we think the shelter knew that something was up.
The vet ran some tests, and turns out, her tear production is way down. Her pressure is fine, so she doesn’t have glaucoma, and the spot you see in the middle of her eyeball in this picture is not a reflection of anything, nor is it a cataract like we thought it might be. The vet said it’s a healed ulcer. Poor girl. She’s had a rough life, but we’re making it all better for her.
Five hundred dollars later, I left the vet’s office with prescriptions for cyclosporine, an antibiotic, and artificial tears. I was also promised a phone call for the results of her blood test and x-ray, since the radiologist needed to look at that.
Poor Greta does NOT like the eye meds very much, but she’s a trooper. She still loves us, and a few days later her eyes are looking 100% better.
Also, the vet’s follow-up phone call revealed that her bloodwork is fine. Her cholesterol and a pancreatic enzyme are slightly elevated, but nothing to be concerned about. Her x-rays show some indications of kennel cough, and her heart is a bit enlarged (mild generalized enlargement) so she was prescribed antibiotic pills for the kennel cough and since her heart isn’t a huge concern, we’ll just use this as a baseline and keep an eye on it.
In other Greta news, we bought a doggie door today. We got the kind that installs easily in the slider, and now Greta can let herself in and out to go potty. Well, she will be able to once she stops being afraid of the darn thing.
Greta is not a fan of the cold weather. It got cold here this week, and Greta’s not having any of it. As a result, potty training has taken a step backwards as she prefers the warmth of our living room carpet. Today was really nice, and we left the door open this morning, and she had no problem walking outside and laying some cable by herself, so once she gets over her fear of the escape hatch, I think we’ll be making some real progress.
Greta is getting more comfortable with her new home and humans. She warmed up to me right away but was skittish around Mister, but she’s starting to warm up to him too. She sleeps with us in bed at night, snuggling right between us and staying there all night long. She’s also such a lap dog – she never passes up an opportunity to sit in my lap. I actually considered getting one of those babywearing slings because I think Greta might be very happy snuggling with Mama all the time like that.
I never thought I’d spend that kind of money on medical care for a dog without blinking an eye, especially since I balk spending any kind of money on myself. I never understood the urge for parents to co-sleep with their children (don’t you want any privacy?) but now I love snuggling with my dog and can’t imagine not having her there. She’s needy and insecure and all she wants is for Mommy to pet her, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The amount of joy the little ball of fur has brought to our lives is amazing, and I love it. There’s nothing like it in the world.
Our neighbor’s dog has the dry eye issue too and they said he doesn’t like the drops one single bit either!
I don’t think there’s a dog in existence that likes eye drops. Mister is better at giving her the drops than I am, probably because she smells weakness on me. But she’s a trooper and is more than willing to soak up all the hugs she wants when it’s overwith!