[Dailydrool] Scarlet Sleeps With the Angels

[Marie28443 at aol.com]

Today, our precious Scarlet was sent To The Bridge.  Scarlet was  with us 
for 8 years and she was 10-11 years old.  During the years she was  part of 
our family, she lost the sight in both eyes due to glaucoma but  never lost 
her spunk.  When we moved to Arkansas, she didn't hesitate to  learn the 
layout of her new home and yard and maneuvered stairs, decks and  countless 
other obstacles.

Scarlet will be met At The Bridge by her  former housemates Rhett, Beau and 
Magnolia and all of her friends.  I'm  sure the OEBE Wing Shop has a set of 
angel wings polished and ready for her  shoulders.

Scarlet joined our family when Bob picked her up at a shelter  in Florida 
and we were going to transport her to Florida Basset Rescue.   But she 
definitely had her own agenda.  Once she arrived at our home, she  quickly made 
friends with Beau and Rhett.

I wrote the article below about  Scarlet's glaucoma and it was in a 
Daphneyland newsletter in 2008.   It's been an inspiration to many Basset owners 
who have had to  deal with glaucoma in their own furkids and helped them to 
understand what  their Bassets were going through.  I'm very proud to share 
Scarlet's wisdom  and experiences again as a tribute to her.

Please say a prayer and light a candle so Scarlet can look down and  know 
we remember her. 
 
Marie and Bob
and a very sad Megan Mariah


GLAUCOMA  DIDN'T RUIN MY LIFE!!
 
My name is Scarlet and I am a beautiful eight year old tri  Basset.  Four 
years ago, I woke up one morning with a terrible   headache and my right eye 
was hurting.  I spent until noon in bed,  didn't  want to go outside with my 
two Basset brothers and had no  appetite.  My  human parents knew something 
was wrong and took me to  the vet, who referred me  to a canine 
ophthalmologist.  The diagnosis  was glaucoma and he iscussed  the treatment options.  
My right eye was  injected and we all knew that I  would lose my vision in 
that  eye.   After a day recuperating, I  started to adjust to having  vision 
in one eye.  I had several rechecks with  the ophthalmologist  and at the 
last one, he told my parents that, if glaucoma  was going to  show up in my 
other eye, it would probably do so within two years  and he  rechecked the 
pressure in my good eyes every three months.   
 
Twenty-one months after I lost the vision in my right eye, my left  eye  
started weeping and the headache came back.    I knew  there was a  problem 
when I was whisked to the ophthalmologist that  evening.  My left  eye was 
injected and now my vision was gone! 
 
As we left the  ophthalmologist's office, he told my Mom and Dad a few  
words of  wisdom:
 
If you treat Scarlet like an invalid, she will  become one.
 
Move a piece of furniture or two around every month so she is  challenged.
 
If you treat Scarlet  like an invalid, she will become one.
 
Let Scarlet go  out into the yard with her Basset brothers to  play.
 
If  you treat Scarlet like an invalid, she will become one.
 
I think you get  the message...
 
I have learned that I don't like ceramic tile and would  not walk on  it.  
This presented a challenge since our water bowl was kept  in the  kitchen 
and I wouldn't go to it by myself.  The ophthalmologist said   that since 
Bassets are scent hounds, I probably couldn't get a good scent  trail  from the 
ceramic tile. 
 
About six months after my second eye was  injected, we moved to  another 
state.  I spent three nights in motels and  sniffed out every  inch of the 
motel rooms.  When we arrived at my new home,  I was  presented with challenges 
that I never anticipated.  I have to go up   and down stairs to get into 
the yard.  Last winter, I "felt and  smelled"  snow for the first time -  and 
look forward to it  arriving  soon.   I've learned the scent of deer and 
rabbits and  know when the  bunnies are running across my fenced yard.   I can  
walk through my  house just as good as any Basset with sight, get into my  
favorite chair and up  on the sofa.  I can smell my food being  prepared and 
immediately head to  the spot where my dish will be  placed.  My housemate, 
Megan Mariah, who  joined our family two years  ago, is from Daphneyland 
and she brought a treasure  chest of experience  with her.  From the day she 
arrived, Megan sensed I did  not have  vision and she keeps a watchful eye on 
me to make sure I don't get into   trouble.
 
Please don't feel sorry for me.  My life is full and I can  do  almost 
anything a sighted Basset can do.  My hearing and sense of  smell  have gotten 
sharper.  If you ever have to deal with glaucoma  and a Basset,  I have one 
piece of advice, run don't walk to a vet who is  familiar with canine  
glaucoma or preferably a canine  ophthalmologist.  With proper treatment,  you'll 
have a Basset who can  do a lot more for itself than humans think - we  need 
you to put our drops  in our eyes, fix our food, keep our water dish full  
and give us love and  belly rubs.  But please, let us do as much as we can  
for ourselves -  a blind Basset won't be an invalid unless you make them  
one.
 
This is dedicated my Basset brothers, Beauregard and Rhett, who have   both 
gone To The Bridge.  They were my eyes and companions until I  adjusted  to 
losing my vision.  To them and Megan I will be  forever  grateful.
 
Scarlet - Now ATB
 
 
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