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<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">A couple years ago I was in the sad position of having to pass along information I'd read on the Drool about glaucoma and helping bassets adjust to being blind. (For the record, I summarized what I'd read instead of forwarding actual posts on, so no one's names or e-mail addresses left the confines of the Drool Family.) One of Friend Jennifer's friends, Bonnie, had learned that her Norwegian Elkhound, Thor, was suffering from glaucoma. They took him to a veterinary ophthalmologist who gave them medication but eventually had to remove both of Thor's eyes. One of the reasons Thor's a special fellow is because my late basset friend Macy loved him very, very much and treated him as if he were her puppy. She was always so maternal toward him that he's still known in some circles as "Macy's baby." Any friend of Macy's is, of course, a friend of mine. </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">This morning Jennifer sent me a link to a YouTube video ("Thor the Wonder Dog.mp4") in which Thor hangs out while Bonnie talks about how debilitating glaucoma was to him, what a difference the surgery made, and the way he's now able to get around without having to rely on his eyes. I thought the video would be both informative and reassuring to those of us who may have to face this difficult decision with one of our bassets some day. Bonnie and the videographer, Stan, have given me permission to post the link on the Drool: </font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 19, 254); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; "><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl8rENqupBo"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl8rENqupBo</span></font></a></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">In addition, Bonnie asked me to share the following:</font></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">"If you ever get a chance to share this with someone whose dog is needing the surgery and is considering the fake eye implants, please pass along this:</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">"We struggled with the decision as to whether we should pay considerably extra to have Thor's eyes replaced with implants. I knew that these implants would only be for my benefit, but still struggled with it because I couldn't foresee what feature I would focus on post-surgery if there were no eyes and my dog had previously had very expressive eyes. In the end we chose not to have implants for Thor, mostly for financial reasons but also to lower the risk of complications with the implants. As it turns out, I need not have worried about what feature I would focus on when looking at him. I love my dog so much that I see all of him. I automatically look at his face but any dog's body language gives us clues besides those given by their eyes. Among other things, I notice now how he holds his ears and the position and action of his tail much more than before. </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">"As you may have noticed in the video clip there are depressions now where the eyes once were. Because of this, very few people notice Thor is missing his eyes when I take him on walks or when they visit. Once I point it out they exclaim that they thought he was 'looking down' with his eyes almost closed or they assume the shadowed effect of the depressions to be eyes until they look closer. It's been almost 18 months since Thor's surgery and so far no one has cringed when they saw him. As a matter of fact, he basks in all the extra attention from visitors and strangers we meet.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">"Thor's blindness has taught my children great lessons also. Recently, one of my daughter's 6th grade friends shared the story of Thor's blindness with some of their male classmates. The boys were curious, so Olivia showed them one of his photos attached to the inside of her locker door. The boys instantly pitied for Thor and began asking questions such as, 'Oh--do you have to carry him to his food bowl?', 'Do you have to put the food in his mouth?', 'Do you have to carry him outside to pee?' .... Olivia told me she looked at them like they were crazy and replied, 'Of course not! I said he was BLIND--I didn't say he was mentally challenged!'"</font></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Bonnie also said that something she's learned from the experience is that "the</font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "> eyes are a big deal to we human pet owners but not nearly so important to our beloved dogs with glaucoma. I daresay breeds who rely more heavily on their sense of smell (such as Bassets) than does Thor would notice even fewer changes in their ability to get around."</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Thanks to all who've posted in the past about diagnosing and treating a basset with glaucoma and living with a blind dog. It's helped make a difficult decision a little easier for others.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">Elizabeth</font></div><div><br></div></body></html>