Today has been a busy day - as each day seems to be at the moment.
I've been to the vets with Conan - my very vocal hyperactive 12 year old puppy :o) We went so the vet could do a final check on his right eye. Conan had an operation before christmas to remove a lump from just behind his shoulder. It wasn't affecting Co in any way but it has grown a bit over the past few years and I had to choose between leaving well alone, or having it removed - my main concern was his age. If I left the lump, I could have been faced with a big dilema at needing to have it removed, but unable to do so as Co would have been too old to cope with the anaesthetic from a long operation. But - luckily, the lump was removed just before christmas, and the 20 odd stapes were removed just after the new year. The vets did a biopsy on the lump and all is well. Just a benign fatty lump - phew - thank heavens for that. Apart from Co being a hyperactive noisy attention seeking pain in the butt - he is a very friendly loving adorable pain in the butt - and he's mine :o) At the same time as the vet was doing the usual pre op tests, they found out that Co has a heart murmur. More tests were done on that, including an ultrasound so that can be monitored. His murmur isn't bad enough to warrant a prescription med, but at the vets suggestion, I give him 250 mg per day cod liver oil capsules. If it doesn't help his heart, it will help his joints :o) Inbetween the lump saga, and missed appointments due to us being snowed in, checking the status of his heart murmur - his right eye 'flared up' again. So, he's been back on the eye cream and drops. He did have a slight ulcer on it - which luckily the cream cleared and the drops cleared the inflamation - so now his eye is back to normal - well, as normal as his right eye will ever be. Conan will be disappointed that there's no visit to the vets next week, as we seem to be regular visitors to the surgery with at least 4 visits in the past month, and 8 since before christmas.
The story of his eye - he was born with a skin growth (dermis) on his right eye. It had the same affect as a cataract, and as he grew, so did the dermis. By the time he reached the age of 22 months, he was totally blind in his eye. The vets had been keeping it under observation, so for his 2nd birthday Conan had an operation to remove the dermis from his eye. He can see out of it - but how much is difficult to say. As his guardian / mum I'd probably be the best qualified to guess and I'd say he has around 60 % vision in it. I have to be careful that he doesn't get dust or grit in his eye - beaches on windy days are a definite 'No Go Area' for us, as are heavy wooded areas where he could easily catch his eye on a small twig or bramble without me realising - but when the inevitable happens, a quick visit to the vets to stock up with cream and drops is the norm in our house.
After out visit to the vet, we came home, had a quick bite to eat, and packed a ruck sack with bowls, flasks of water, towels, and clean up kit and off we went on our usual trip to the part for a run about. And where is he now - stretched out on the floor - right under my feet (as usual) catching 40 winks. And his sister - Lady - she's curled up in the armchair snuggled in on top of a fleece blanket. Are they spoilt? Who cares - they're comfy and happy and thats all that matters to me.
