Sophie and Lili's Mom
03-28-2006, 05:36 PM
Good news: He is in no pain what-so-ever
Bad news: He is totally blind and it is beyond repair
Dr. Yu-Speight said that he has retinal degeneration and at this point there is not enough left to do anything with. The reason is impossible to pin down without further testing. It could be abuse, it could be genetic. Since it would not do anything to improve the situation, she does not feel there is any point in further testing. Yes, it would most likely let us know the cause of the blindness but the damage cannot be reversed at this point. He is otherwise healthy.
She did recommend a book "Living With Blind Dogs" by Caroline D. Levin RN. She said it is a great read and has excellent ideas for assisting a dog in learning to cope. Since in a way Spirit is newly blind (his seeing eye dog is gone) I have ordered the book. It should be here Fri. I will let you know what I think of it.
None of this is surprising to me and even though it does not bring closure for us, it does for him, as far as I am concerned. He is blind, we will teach him how to be blind and happy. If he was abused...the abuser will pay in time, we just won't get to see it. I am a firm believer in that no matter what your religion, if you do something as evil as abuse, you will suffer. I don't need to worry about that...I need to worry about helping Spirit.
Bad news: He is totally blind and it is beyond repair
Dr. Yu-Speight said that he has retinal degeneration and at this point there is not enough left to do anything with. The reason is impossible to pin down without further testing. It could be abuse, it could be genetic. Since it would not do anything to improve the situation, she does not feel there is any point in further testing. Yes, it would most likely let us know the cause of the blindness but the damage cannot be reversed at this point. He is otherwise healthy.
She did recommend a book "Living With Blind Dogs" by Caroline D. Levin RN. She said it is a great read and has excellent ideas for assisting a dog in learning to cope. Since in a way Spirit is newly blind (his seeing eye dog is gone) I have ordered the book. It should be here Fri. I will let you know what I think of it.
None of this is surprising to me and even though it does not bring closure for us, it does for him, as far as I am concerned. He is blind, we will teach him how to be blind and happy. If he was abused...the abuser will pay in time, we just won't get to see it. I am a firm believer in that no matter what your religion, if you do something as evil as abuse, you will suffer. I don't need to worry about that...I need to worry about helping Spirit.