Dog Diseases

Buffy may have No Eyes Soon

eye drop table

Buffy, my 9-year old cocker spaniel, started bumping into the walls on Sunday morning—meaning she was blind. This has happened before, but each time it’s worse. Buffy has glaucoma and only one eye. She had her first eye removed at the end of June after glaucoma caused her to lose her vision and drugs no … Read more

How to Play with a Dog with Limited Vision from Glaucoma

Cocker spaniel sitting in her bed

Buffy, my 8-year-old cocker spaniel has glaucoma. She cannot see things right in front of her or at a distance. Somehow she manages to not bump into furniture or people. When she does that, then I know she is blind. It has happened before, but we have been lucky at bringing her eye pressure down. … Read more

Nearly Blind—Buffy’s Stages of Glaucoma

Buffy, my 8 ½ year-old cocker spaniel, chased her squeaky tennis ball down the steps to the first floor while I brushed my teeth—a typical morning in my household. But when I came out of the shower a half hour later, she was bumping into the walls, into chairs, and into me. She was “non-visual” … Read more

Goodbye Mr. Chips

Chipper was my 12 1/2 year-old cocker spaniel. Yes, I mean was. His last day was November 15.

smiling dogDuring his half-year checkup on October 3, the vet found an enlarged spleen. It was almost three times its normal size.

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How much is your dog worth?

Priceless, most of us would say. But what happens when you have an old dog and an unknown illness, like an abdominal mass? Your vet runs through several scenarios:

  • Run multiple tests to try to identify the problem. That would cost of over a grand, and not involve treatment. If we’re lucky, the problem can be determined from only one or two tests. Plus the cost of treatment, whatever that may be.
  • She could do exploratory surgery and remove the mass, but if there were multiple tumors, then she would euthanize your dog.
  • Or she could just make him comfortable, which may last only a few weeks.

How far do you go down the rabbit hole?

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Blindness Temporarily Thwarted

Buffy, my one-eyed cocker spaniel, acted normal on Sunday morning, even asking me to throw her ball. But ten minutes later, she stood still with her head down. She stepped cautiously forward and bumped her nose into the bathroom door, then the wall, then the corner. She sniffed everything. I waved my hand in front of her face. She blinked once, likely feeling the air moving. But her eye showed no movement.

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When your Dog has the Runs—Should You Visit the Vet?

On Monday, I arrived home later than usual after work and found my husband scrubbing the carpet, a roll of paper towels lay on the floor and a scowl across his face. Buffy, my tan cocker spaniel had made a huge mess all over the living room rug. Diarrhea.

Buffy at the vet
Buffy sticking out her tongue at me at the vet’s office.

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Oh My – She Lost an Eye

On Tuesday, I took Buffy to her eye doctor to get the pressure checked in her eyes. Her right eye had jumped from 15 to 30 in the two weeks since our last visit.

Cocker spaniel before eye surgery
Last photo of Buffy with both eyes, even though she had no vision in her right eye.

Once the pressure reaches 35, then dogs experience a severe headache, like a migraine.

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