I Think Dingle's Eyesight is Getting Worse

As much as I'd like to be in denial (still, a year and a half after the Progressive Retainal Atrophy diagnosis) about Dinglehopper going blind, I can't.

The last little while I have noticed things that incidate he can't see very well... luckily I think it is still only in low-light situations.

Take this for example:

I work overnights and this morning I went into the bedroom at 6:30am to get Dingle to take him outside. We have room darkening blinds on our windows and so it is quite dark in there... not pitch black, though.

I only open the door a crack, in an effort to not wake up my boyfriend and usually this is no problem. However today I guess Dingle could see how far the door was open (despite there being a nightlight in the hall outside our door) and he ended up walking into the door. He wasn't phased or hurt and so he tried again - but was actually trapped behind the door (between the door and the wall) and couldn't figure his way out... and kept on trying. Of course I went in and grabbed him and then I just sat at the top of the stairs holding him, feeling sorry for him and wondering what the future has in store for him...

Dog Food Donations

I was cleaning up my computer tonight and found some photos from last year, when I made a donation (of dog/puppy food) to the Pomeranian and Small Breed Rescue in Hamilton.

Dingle sure seemed happy to sit in the picture - perhaps he thought this food was for him. Ha ha.

The actual donations to the PSBR was more than 3x what you see in the picture and it cost me under $0.99 a bag - thanks to awesome sales at PetSmart and coupons. If only that sale would come back.

Since then I have made regular donations of pet food - to the SPCA, Humane Society, etc. and will continue to do so.

I really screwed up in getting Dingle from a pet store. By getting him from a pet store I supported a puppy mill and contributed to the suffering of dogs and puppies. Now I want to do anything I can to better the lives of dogs/pups... and sort of 'right' that 'wrong'.

Dingle has chipped a tooth.

Tonight I was brushing Dinglehopper's teeth and noticed that he chipped a tooth. It's one of his pro-molars and the tip/point of it has broken off.

Immediately after seeing that I was tempted to call the vet and book an appointment... but the 5 people that were over at my house stopped me.

They said it doesn't look that bad, compared to the other one.

Dingle is eating okay and I don't even know when it would have happened.

He had a dental in September... so sometime between September and now.

He had a check-up a few weeks ago and the vet looked at his teeth quickly (as his mouth is gross again already)... but not in the back.

Hm... do I spent $70 to have the vet likely tell me it's alright... or do I wait? My sister says to only go in about it if he stops eating.

Dingle has an eye vet appointment in May. That vet can't see us for problems that are not eye related (something about a contract or by-law or something) because it was a referral from my vet, but I'm hoping if we don't go in before then he'll at least look at the tooth and tell me if we should go in for an appointment specifically about that.

Ugh... I'm stressed... but I know I tend to jump the gun and make sometimes unnecessary vet appointments.

Dingle's Annual Check-Up

Dingle had his annual check-up on Tuesday evening.

About 15 minutes and $200.02 later, Dingle was given a clean bill of health... well, aside from all his 'pre-existing issues'... like the PRA, KCS, Luxating Patellas. So, I guess we'll just say he has no new problems, currently.

The vet actually commented on how good he was looking - his eyes especially - no tear stains, ick, etc. Yay (maybe we will make it a year between Forest Hill appointments).

Dingle is 4.3kg.

4.3kg x 2.2 = 9.46 pounds.

Sorry Dingle, you won't be in any CKC or AKC shows... you don't meet the standards for the weight class... plus you're neutered... plus you are a genetic mess, overall. But I love you.

The vet also said that for whatever reason Dingle seemed to look younger that night.

Maybe because he had a haircut the same day.

My boyfriend always says that Dinglehopper looks like a shrub after his haircuts... does this look like a shrub:

That picture isn't from his most recent haircut, but essentially he looks like same.

Shrub? Maybe (yeah, I can kind of see it), maybe not. But he's definitely a tired dog that prefers the hardwood floor over his beds.

Dingle's Annual Check-Up is Approaching...

In just over 2 week's Dingle has his annual vet check-up at the Downtown Animal Hospital.

Yup, time for his shots - he's due for all of them this year.

Any guesses on what ailment, condition, diagnosis will pop up at this appointment?

My fingers are crossed that there is nothing, but given his track record... well, yeah.

Random Dingle picture: him sleeping in my bed, on my boyfriend's pillow, while my boyfriend was out of town visiting family:

Can We Make it a Year Between 'Opthamologist' Appointments?

Stolen from Dingle's website (www.freewebs.com/michelle_and_dinglehopper) and originally written on December 3rd:

"At our last (eye) vet appointment in May I was told that Dingle didn't need to come back for another check-up until around Christmas, unless we had problems. Luckily (and surprisingly) Dinglehopper has not had problems. The other day I decided I should call the vet and check in to see if he needed an appointment this soon. Again, luckily and surprisingly Dinglehopper has been doing awesome, eye wise. We recently switched back to Cyclosporin gel (instead of the drops we had tried when we filled the last prescription) and his eyes look amazing - no tear stains at all. No squinting, rubbing at eyes, etc.

Before I called the vet I literally had to sit there for 10 minutes trying to remember the vet's name... yes, I couldn't remember because it had been so long. We've never made it 7 months without seeing a specific vet. At first I thought "ah ha, it's Dr. Miller", but then realized no, that was the name of his knee surgeon. I finally figured it out and when I called I was told that Dingle didn't need to see him until May unless there were problems.

So, as long as nothing comes up between now and then, Dingle will only have to have yearly visits, just to renew his prescription.

I'm glad we don't have to go now, because it would be a waste of money, but at the same time I'd like to know if they could tell if there has been a vision decrease between now and last year - since it has been just over a year since Dingle's KSC/PRA diagnoses.

Well, I guess I'll just continue to hope for the best (read: be in denial over his failing eyesight) until May."

In other random news - last week a small town newspaper published an article that I wrote about why you shouldn't purchase a puppy as a Christmas gift. It talked about pet stores, puppy mills, backyard breeders (hello Kijiji), holiday dangers, etc. I also submitted an article to the Toronto Star, but never heard back from them. I sent it off to the Metro Newspapers as well, but I think it's futile. At least word got out in the rural area, which is big on puppy mills.

Meet Moo-Cow Dingle:

Another Ear Infection

Dingle has another ear infection. He just had one on September 8th. I only remember the date because we had to make a vet trip on his birthday.

Last night we made a trip to the vet again. I had spoken to the vet on the phone earlier in the day and he said to go ahead and treat with Surolan. However he wanted me to come in and have an ear cleaning demo and to get solution to clean his infected ear with.

The appointment was with a technician only - the vet wanted to spare me the appointment fees since I know what an ear infection looks like and already have the medication. So we were with the technician for about 10 minutes for this demo. I've been cleaning his ears correctly... just needed to buy the solution... don't remeber the name off hand. I was impressed because that trip only cost me $45... and that was with a bag of dental food.

Speaking of dental - Dingle's breath smells like he has a carcas lodged in his throat...again. I guess we only got a few weeks of stink free following the dental.