Friday, August 28, 2009

Ray Revisits the Eye Doctor and VIDEO ALERT: Ray and Halle

The alarm went off at 7:00. I woke up and laid in bed staring at the ceiling. I heard Gregg move next to me. 
"I had a dream last night," I said. "We came home from work and someone (In my dream I knew it was my sister, Kathy, but I couldn't prove it) had left a Dalmatian puppy in our backyard. Ray was beside himself happy and following it everywhere." 
"Don't get any ideas," said Gregg as he rolled out of bed.
Gregg had an appointment to get his car inspected at 8:30. Ray and I had an appointment at the eye specialist (VetVision) at 8:00. Luckily the two places were near each other.
Ray's "bad" eye is usually inky dark and opaque. It's kind of like looking at a prune without the wrinkles. Last week it turned kind of greenish and clearish like a marble or a crystal ball. I didn't think it was an issue (I mean, he's blind in that eye, he can't get any blinder) but I thought I'd take him in and find out what was going on.
We got to the Vet right on time. It was already busy. We waited for a bit and I thought of our last visit here at the beginning of July and how out of control Ray had been. He has made so much progress. He was still very interested in meeting the other dogs that were in the waiting room, but I wasn't sweating trying to keep him under control. He sat and flopped although every time the door opened, he sprang to his feet and lunged. Not to get out, but to meet whoever was coming in.
Dr. Corcoran is a very likable vet and very highly-regarded by the other vets we've gone to. Actually all the vets we've met have been great. She checked out Ray and told us he was fine. She thinks that the reason the appearance of his eye changed is because his detached retina folded down on itself and now we are looking at the back of his eye, which is greenish (it's very cool looking). She told us to watch for any blood or bleeding on the eye, not that it was more likely to happen because he was blind, but because it was an indication of tick-borne disease which is treatable. If it's not treated, he can lose the little sight that he has left. 
Dr. Corcoran told us that 75% of the dogs that she has tested have been positive for tick-borne diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme. She said that Rocky Mountain Spotted is an old bug and hasn't been studied much because people focus on the new (i.e. Lyme). She was very interesting and full of information. She has treated cats, dogs, fish, birds, seals, and last week some kind of rodent-y thing. Gregg thinks it was a chinchilla. He is usually right about stuff like that (his mind is like a steel trap; mine's more like a steel sieve). Ray liked her, but I guess that's not much of an endorsement because, really, Ray likes everyone.
I dropped Ray at home and headed off to work. When I returned, Ray met me at the door. He was excited to see me. This is the first time that's happened. He usually greets me with a gently wagging tail, kind of like, "oh yeah, I remember you, nice to see you again." This time it was like, "Ohmygodshe'shome!" I don't know why this day was different than any other day, but it was.
Halle stopped by to see Ray and we let them in the backyard together. Ray practiced his unique technique to get her to play.

1 comment:

  1. Haha, love the videos. I miss goofy Ray - he's a real character. That is one tough cat toy - I think I'll invest in that company :)

    ReplyDelete