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Blindness In One Eye


Guest DarkHorse

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Guest DarkHorse

We originally thought that the odd green reflection Dexter's right eye gives off in any direct light was just a normal reflection and that he was just a clutz, but when we started realizing that 90% of his impacts happened on his right side, we started wondering. It seems like he is at least partially blind in that eye; we can approach it with a finger and almost touch it before he blinks (if we avoid his eyelashes) but he'll start to blink his left eye when we're still over an inch away.

 

I think he still has some vision left as he does flinch a bit sooner if we perform the test in bright light (sunlight or direct reading lamp light) but it's not great.

 

The green reflection has been there since the adoption group photographed him and he's been walking into walls on his right side since we got him, so I think this is a long-term issue, possibly something he's had his whole life. The only symptoms are the odd coloured reflection, lack of reaction and a bit of redness, which I think might be caused by him not seeing debris in time to blink.

 

The vet we took him to last year didn't notice this, but she also didn't do a thorough check-up at all, and I know most vets that rescues work with don't have the time to do a full in-detail examination so we have no vet opinion on what the issue is. He doesn't seem to be getting any worse, so we're kind of hoping to get a few good ideas to research before we start talking to a (new) vet about potential causes and tests.

 

We're thinking it's just something he's always had, but the one thing that makes us hesitate is that he seems to be getting better at dealing with it, which makes us question whether he's always had it (if he had, wouldn't he have adapted to it earlier?) His other eye seems to be fine and hasn't noticeably changed in the year we've had him.

 

So, what eye conditions can possibly cause full or partial blindness where the only symptoms other than the blindness are an odd colour of reflection in direct light and maybe a bit of redness?

 

A few pictures to give you all an idea of what I mean by the reflection. Both eyes do have reflections, but the right eye is brighter and has a green hue:

Picture254.jpg

 

Picture060.jpg

 

His adoption photo:

Dexter2.jpg

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We had a foster that was a bit of a klutz when turning to one side; we took him to the local greyhound vet the day before he was to get adopted out (he was a fast move), and he took one look and said, "Well, he's blind in one eye. Or nearly so." Well THAT was simple. The lens can be replaced; when asked, he took another look, figured the dog had perhaps 30% sight in the affected eye, but he really did quite well for himself. Other than a couple of incidents (bumping into a door frame when turning towards the side with the affected eye, that sort of thing), he did fine. But if something DID happen to the unaffected eye, there was always a surgical option, albeit an expensive one.

 

The adoptive family was notified ASAP; they continued through with the adoption and, best as I know, he's still in the home today.

Coco (Maze Cocodrillo)

Minerva (Kid's Snipper)

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Guest DarkHorse
We had a foster that was a bit of a klutz when turning to one side; we took him to the local greyhound vet the day before he was to get adopted out (he was a fast move), and he took one look and said, "Well, he's blind in one eye. Or nearly so." Well THAT was simple. The lens can be replaced; when asked, he took another look, figured the dog had perhaps 30% sight in the affected eye, but he really did quite well for himself. Other than a couple of incidents (bumping into a door frame when turning towards the side with the affected eye, that sort of thing), he did fine. But if something DID happen to the unaffected eye, there was always a surgical option, albeit an expensive one.

 

The adoptive family was notified ASAP; they continued through with the adoption and, best as I know, he's still in the home today.

 

 

What was his condition? This sounds very similar to Dexter. He doesn't have any visible symptoms (scarring, cataract, etc), just blindness.

 

We're going to call the OVC and see if they have an opthamologist who can take a look at Dex and see what it is and if anything needs to be done. Luckily they're nice and close so we can probably get him in if they have someone that can help.

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I was going to suggest an ophthamalogist, if you have one in the area. We are lucky, we have one very close to us, and he is VERY good.

Sarah, the human, Henley, and Armani the Borzoi boys, and Brubeck the Deerhound.
Always in our hearts, Gunnar, Naples the Greyhounds, Cooper and Manero, the Borzoi, and King-kitty, at the Rainbow Bridge.

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What was his condition? This sounds very similar to Dexter. He doesn't have any visible symptoms (scarring, cataract, etc), just blindness.

 

We're going to call the OVC and see if they have an opthamologist who can take a look at Dex and see what it is and if anything needs to be done. Luckily they're nice and close so we can probably get him in if they have someone that can help.

 

There was that similar green sheen, too. Doc suggested it may have been a lens injury at some point in time; it may have been why he was retired, but I forget details now. He was fine when we got him, and he'd just been retired shortly before that, so I kind of doubt it was a recent injury. Maybe he even ran with it like that- I don't know.

 

Correction is straightforward, but- again, provided one eye is at or near 100%, the question would be "why"? Many dogs do surprisingly well even when both eyes are affected.

 

http://www.veterinaryvision.com/dvm_forum/dvm-cataracts.htm

Coco (Maze Cocodrillo)

Minerva (Kid's Snipper)

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You can test the vision in that eye by covering the other eye and tossing a cotton ball in the air. If he doesn't track it he can't see.

Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel

Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee

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Guest myneedlenose

Mayhem's eyes both have that green in direct light, the right worse than the left. He was diagnosed with Pannus and is managed very well with an assortment of meds. He was nearly blind in the right by the time we got him to an opthalmologist, and somewhat irritable too.

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