Here’s our little old gal who arrived over the weekend … Ellie May the blind-and-deaf Cocker Spaniel. Ellie May’s owner just died in a small town here in Montana, and Robin M., the personal representative or executor of the estate, called to ask if we could take in this sweet girl. Given her age and disabilities, Ellie May was not a candidate for a local shelter. The dog’s vet had told Robin that she should simply euthanize Ellie May, which she did not want to do. Robin told me over the phone, "This little dog is still full of life, how could I do such a thing?"
So Robin drove Ellie May out to the ranch. After they got out of the car, I kneeled down to pet Ellie May … and that’s when I noticed her eyes. Oh, my. They looked awful. Both were red and inflamed. Her right eye bulged. Her left one didn’t look much better. I realized this old girl had been living with painful eyes for years. I asked Robin if the vet had given her any medications or said anything about the condition of Ellie May’s eyes. No, she said, the vet hadn’t mentioned anything at all. I was astounded.
I explained what I was seeing — the vascularization, the bulging — and what I thought it indicated. Here’s what the right eye looks like. I told Robin that if the eyes are as painful as I think they are, our vets might end up having to do surgery and remove them … but this poor dog needed treatment, one way or the other. Robin, bless her heart, wrote out a check right then and there to pay for Ellie May’s medical care.
We worried how Ellie May would do. She’s probably 14, her owner had just passed away, she was uprooted from the only life she knew, and suddenly she was at the ranch. Oh yes, and she can’t see or hear a thing. She was very anxious her first day, and we cuddled her a lot. She trembled in our arms, and Alayne and I would take turns holding her, but after a couple of hours she started gaining confidence. By that first evening she was eager to have treats and she wolfed down her dinner. We were relieved, because there’s no better sign of coping than that!
She was quick to find her way around the house, and then the yard. Ellie May would follow either me or Alayne wherever we went, and she never wanted to be separated from us … but by today she was already snoozing on her own in the living room. She wags her little stump of a tail whenever she realizes we’re close by, and this afternoon she was even rolling around on the living room sofa.
I called our small animal vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, today to discuss Ellie May and get her scheduled for an eye exam, blood panels, and the complete geriatric work-up. We’re taking her in on Thursday to see Brenda, and we will make further medical decisions based on what Brenda finds.
Meanwhile, we’re trying to keep Ellie May as comfortable as we can, and she seems to be settled into her routine. Today she let me know when she needed to go outside to potty, which just amazed me. Here she is, completely blind and deaf and old, and yet she’s figured out already — in just two days — how to find the front door and communicate she has to go pee. A short while later, I found her on the front step, waiting to come back inside. She’s one smart little girl.
(Click on photos for larger image.)
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