Alayne took this photo of me removing the sutures from Carmel’s eyes this morning. Carmel had gone blind from a corneal dystrophy that destroyed the corneas in both eyes. The condition was extremely painful. After consulting with a number of veterinary ophthalmologists, our vet Dr. Brenda Culver learned there was nothing we could do to eliminate the pain but remove her eyes. The operation was a couple of weeks ago.
After coming home from the hospital, she’s become a different dog. She is playful, carefree, and clearly enjoying being pain-free for the first time in a long time. Before, she would walk around the house, blinking and cringing because she was afraid she was going to bump into something with her throbbing eyes. Now she bounces up and down and twirls, and she doesn’t worry about it any longer!
There’s something else that’s different about her, too. Our suspicions are growing that she has decided to become my minion — my second one, after Ellie May! She has started following me around everywhere, and hanging out in my office when I’m in here — often curled up right next to Ellie May on a dog bed. Alayne reports that Carmel now gets upset when I leave the house and she’s left behind inside. (Carmel must have realized early on that the minion-quota for Alayne was already way oversubscribed by Dachshunds and other assorted camp-followers and now exceeded safe levels.)
I suspected something was going on because of what Carmel had started doing these past few evenings. After dinner I often sit down in a comfortable chair in the living room with my laptop to get some more work done. Carmel has started coming over, standing up on her hind legs with her front feet on the chair, and tries to climb into my lap. Now, there just isn’t enough room for both laptop and Beagle on one lap, so I had to choose: computer or dog. Carmel thought the choice was a clear and simple one. So yes, I’d set the laptop aside and scoop up the Beagle for some loving.
Speaking of blind Beagles, look who was sleeping on the couch next to us while I was removing Carmel’s sutures (do you think Widget looks comfortable enough?):
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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