Well, after a thorough eye exam, we now know why.
I've often thought of the eye as a house of cards, because when one thing goes wrong, it seems to cause a chain reaction of other eye problems. In the case of Scamp's left eye, he initially had a cataract, which then led to his retina detaching, which then led to glaucoma. The result: one blind eye.
Scamp also has keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) or dry eye, in both eyes. This means he is no longer producing adequate tear production. Dry eye can lead to corneal pigmentation and scarring, which can diminish vision and even lead to blindness, Dr. Hoy says. It can also lead to corneal ulcers.
His right eye has a hypermature cataract that has become loose. During the ultrasound examination we could see it just floating around. The reason it seemed like Scamp could see at times is because if it moved just enough to open a "line of sight" to the retina, he actually could see momentarily.
The good news is that the electroretinogram, or ERG, showed his retina in the right eye is still working just fine. This means he is a candidate for surgery to remove the cataractous lens, the same procedure Wilbur had a year ago. This will leave Scamp far-sighted but with vision, which is a huge improvement on his current situation.
So on Tuesday this week Dr. Hoy will remove Scamp's left eye and do the lens surgery on his right eye. Scamp will also need to have twice daily applications of cyclosporine eye ointment to treat his dry eye for the rest of his life.
$1,000 From The Shelter Challenge!
Thanks to your dedicated votes, we were the weekly winner for week 6 in the Shelter Challenge, and I just picked up the $1,000 check at the post office on Friday! I know some folks have told me they're frustrated that we can't seem to move up beyond the No. 6 spot nationwide, but please remember that in contest after contest, your votes have generated at least $1,000 every time for the animals here. So even though we're not No. 1 or No. 2, your daily votes really do make a difference!
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Shelter Challenge Contest — Please Vote for the Farm!
The latest Shelter Challenge started Monday, January 7 and ends on April 28. Grand prize in this round is $10,000, $3,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories … please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
*** You will find us listed as Rolling Dog Farm. The state is NH for New Hampshire. ***
Please remember, you can vote every day … consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
We just won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the current contest, and thousands more in the previous contests. The Shelter Challenge really does bring in a lot of money for the animals here!
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Thank you for your votes!
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