HomeI thought it was amusing at first. Sandy, my six year old cocker spaniel, would happily bound into the room to see me when I'd come home, but then just run right past me. Realizing what she had done, she would stop, put her nose in the air and sniff to catch my scent, then slowly walk back towards me.
This wasn't the only incident, there were others. For instance, in the middle of the night I would hear thumping noises. No, not the same kind Kato heard on that fateful night in Brentwood. These were much fainter. Investigating with a flash light, I found Sandy bumping head first into one of the bedroom walls trying to find her way out of the room. Even though the door was wide open she just couldn't seem to find the opening. It was obvious her eye sight was going and had been for some time.
So, several weeks later Sandy and I sat in the waiting room of the Gulfshore Animal Hospital in Naples to see Dr. Dan Wolf who's one of only 10 veterinary ophthalmologist in the state.
"At least we'll finally get to the bottom of this problem today." I thought to myself apprehensively. Once called into the exam room, Dr. Wolf started running a few tests on Sandy. After about 10 minutes of peering deep into her eyes with a variety of devices, he stated she had Progressive Retinal Atrophy.
He went on to explain that PRA, as it is commonly referred to, is a degeneration of the retina which is a hereditary problem in over 100 breeds. The retina is the part of the eye which acts like the film in a camera and it's used to take a picture of whatever the eye is looking at. When not working properly the image that's sent back to the brain is abnormal or there's none at all. The animal's night vision is the first to go, with loss of day vision following shortly afterwards.
"Once the diagnosis is made there really isn't anything we can do to change the coarse of the disease and keep her from (completely) losing her vision." he said. "Fortunately, it's not painful and dose not cause any other medical problems with it."
The culprit behind this disease is inbreeding, said Wolf. "It's just natural that when you try to accentuate good traits your going to accentuate bad traits as well."
PRA affects all breeds the same except for when the initial onset occurs. Most cockers and poodles develop signs later in life, around 2 - 4 years old, while collies and Irish setters can show signs as early as 6 months.
Luckily for the Irish setter there is already a blood based DNA test which can determine whether it is a PRA carrier. The use of this simple, one-time test helps breeders to eliminate the risk of producing blind dogs. As far as other breeds are concerned, a research lab at Cornell is currently working on developing another blood based DNA test to help determine PRA status in them.
With my head spinning from all the new information tossed at me, I walked out of the exam room with Sandy in tow. Dr. Wolf had determined she was already 90% blind and would probably loose the remaining 10% within twelve months.
On our drive home I realized as Sandy's vision faded it would certainly bring new challenges for both of us. Her antics which were so amusing at first didn't seem so funny anymore.
How to deal with a blind pet Pets adapt amazingly well to this disability. Besides the tips below, remember that patience and understanding go a long way.
1. Dogs are able to memorize the layout of your house extremely well so if your pet stays mostly indoors, don't rearrange your furniture. If you have an outside dog, don't plan any major landscape projects and be sure to fence in the yard.
2. If you have a hot tub or pool place fencing around it so your pet won't fall in and drown.
3. Keep your pets food and water dish in exactly the same place.
4. If you have stairs, place a barrier up to prevent him/her from falling down them.
5. Make sure your pet learns to obey your voice commands which will help keep them out of dangerous situations.
6. When people come over your house, tell them your dog is blind. Have them speak softly to your pet as they approach to keep from startling him.
Dr. Dan Wolf works at the Animal Eye Clinic in Tampa and comes to the Gulfshore Animal Hospital and the Emergency Pet Hospital in Naples every other week. He has specialized in veterinary ophthalmology since 1976 and only sees patients who have been referred by their veterinarian.