Breed: Toy Poodle
DOB: 2005
Sex: Spayed female
Weight: 8 pounds
Foster home: Julie
136-10

Sweet Pea was an unclaimed stray who was mostly blind and had a very bad infection in both of her eyes.  Since she was not likely to be adopted from the shelter, she came to rescue. 

She was diagnosed with Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), or “dry eye” and needed drops in her eyes twice a day.  However, even after a few weeks of treatment, she still never completely got rid of the infection.  About the time she was going to go back to the vet for a re-check, a very generous and nice lady named Shirley offered to pay for her to go to an ophthalmologist veterinarian.  Now Sweet Pea is getting 3 kinds of special eyes drops every day – her eyes had gone untreated for so long that her corneas were very scratched and injured.  After just a few days of this, the infection is cleared up and she can definitely see more than before.

Even when Sweet Pea was mostly blind, she never really seemed to care and she has always been a major charmer!  She never fails to wag her tail when you talk to her and she can get quite frisky.  She lets you know she is ready to play when she bows down on her front legs and barks at you.  She is just great at going outside to potty and even when she could barely see, she liked to walk all over the yard and had no fears about exploring all over.

Although Sweetest Pea rarely barks, she will let you know if she is hungry and wants to be fed and if you ignore her, she doesn’t quit until she has her food.  In fact, if you start getting her food ready before she has “demanded” it, she gets all excited and starts barking a very “happy-it-is-meal-time” bark.

It is likely that Sweet Pea will require Tacrolimus drops for her eyes for the rest of her life to keep her vision and to keep her eyes from becoming infected again.  Putting the drops in her eyes is very easy though, as she never struggles and always holds very still for them.  Besides, she is such an entertaining little dog that it the extra cost for her care will be more than worth it!

E-mail julemson@wmol.com if you have any specific questions!