Posha likely had an eye ulcer that went untreated and resulted in enucleation. The simplest way to explain it, is that the ulcer on Posha's eye eventually got so bad that the inner workings of her eye erupted through the ulcer on her cornea. Posha's eye could not be saved; it needed to be removed immediately.
Within a few days, Posha's family came back in with Posha. She is in a lot of pain, she's stopped eating, she's just suffering. They couldn't afford surgery, and opted to euthanize her. It was the best choice for their situation. So, the papers were signed and they went on their way with sadness.
I have a serious issue with euthanizing healthy dogs. A few years ago, a young lab had come into the clinic for euthanasia for limping. I put close to $800 into that dog and couldn't find anything wrong with her. She was adopted out and is still alive today, enjoying life.
Posha, with many others who I have taken in, was no different. She was otherwise healthy...remove her eye, and she'll continue to live a normal, happy life. Thankfully, Dr. Holliday's heart is as big as mine, and she supports these efforts of mine.
Posha laid, sedated, on our wet table...it was either euthanasia now or surgery. We stood there, the three of us around Posha, trying to decide what to do. Legally, Posha was to be euthanized, but...only because there was no money for her. It was hard...and I see owners battling this problem every day. It is not uncommon...it is not as horrible as many make it out to seem. It is a fact of life, and is sometimes terribly heart-breaking.
I sent a text message to my friend, Holly. She is big into animal rescue and knows LOTS of people in the rescue world around here. I told her a little about Posha...I told her that we would remove her eye, if she could find a rescue to take Posha afterwards.
Within 30 minutes, I got a text back with a phone number to call. Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue would take Posha.
However, now we needed the owner to sign Posha over to the clinic. The euthanasia form is not a 'release of ownership'. This is always a hard call to make and one that I find very...nerve-wracking. Posha's family could still say 'no' and they'd rather her euthanized. That is their call to make, and I would feel better knowing that I at least 'tried' for Posha's sake. I explained to them that they did not have sign Posha over to me and that we would euthanize her if that was truly what they wanted. Or, they could sign Posha over to the clinic and her eye would be removed and then go to the rescue.
A few phone calls later, and it was a done deal. Posha was our's and we went into surgery immediately.
This is Posha's eye up close. The black wrinkly bit you see in the center...that is the inner workings of Posha's eye, dried and scabbed up from prolonged exposure. The weird mucky fluid coming from the bottom is pus, Posha's eye is no longer an eye, it's a ruptured abscess.
Posha is 8 years old, and she worried us under anesthesia. She didn't want to breathe on her own and her heart rate dropped below a comfortable beat too often. The eye was such a mess that Dr. Holliday had a terrible time getting it out. The most bizarre thing about it all was this...
DO NOT LOOK AT THIS PICTURE IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH.
Posha's actually eye ball was so infected that the eye actually ruptured in a few places to let the pus out. It filled her eye socket...this picture (see warning above...again) shows just one of the holes the infection made to let the pus drain out of the eye to make room for more.
I call this 'amazing'...simply because it is...as unfortunate as it is. It is amazing what the body does...on it's own.
After surgery, Posha went into recovery...
She recovered well, and thankfully, had no extra drainage. It was also apparent that she still had vision in her other eye. Sometimes it's a complication following surgery that while removing the bad eye, you can cause the other eye to go blind.
The next morning, we discovered Posha's love...canned food. She took her medicine like a professional...and you could see the light in her restored. Granted, she's an older gal...so she does play, doesn't bark, doesn't really do anything but hang out and watch the world around her. But, bring out canned food and she comes to life...that beautiful tail or her's wags, her eyes light up, she smiles...it's perfect.
Posha's hair will grow back and you won't even know she doesn't have the eye unless you really look for it. That's the beauty of having bangs. ;) I think she's gorgeous no matter how many eyes she has.
Posha goes to the rescue tomorrow evening, if Dr. Holliday deems her able. I don't see why she can't, so I am sure she'll be in their hands tomorrow night. There's been a lot of change in Posha's world in just a matter of days. It makes me sad...but, then I think that she could be dead right now.
