Sight loss lurcher

[worriedlurchermum]

Any experience with sight loss in a lurcher?
My beautiful girl is on her way to a specialist because she suddenly lost her sight yesterday.

We don't know the cause but on Sunday she ran off for about 10 minutes during her walk and when we found her she was exhausted and wobbly and tripping over her feet. We took her straight to the vets but she had recovered by the time we got there and they could find nothing wrong.
She was ok Monday but started deteriorating on Tuesday and had pupils of different sizes.

They're assuming some kind of trauma but obviously having not witnessed it we can't be sure.

I wish we had never gone out, which I know is irrational because she needs her walks, but I feel so responsible.

Dr Google is not my friend, but the outcomes are not looking very positive. Can a lurcher live a happy life blind?

[CMOTDibbler]

Oh bless her (and you). If it does turn out to be permanent, there are lots of blind dogs out there living happy lives. If you look for Bosley Boodle Clark on FB, he is a dog that was blind from birth, and his foster mum taught him to follow her around by listening to the sound of her flip flops (as they made a nice loud noise) to begin with, and his life seems fab - he was in the rescue my dogs came from

Good luck

[moosemama]

I am so sorry to hear this. What a terrible shock for you.

As CMOT said, lots of dogs do adjust to sightloss and there are lots of things that you can do to help them learn to navigate your home and the wider world. Some of my Lurcher’s siblings lost their sight to a degenerative condition and afaik, all learned to adapt.

I will be keeping everything crossed for her. Please do keep us updated on how she doing. x

[worriedlurchermum]

Thank you both.

My poor husband has been driving around all day so her - she saw an ophthalmologist who diagnosed inflammation of the optic disc, but said she need to see neurology, so now she's at a different place awaiting a MRI. It's not 100% that she'll remain blind, but the odds aren't good.

Due to Covid she can't have her blanket with her, or even her collar or lead.

[Zebrahooves]

My dog is 4 and virtually blind.

As long as we keep the furniture in the same place, she is fine. She has some sight in one side so we throw her ball on that side.

We have to watch out that she doesn't unintentionally take people out in the park though as she just doesn't see them.

[moosemama]

I feel for you. My boy was inpatient for a week in the middle of lockdown. It’s hard enough not being able to go in with them for appointments, let alone leaving them with none of their usual comforts. If it helps, the veterinary staff are fully aware how hard it is for them and go above and beyond to make them feel as safe and comfortable as they possibly can.

Keeping everything crossed for them being able to reduce the inflammation and restore her sight. x

[worriedlurchermum]

Thank you. I think basically it depends on what the cause of the raised inter-cranial pressure is. She's somewhere an hour away which makes it feel even worse.

[worriedlurchermum]

I suddenly thought I should come back and update the thread!

So she saw the neurologist who said it wasn't neurological after all and referred her back to ophthalmology.
After many tests and many £1000s we got a diagnosis of autoimmune retinopathy. Basically her own immune system attacked her retinas most likely following some kind of virus with similar looking cells.

She was treated with steroids and steroid eye drops and has thankfully regained some sight. She has patches of permanent damage on her retinas, and therefore some permanent sight loss although of course it's impossible to know how much. I personally feel that she doesn't have much vision in her right eye.

She is being weaned off steroids and on to another immune suppressant which she will be on for life in order to prevent another flare up.

Interestingly one of her litter mates has a different autoimmune condition so perhaps there's something in their genetics.

[userxx]

Who knew such a thing could happen 😞. What an awful time you've had, so glad she's regained some sight, hopefully it will increase over time.