…and it’s a bit of a shock.
Our 7yo pug’s been a bit off for the last couple of months, and recently had occasionally started to wander into things. The vet had diagnosed an eye infection plus some unspecified liver-related issue. We were away this weekend, so dropped her off to board with the vet Thursday with what in hindsight was clear vision problems, but still able to see some things.
Came to collect her from the vet yesterday morning and it was clear she couldn’t see anything much – seeing her in the middle of an empty floor raising a paw to a person she thought was standing in front of her was just heartbreaking.
Rushed her to the ophthalmologist for some tests, and it was when he did the flashy light in the eye in a dark room test that it really hit me. There was no pupillary reaction, just blankly staring ahead. They confirmed SARDS, or more realistically, progressive retinal atrophy, and near zero vision.
This morning a couple of things came together in my head and I realised she’s probably been going slowly blind for the last couple of months, it just wasn’t diagnosed until her vision was gone. Apparently it’s genetic, but could be triggered or accelerated by stress, such as staying at the vet.
She’s still scampering around the house mostly as fast as usual, but walks outside take more management. And we’re just distraught over it, not helped by realising we could have picked it up sooner.
Not much to add really, except keep checking your pets, and if they start looking unsure, or walking into things, get them to the vet and don’t get fobbed off!