At first sight
By Cathy Willoughby, cwilloughby@advertiser-tribune.comArticle Photos
A loving home and the gift of sight brought back the pep in one local pup's personality.
Chubs, a pomeranian owned by Tiffin resident Suzanne Englehart, is friendly, inquisitive, and full of spunk. What is normal pom behavior is a far cry from what Englehart saw when Chubs came to her home several months ago with his mother, Weezy.
"They were both rescue dogs, abandoned in a trailer court," Englehart said. "The group, Saints Elsewhere, were the ones that had him."
She said she had been searching the Web, on Pet Finders, looking for a pomeranian, and saw a female, Weezy, was available. Englehart then set up an appointment to see her, to consider adopting her.
"When I got there they said there was another one with her, and he's blind," Englehart said. After seeing both dogs, she realized the female, which seemed to be the blind dog's mother, was serving as a seeing eye for her now grown pup. Chubs was very timid, and followed Weezy around. If not sure how, or where to proceed, he would whine, and Weezy would come to him, and help him navigate the yard.
"His mother was his guide dog, he would cry and she used to stay near him," she said.
Realizing this, Englehart decided to take both dogs. A visit to veterinarian Brad McClung brought a diagnosis, and help to alleviate the apparent pain the dog was in.
"Both of them had cataracts, and Chubs was blind with them," McClung recalled. "Chubs right eye had a mature cataract which is an opacity of the lens, but the other structures of the eye appeared normal. The left eye had a cataract, but also had glaucoma, which unfortunately did not respond to medical treatment."
Even with all of the dogs problems and a lack of socialization in the past, they responded well, and quickly to Englehart, and fell in love with her, McClung said.
Soon it was apparent Chubs eye was becoming painful for him, and McClung recommended he be evaluated by a veterinary opthalmologist to discuss the possibility of repairing the one eye, and surgically removing the left eye.
The referral was to MedVets in Columbus, which gave her the news Chubs right eye was treatable with lens replacement, and there was a good chance he would be able to see. However, the left eye was not treatable, and would have to be removed.
"In early April, the surgery was performed in Columbus with fantastic results," McClung said. "The result was a happy, animated, four year old pomeranian, that because of the vision regained was now even getting into trouble."
Englehart said that where once Chubs was quiet and timid, he is now "wild".
"He even walks different, he is now at the end of his leash, yanking," Englehart said. "I have a fenced in yard, and he stuck his head under the gate, he's wild. After the surgery, I had a tough time keeping him quiet, he was seeing things he hadn't seen before."
Chubs is estimated to be four-years-old, so he still has much of his life to live, and to now enjoy thanks to his newfound sight.
"He barks at everything, because he couldn't see it before," she said. "The first few days (after the surgery) I had to keep him confined. He seemed scared at first, he would see a leaf, and just stare and stare at it."
"I am not sure who was more excited with Chubs vision correction, Chubs, Mrs. E or myself and my staff," McClung said. "I smile every time I think of him."
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05-10-09 12:09 PM
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Dr. Brad also helped our best friend by referring us to MedVet. She has now passed on after giving us 16 years of love and companionship but her long years were made so much better thru the efforts of Dr. Brad and MedVet. Brandy had to have repeated eye surgery due to the disease she had but she was treated so good that she never feared the surgery and "talked" to the Dr. all thru it. Of course he cared enough to talk to her,too. MedVet has many specialist there and they care about the animals needs. Thank you Dr Brad for referring us to them.
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