Howllo Fellow Hound and Cone Haters! My sister had a party tonight at my home for Emma so her son Julian, could crush her cone. We had a blast. Man O Man I needed this. It was so much fun. We had some great wine and Indian food which is my total weakness. Emma went crazy! She was so excited to see them. She let out howls that I had never heard before. Thank God for family. I don’t think Emma’s spirits could have been lifted any higher!

Here is Julian crushing her e-collar! In this picture you can see Emma’s prosthetic eye. My Mom swears she can see through it! Emma is super hound doggie!

We are making the most of it! Slurp!

More Later…Cat, Chap and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Hound and Cone hating lovers: Well, we got good news that Emma could have her stitches out. Chaps is the happiest hound around and ran up to her and kissed her all over.

Here is the first picture I took of her after they were removed.

I was worried about her scratching the socket site so my vet told me I could put socks on the paws on the left side.
That was easy! LOL!

This ordeal has been incrediably painful on all of us. It was nice to lay down and take a mini nap.

After the hounds fell asleep I covered up Emma and I think she slept for the first time with comfort in over 10 days.

I smell you Mommy!

I would like to say thank you to all of Emma’s fans who have sent well wishes, flowers, cards, and precious words of encouragement. Like I said, this has been an incredibly painful experience that I wish none of you have to go through. Emma is only 3 years old. This disease began it’s attack on Emma at the young age of 2.

I smell a mission!

More Later…Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Hound and getting your stitches out lovers:  Well keep your paws crossed that today is the day.  This has been the longest 10 days of our lives.  Chaps is petrified of the cone Emma is wearing and it is just torture for her.  Not only is she blind but she has to wear that awful thing and potty in during ice storms.  I feel so bad for her.

Well, I will paw back in after lunch.  Wish us luck.

More later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo fellow hound and needing help with blind hound lovers: Can you believe I am saying this? Emma has just gone blind from primary, close angle glaucoma. It begain happening about a year ago when she lost the sight in her right eye.

It has just been too hard on us for me to blog about it, but now is the time and I feel we can help others.

Wisdom does not take sight, it takes vision. Vision can come from many places and mine came from my blind basset hound named Emma, AKA:

Early Morning Misty Air, my fourth basset hound.

Can you believe it? Emma is now blind! It is so sad………

This was one of the first pictures I saw of my girl! The eyes did me in! Sigh!

This is her journey and I hope it helps others that face the horrific realization that their beloved hound is going blind. Emma went blind from primary, close angle glaucoma and we will focus on this in her blog postings to come. I want to help people in my position.

Your emotions will run the gamut but don’t fear. Emma is here to help and guide you along the way. Just like she has helped everyone who loves her. The journey is just starting and we plan on doing a specific blog category. You will see it listed to the right under categories.

It is called: Emma’s blind wisdom - Seeing with your heart, and nose!

Your hound is blind, but you do not need to live in the dark. Let us help you every paw step of the way. Hang on to your blind hound and soon to be blind hounds folks, this is going to be a wild ride!

More Seeing with your Heart and Nose Later…. Emma Rudert

P.S. This took me months to write. I was so devastated.

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Emma pawing in trying to help others in need.

Emma slept through the night with me. I had Chaps in the office bed with the door closed. He was all set up and this is where the dog door is. I also have a front area for potty breaks which is where Emma is used to going since she was a pup.

Chaps hated being in the back, but he got over it.

It is a huge help if you can keep your hounds separated. I do not have human kids, but it might be helpful to plan this. If you think it will work, have your kids sleep with the hound that is separated.

I suggest you sleep with the hound that had the surgical procedure. This night is so important. If you have a blow up mattress have it already set up next to the dog bed. If not, sleep on the couch near the dog bed.

You will want to put a bell on the hound to alert you of movement. Chances are, the hound will not move due to the anesthetics.

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Howllo Fellow Hound and Coffee Lovers: Want to drink coffee and help a
true good soul? Here is your chance.

Many of you know about Charlie Meyer and his tragic situation. I did a blog posting on it a few days ago. Here is the link to my blog posting:

CHARLIE MEYER NEEDS HELP

Donna Funk owns Moon Doggie Coffee and it is tasty! Ms. Funk has an offer you cannot refuse!

Message from Donna Funk:
Moon Doggie Coffee Roasters (www.moondoggiecoffee.com) is having a fundraiser to help out Charlie Meyer, a member of BROOD, who lost 2 of his bassets in a fire last week. His other 5 bassets were injured and all his other possessions were lost.

Charlie had no insurance and his vet bills are adding up. So, beginning immediately through Sunday March 2, Moon Doggie Coffee will donate 100% of our net proceeds on all coffee (not only the ones marked ‘basset rescue’) ordered online and noted it is for CHARLIE’S BASSETS.

end of message

So folks, who can live without coffee? I know I can’t

Get your coffee clutch together and help out Charlie! What a nice way to say, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that taste’s good”

More later after we enjoy a nice cup of Moon Doggie!

Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

Slurp

More later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Emma here pawing in about my prosthetic eye implant on the right side!

Of course it is pelting rain and Emma has had the worst surgical report the surgeon has ever had in his career. All I want is a drink. This is just too much to handle. I do not want to see Emma in this condition at 2 years old. Well, regardless, it does not matter what I want.

Emma has her fake eye and we are on our way home. She is groggy. My main concern is getting her inside my home from the car. I cannot carry her. She weighs 63 pounds. Thank goodness she can walk.

My advise, if you are a single person who cannot carry your hound, enlist help.

My Mom was with me every step of the way and my Dad was sitting with Chaps. Emma made her way into our home up 8 steps. We stopped off first to go potty. This is very important.

She was so groggy and I cannot tell you how proud I was of her. This is a a major surgery.

If you have kids or other animals make sure they are quite. When your hound enters the home make sure your kids and other animals are sitting quite or are in other rooms. This first night of rest is so important. Emma slept through the night!
A hound that has this type of surgery needs peace and quite.

You can lay with your hound which is what I did. Remember, this is a family member. Tell everyone to be calm and sweet. This will pay off in the future of this hound re-acclimating.

In most cases your hound will be wearing a cone. For some reason my Opthalmologist did not think she needed one. I thought that was odd. Looking back, I cannot believe she did not scratch it! My Mom and I sat with her around the clock however. I would suggest your hound wear an e-collar because most people are not as fortunate as myself and work out of your home with your sweet Mom and Dad living right upstairs.

Emma did much better recovering from this surgery than she did with the eye removal surgery she eventually got in her left eye one year later. (Enucleation)

Emma’s breeders, BoBac Bassets, paid for both surgeries.

The enucleation did require a cone and it was a must. It was very itchy. We will get into that in our enucleation blogs.

More from our Emma, blind but not without INSIGHT!

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Emma here, pawing in with another update! Poor girl. She looks so pathetic. The rain is pelting down and we meet with her surgeon. He informs us that it is the hardest procedure he has done in his life. Keep in mind, this guy is getting ready to retire. Emma, being the severely allergic hound that she is, has indeed had an allergic reaction to the surgical scrub. What more can this poor girl endure?

Prior to surgery, the surgeon tells us that he can determine if this is primary or secondary glaucoma. Primary is hereditary and secondary is trauma related. Of course, looking back on it there was no way it was going to be secondary. Emma’s eye examination, done as a pup, already stated that her drainage angles were mal-aligned in both eyes.

We are informed that Emma, indeed, has primary closed angle glaucoma and this means that she will go blind in her second eye eventually. The surgeon informs us that her left eye has severely mal-aligned angles and this has pre-disposed her from birth to glaucoma which means blindness.

This is why it is so important when you are buying a puppy you see a normal opthalmologic report with normal drainage angles. I will continue to harp on this. Basset hounds are already pre-disposed to this travesty and this is one way you can guard against blindness.

This was a heart wrenching lesson. One that I do not want you to go through.  Keep in mind that I did not pick Emma from the litter.  The breeder picked her for me.  Had I been given a choice of picking a pup with normal eyes or a pup with abnormal eyes, I would have picked normal.  We love Emma because she is our family member and we will love her though thick and thin.  She is amazing and faces all of her many challenges with dignity and grace.  I have learned so much from her.

Me giving Emma her first bath!
Next Blog………Emma’s first night with her prosthetic eye.

More later from Emma, seeing with your heart and your nose!

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Emma pawing in reporting about her surgical procedure to replace her right eye with a prosthetic. A prosthetic device is a small black rubber ball that is inserted behind your hound’s current cornea. Your hound will have the look of an eye that moves slightly. The prosthetic will even have the third eyelid attached. The result can be very impressive, but as my eye doctor stated, “it is only for you, not the dog. This is a totally cosmetic procedure that makes you feel better.”

Hey, I was all for that! I was already feeling so rotten from my dog going blind in that eye, that if something would make me feel better and not harm the dog, why not? I also thought that it would keep the pity to a minimum. The sad faces asking, “What happened to your dog? How sad! What a shame!” We have also based our decision to get the prosthetic after a discussion with her breeder who has agreed to pay for the surgical procedure.

My Mom and I arrive for the surgery and of course we are very upset. Emma is in discomfort due to the increased pressure in her right eye.

As stated in other posts the procedure is about 1000.00 dollars in this region of the country. This does not include the hundreds of dollars (close to 1000.00) that we spent on emergency office visits and emergency eye drops to diagnose and treat in an effort to try and save her eye.

The time off of work, the travel time, the research and the pain and suffering that comes with the loss of anything including the eye of a beloved family member.

Next blog….Emma’s out of surgery!

More from Emma, seeing with your heart and nose!

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Emma pawing in with more wisdom:

I am freaking out because the eye ointment is not working and her eye looks worse. It is turning blue and slightly bulging. Looking back on this and knowing what I know now I am just heart sick. I could have done more for Emma had I known.

I was told from Emma’s breeders, when I bought her, that her abnormal angle report meant nothing more than they would not breed her. They did not believe that she was at any greater risk for developing anything from her abnormal diagnosis.

They have the right to believe whatever they want, but I don’t agree with their information. I think I should have been given the correct information, the information my doctors gave me about her condition after she went blind. The hindsight is 20/20 information. Based upon the findings of her eye examination report, I should have been getting her eye pressures checked every three months. This procedure at my Vet office would have cost me 60.00 per check.

4-20-06, Emma is diagnosed on the spot with glaucoma in her right eye. Her left eye is at risk with increased pressures. The only ophthalmologist in our region is out of town for 48 hours. We are prescribed 4 different eye drops and two ointments that cost close to 200.00 dollars to treat both of her eyes. This cocktail is designed to reduce the pressures.

Several days later, Emma presents at the only ophthalmologist in our region. She is blind in her right eye. I make the stupid decision to get a prosthetic. The reason I say stupid is because she is a severely allergic basset hound. She has her face on the pavement, sniffing up dirt and everything else constantly. What is wrong with me? I choose a prosthetic???? huh? What a fool!

The prosthetic is for me not her! What a boob I am. Don’t make the same mistake. Get the eye removed to avoid infection.

Emma did and does good with the prosthetic. Chances are it will need to be removed in the future. It is just a stupid decision. One of many I have made!

In our region the prosthetic eye costs about 1000.00. I heard it can be double that in different larger cities. I will research that and let you know. Emma’s breeders paid for the prosthetic eye.

You will need to treat the prosthetic eye 2 to 3 a day with a lubricant. We use Gentel Gel. It is very expensive. It is about 9.00 dollars per tube and one tube lasts about a week and a half. For the past 8 months we have also been on neo poly dex. This is an antibiotic eye ointment that that runs about 8.00 per tube and last about a week. It should last longer, but it is so hard to administer. You loose half of each application. If you are prescribed both, make sure you put the lubrication gel in first, wait 10 minutes and then administer the neo-poly-dex.

Emma was allergic to the surgical scrub and the procedure was, “the hardest” the eye doctor had ever performed.

An eye enucleation (eye removal) cost about 150.00 dollars.
Love Emma, seeing with her heart and nose!

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