My Shih Tzu is Having Problems....

[Sean in New Orleans]

...And I need advice. First of all, my 12 year old male shih tzu is healthy and isn't going to die. But, "Victor," has developed an ulcer on his eye. Last week they scraped his cornea and he has been on pain medication all week, along with the head guard. Well, I took him back to the Vet today and the procedure didn't work. So, tomorrow we are going to do the procedure another time and we are going to have to deal with all of the pain and sedation that accompanies the procedure for another week. If it doesn't work, Victor is then going to have to go to a dog opthamologist and we will have to look at further, more complicated procedures. Has anyone had to go through this with a small dog before and what treatments worked? I'm at my wits end over this. One, I can't stand to see my dog in so much pain and so heavily sedated...there are 6 times a day eyedrops and 4 times a day pain pills. Second, the costs are going up and I'm wondering what I may be looking at with these expenses. Everything about it is upsetting and, although, I can handle it financially, it is upsetting since my vacation to Scotland is coming up in two months and my overall budget is getting very out of whack. Thanks!

[gtalum]

I'm not sure if the vet has talked about this option with you, but you might consider having the eye removed. It sounds extreme, but my parents have had two dogs who had an eye removed for different reasons, and the recovery was very fast.

[Sean in New Orleans]

I'm not sure if the vet has talked about this option with you, but you might consider having the eye removed. It sounds extreme, but my parents have had two dogs who had an eye removed for different reasons, and the recovery was very fast.

That's not really an option for us....I'll dish it out before I have that happen...this is like my child. I'm just trying to keep things within reason, if at all possible. Thanks though....absolute last resort would be to have the eye removed.

[CajunMama]

Why not call the "Eye Center for Animals"? Dr. Paul Acosta is a customer of mine (I made his sign!) and he's in the New Orleans area. It won't hurt to get an appointment with him now and have him check Victor out. This way Victor may only need operated on only one more time instead of two if the second operation doesn't work.

Our pets are our family aren't they? We'll do anything for them.

[Stephanie]

Good luck Sean! I would definately check out Cajunmam's suggestion, since it is so close to you.

Your poor little dog!