Callie

My parents now have a one-eyed dog.

No, they didn’t get a new dog. Callie is still around. She just has one eye now.

Over the past few months, we’ve been noticing her left eye has been looking cloudy. It truly just looked like cataracts. She is 13, after all. My mom would mention it to the vet, but the vet never made much fuss. On Monday, Callie was coming down the stairs at my parents’ house and was leaning heavily to the right, almost hugging the wall as she came down. My mom thought it was unusual, but Callie seemed fine once she got down the stairs. My mom took Callie out for a walk, and when they got back inside, Callie was walking funny, leaning to the right, and sort of convulsing a little. My mom called the vet and got her there within 10 minutes. They realized that Callie was sensitive to someone touching the left side of her face. The vet looked at her and discovered Callie had an ulcer in her eye. She referred my mom to a animal ophthalmologist (seriously!) and told her to get Callie in first thing on Tuesday.

My mom had the boys on yesterday while I was at work, so she trucked them off to the Animal Eye Specialists to drop Callie off. He told my mom Callie needed surgery to remove calcium deposits and it would cost $1100(!). (My mom now wishes she had pet insurance!) After checking with my dad, they agreed. Callie is still very healthy otherwise, and this eye condition is painful for Callie, so it was really the only option. That afternoon, when I went to pick up the boys after work, my mom delivered the news-Callie had to have her entire left eye removed because the calcium deposits were too extensive, and they could possibly come back, causing Callie to need surgery again. So my mom made the decision, called my dad to let him know, and then called my brother (who is still bitter about the fact that 13 years ago, my parents put our old dog, Jordie, to sleep before he had a chance to say goodbye. Okay, I would still be bitter, too!) to inform him as well. All I could do was cry when my mom told me.

My mom was able to pick Callie up yesterday around 6:00. Callie’s eye is stitched shut, and her hair is all shaved around it. But we’re still able to chuckle, because for the next couple of weeks, she’s wearing one of those goofy cones around her head! It’s funny, but also a little pathetic, because she seems to forget about it, or at least has a hard time figuring out the circumference of it. She keeps getting stuck places-under the table, behind the chairs, even just walking through a doorway! And going outside, she scoops up snow in the cone! The poor thing.

Ultimately, this was the best thing for Callie. She shouldn’t be in as much pain as she was before, and her right eye is just fine. It’s going to take some time for her to adjust, especially her depth perception and her peripheral vision. But she’ll manage. I’m sure in a few weeks, she’ll be prancing around like she does. But for now, she’s taking it easy, and taking advantage of my mom and dad! She’s always been the queen of the household, but now I’m sure it will go to even greater magnitude. I’m just glad she’s still around.