Losing Sight

The title of this post might sound metaphorical, but it is literal. Over the past week or two, we have been noticing Ellie's strange reactions to her ball when we bounce it off the floor. She loses it very easily and gets confused as to where it went, even if it's right next to her. As time passed [and the condition potentially worsened] we realized that she is going blind.

On Friday, I made a vet appointment for the following Tuesday (tomorrow) but on Saturday I was so worried (if it's glaucoma then it needs to be treated right away) so I immediately got out the phone book and called 7-8 nearby vet clinics until I found one who was willing to let us come in at closing time.

I'm amazed by the veterinary community due to my experiences this weekend. The veterinarian gladly stayed after hours to help us out, called the animal eye specialist who was willing to see us that day and the eye clinic was closed so it was just us and the vet!

He determined that she either has brain inflammation/tumors or SARDS (retinal degeneration). Her eyes look perfect, she is only 6 years old and this is not an age-related condition.

We got steroids to reduce inflammation, but her vision has not changed the last few days, so it is most likely SARDS (we will schedule another test this week).

Ellie is handling things just fine, but it's me who is heartbroken. She has a hard time finding her ball when we throw it, she can't catch treats anymore, it startles her when we pat her head, she trips over things, and we will never again get to throw the ball in the field and see her sprint at a million miles an hour chasing after it.

Here is a video that we took to potentially show the vets:

Chuckit!

A few days ago, Chris and I decided to take Ellie on the 1-mile walk to his old high school football field to throw the ball. Well, we had such a great time, that we've been there the last three nights in a row! Ellie absolutely loves getting to sprint off-leash since she doesn't get much of an opportunity like this.

Funny story: the very first throw of the first day, Ellie sprints after the ball and once she catches up to it, she does a roll-over on the grass, as though she was trying to show off for us! I think she probably just lost control of her momentum, but it was still hilarious!

She was dog-tired after all the playing. :)

Crashed out

That tongue!

Happy dog

Secret Santa Present

We did a Secret Santa gift exchange among the pets/pet owners at work and Ellie received her present today! We walked in this morning to find it sitting on my desk, no idea who it's from!

I set the gift down on the floor and there was something good inside because Ellie was giving it a good sniff-over. She even proceeded to open it all by herself!

We got some awesome gifts! A hard bone, a squeaky ball (that will have to wait until we get home) and lots of cookies!

Ellie is already going to town on the bone! Thanks Secret Santa!

Ellie's New Ball

Ellie comes to work with me every day. Our next-cubicle neighbor brings her dog Stella who is a small black lab that is good friends with Ellie. We let them play once in a while, but Ellie is a very vocal player.

So for all the rest of the day that Ellie is trapped at my desk, she needs something else to do. I got her this green ball. It's rubbery and bouncy and smells like mint!

What's really fun is that it has holes in it which means I can squeeze some treats in there and it keeps Ellie busy trying to get them out.

Unfortunately while I was writing this post, she chewed out a huge chunk of it because the treats wouldn't come out. *wah wah*

Wordless Wednesday: Ball stuck inside another ball

Ellie's rubber ball has a hole chewed in it just large enough for me to have stuffed her tennis ball inside. She was very confused.

Cannon Beach - part 2

Must finish up with more pictures from our weekend trip! It was awesome-- Ellie got lots of ball time. I bought lots of salt water taffy and fudge. We went in and out of the shops and it was so nice to see such a pet friendly town; there were doggy water bowls outside of almost every store!

On Saturday, I unexpectedly ran into Carol from FIDO Friendly (who I also met at BlogPaws) on the beach! She was so nice to send a picture that she took of Ellie:

Ellie in action - Thanks Carol for the picture!

And the rest of the pictures from the trip:

Jon and me :)

The beach - it's beautiful!

Ellie plays with baby!

All tuckered out in the blankie I made her

Special Delivery

So I'm sitting at my desk, working and minding my own business, when one of my coworkers appears with a cardboard box.

"Ellie, you got a package!" he says.

I turn around... huh?
Apparently the box was addressed to her. Hmm... I wonder what she's been ordering online while I'm away. No wonder there have been some mysterious charges on my credit card... (kidding of course lol).

Sure enough, the box is addressed to her and I have no idea what it could be. So I open it up, and it's a giant tennis ball! I took it out of the package and tossed it and Ellie went nuts, and of course tried to find a way to rip it apart.

Turns out, it was from Jon. So he not only surprises me with flowers delivered to work, but also surprises Ellie with toys delivered to work. I sure am a lucky girl!