A few weeks ago, we noticed that Shadow was having vision troubles. She had a hard time finding her food bowl, and we were tripping over her much more often. We took her to see the vet, and she couldn't find a cause for the vision loss, so we headed to Atlanta to see a canine eye specialist.
There we found out that Shadow was suffering from Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome. It's a condition where her retinas no longer work, making her completely blind. Doctors don't know why or how this happens, and there is no cure.
Navigating her way down the front stairs
The good news is that it is not a painful condition, which was my biggest worry. After seeing poor Hershey endure the pain that he did with his illness, I was relieved that Shadow Princess wouldn't experience any pain with her disease.
Shadow is actually navigating extremely well. She occasionally will bump into a wall, especially when she's running for food or a treat. The opthomologist said that dachshunds and other long nosed dogs deal a little better with the disease since they have "door stop" noses to warn them before they hit their faces into walls and doors.
The mighty hunter looking for squirrels to chase
I also think that following Oscar helps her to judge where things are. It seems her biggest navigation challenges are Danny's toys. I try to keep them picked up, but Dan loves to keep his favorite balls and trucks nearby and underfoot!
Looking for dropped Cheerios in Danny's exersaucer!
This is the second momentous health challenge that Shadow has had to deal with, and both times I've been so impressed at how strong that little meatball is. A few years ago she slipped a disk in her back, and had major spinal surgery to correct it. The doctors said that there was a good chance that she may never walk again, and now my girl is running through the house as fast as her short little doxie legs will take her- and she can't even see where she's going!
Action Shadow!
THAT is the greatest example of perseverance and love of life!
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