sad story :( poison/glaucoma/advice?

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wiloafiz

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this is very complicated...
7 years ago our 2 labradors ate the contents of a container of slug pellets one was 18months the other 10yrs old, the younger dog Saffey my 13th birthday present and best friend came rushing into my room shaking, not knowing what had happened but immediately knowing something was wrong we took her straight to the vet her heart stopped twice on the way she was swallowing her tounge and even bit me whilst her jaw was involuntarily clamping shut, she was dying in my arms although they didnt know the cause they pumped her stomach and gave her masses of fluids whilst trying to cool her body temperature she was in a coma for 4 days very much touch and go, returning home we found the older lab had sadly died she had shown no signs as we left only then did we see the remaining pellets prompting the call to the vet who had correctly treated it as poisoning now they knew what kind, on the 3rd day the vet told us to have that night to make a decision she wasnt improving i was devastated how could they give up on her? 3am the next morning she woke from her coma, she even barked,
saffey made a good recovery having lost 1/2 her body weight and gradually gained strength however she suddenly went blind 6months later for no apparent reason, we even took her to specialists. Metaldehyde affects the central nervous system and had irreversibly damaged her optic nerves she coped amazingly and soon adapted to life as a blind dog we got another puppy who helped guide her around as time went on her eyes started to cloud it looks almost like cataracts in pictures they glow green,

she is now 9 and last week i noticed her eye slightly bulging we took her to the vet yesterday the pressure reading is 75 the other eye 25 shes on drops and goes back next week, he diagnosed it as glaucoma, my problem there was he hadnt read her notes this isnt a normal way for a dog to go blind he assumed cataracts blindness etc we dont know what other damage has happened inside her the vet said if the pressure continues to rise the eye will have to be removed and the internet says theres a high risk it will develop in the other eye is it fair to put her through this? shes blind anyway but i dont want her to be in pain if the pressure causes uncomfort.
It sickens me that a poison so dangerous is used to control slugs many people think because it says animal repellant theyre safe or that they are not as dangerous as they are it takes 5grams to kill a 3year old child, it causes the shake and bake symptoms - the muscles tremble and spasm while the body is literally over heating.
PLEASE DONT USE SLUG PELLETS if u are a pet owner young child owner or have any to visit

anyone ever heard of anything similar? have a dog with glaucoma? poison related blindness?
i dont know what to do, this amazing animal has been through so much already
 
What a sad story. I have no experience of poison related blindness, but have had a dog who had her eye removed, due to a tumour. She had apparently normal vision until the eye was removed yet coped brilliantly, so I woudl think that removing the eye would be the best way of relieving Saffys pain. There are a few other people on here who have dogs who have had eyes removed due to glaucoma, I can think of Prosefullstop and Goya but sure there was someone else. Hopefully they will be able to give you some further advice.
 
I am really sorry to hear about your dog. I had a dog with glaucoma and know only too well what a painful condition it is. In my dog's case it was a genetic defect which meant that it would inevitably effect both eyes eventually. After the first eye was removed we battled with drops (7 times a day at the end) for the next 8 months to try and keep the pressure down and retain her sight in the remaining eye. Finally she went completely blind and had the second eye removed as well. After she had recovered from the operation she was pain free for the first time in months and much happier for it. I would say that as your dog is already blind then you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by having the eye removed. It might also be worth considering, that if it is likely to effect the other eye, having them both done at the same time and only putting her through the operation once. I suppose some people may think that they look a little odd with no eyes but it is a small price to pay for them being pain free. Personally I thought my dog was even more beautiful, knowing what she had been though.
 
thanks for the replies its a tricky one as we dont know what damage the poison would have done to the rest of her body i remember at the time they said any operations in the future would have higher risks, she goes back to the vet next week and as you say daisysmum it might be best to consider removal of both eyes in one operation :( was your dog bothered by her eyes? did she rub them or show any signs of pain? as Saffey doesnt seem to be bothered at all, so do i wait until they do because of the risk of operating? this really is a hard one :(
 
As I understand it, the operation is pretty straight forward and they don't need to be out for too long. I don't know if that will have a bearing on whether Saffey would be able to cope with the operation or not. Obviously Daisy's situation was different but she underwent two operations 8 months apart at the age of eleven and coped really well. As for showing pain – initially there was tearing from the eye and just generally looking a bit uncomfortable by partially closing it now and then. She didn't try to rub them or anything like that – in fact at first we had no idea how serious it was. She was referred to a specialist eye vet who explained exactly how much pain she was actually in. By this time the pressure in her eye was over 80. The drops do help control the pressure and each dog is an individual so will respond differently. The problem is that when you administer the drops the pressure will fall but will gradually rise again until you administer the next one. You may be lucky and find that you are able to keep Saffey's pressure pretty stable. However it will be a lifelong condition and in my experience it became increasing difficult to keep Daisy comfortable. Although heartbreaking at the time, it was almost a relief when she went completely blind (due to damage from the pressure build up) and we could have the second eye removed as well. I'm not sure if you have been referred to a specialist but they see far more cases than a general practice vet so would be able to give you far more information and advice.
 
My dog Skye recently had her left eye removed. Everyone on here were amazing and helped me through this difficult time.
Now, a few weeks on, I am amazed at how Skye has adapted so quickly. She is doing agility and flyball and all normal activities.
Another amazing thing is that when she did flyball she ued to turn to the left. We were all worried that she wouldn't be able to see the jumps in the lane but dogs are just so clever. She has taught herself to turn right.
Such a clever dog.

Apologies, I have just read this back and have used "amazing" so many times, but I can not think of another word to describe the fantastic results since the op.
Recovery was quite quick to.
 
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