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mercyme · 04-27-2009, 10:03 AM

Ebuzz,

First of all, I’m sorry to hear that your Yorkie is blind. Please allow me to relate our experience with this.

Our Yorkie, Mercedes, was blind the last 3-4 years of her life, and she lived to be 15. It’s not fair, and it is sad, but you might be amazed at how well they can adapt. They create an internal “visual map” in their heads and can actually navigate your house fairly well once they adapt to their condition. Will she still run into things occasionally ? Yes. But her other senses will probably compensate for her lack of sight.

Our baby went blind due to cataracts, so I can’t speak to the brain tumor possibility. You did the right thing by taking her to a specialist. We were religious with the application of the eye drops/ointment (so her eyes didn’t dry out) for our Mercedes, of course you need to be aware of where she is at all times (so she doesn’t get kicked/stepped on/into trouble, and make sure she still gets some exercise (when Mercy went blind she put on a little extra weight). And lots of extra love !!!!!!!!!!

If she doesn’t seem to be in any pain (we gave Mercy a joint supplement to help with her arthritis), then I say just keep an eye on her, and if you feel she is suffering or has no quality of life, you will know what to do. In the end, our Mercy was in relatively good shape considering her age, unfortunately, she had a collapsed trachea that made it hard for her to breathe. Only you can know when it is time to let her go, and it is a precious gift you can give her that comes from love. Good luck to you and your pet.

04-27-2009, 10:03 AM	#3
mercyme Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Arlington, Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 82	re: blindness Ebuzz, First of all, I’m sorry to hear that your Yorkie is blind. Please allow me to relate our experience with this. Our Yorkie, Mercedes, was blind the last 3-4 years of her life, and she lived to be 15. It’s not fair, and it is sad, but you might be amazed at how well they can adapt. They create an internal “visual map” in their heads and can actually navigate your house fairly well once they adapt to their condition. Will she still run into things occasionally ? Yes. But her other senses will probably compensate for her lack of sight. Our baby went blind due to cataracts, so I can’t speak to the brain tumor possibility. You did the right thing by taking her to a specialist. We were religious with the application of the eye drops/ointment (so her eyes didn’t dry out) for our Mercedes, of course you need to be aware of where she is at all times (so she doesn’t get kicked/stepped on/into trouble, and make sure she still gets some exercise (when Mercy went blind she put on a little extra weight). And lots of extra love !!!!!!!!!! If she doesn’t seem to be in any pain (we gave Mercy a joint supplement to help with her arthritis), then I say just keep an eye on her, and if you feel she is suffering or has no quality of life, you will know what to do. In the end, our Mercy was in relatively good shape considering her age, unfortunately, she had a collapsed trachea that made it hard for her to breathe. Only you can know when it is time to let her go, and it is a precious gift you can give her that comes from love. Good luck to you and your pet.