[Belindtch]

My Emmy was diagnosed with dry eye when we got her at l2 weeks. The breeder brought her to me and she had one eye shut. This was a red flag and I should have walked away. Instead I took her to my vet who said it looked like dry eye. I wanted a second opinion and aggressive treatment so I sought out another well known vet. Yes, they confirmed it and started to treat it aggressively. Since it is genetically caused, the vet wrote a letter to the breeder urging her not to bread the two parents again. That was water under the bridge as the two are still being bred. Emmy gets two expensive tests each time we go to the vet. One gives us a number of tear production. She has 0 in one eye and 2/3 in the other. Emmy gets a test also where they use the black light. A vet visit with Emmy is usually around $200 or more. She gets a tiny medicine that is $44 and has to be compounded. She also gets Genteal Drops which are artificial tears. I do have to clean her eyes each morning. She sees shadows and outlines. If she were a person she does not see well enough to drive. She may eventually go blind around l0 or so years of age. Emmy is the sweetest little dog and just so deserves to lead a normal life. It is so hard to see her with her eyes shut or matted so that she cannot see well. Yes, dry eye is suppose to be quite common in yorkies. This past summer she walked into the pool and did not realize she was near it. She is the only one of my three yorkies that does not swim well. She fights the water...probably because of her eyes.