So happy to read Danny's on the mend. Thanks for the up-date.

LOL how cute....

Danny will definitely have a war story to tell :)

Danny this past Wednesday after his appointment.

Sweet baby! I can see his content little smile even with the cone, a.k.a the party hat. :)

Aww what a sweet baby boy, it does look like he has a content little smile, glad he is not in pain anymore.

The picture was taken a few hours after his vet appointment. He's usually squimish whenever we take him to the vet. I told him that I will take him to the park if he'll be a good boy and sit still. Which he actually managed to do :)

Great looking little fella!!

Glad to hear that your cute fella is doing well. HAHa on Maximo's comment about war stories. Made me chuckle:)

Aww he is adorable! Glad he is healing well.

Update on Danny's condition: I took Danny to the vet and found out his ulcer is not healing. The vet referred us to an eye specialist for surgery. Has anyone ever had to take their dog to an eye specialist? Would getting insurance for Danny be recommended? If so, which insurance is best for him?

My Cali sees an eye specialist to keep track of her cataracts. She does have insurance but she had it before they found the cataracts. I don't know if insurance would consider his problem as pre-existing or not. You soul just have to contact several,of them and ask.

Good luck! Will keep him in my prayers.

Eye specialist
 

Poor Danny, so sorry his ulcer is not healing yet.
It is good he is seeing an eye specialist , they can work wonders when the regular vet cannot help.
My dog had cataract surgery by an eye specialist and they really know what is best to do.
I pray that a non surgical solution can be found to help your baby and that he gets well soon.
As for insurance, it is now a pre existing condition and would not probably be covered for the eye issues. However, it is a good idea to get insurance should anything else crop up. There are threads here that give advice on and experiences with different insurances. Please read up on insurance so that you know what questions to ask to get the best coverage for your pet.
I have Trupanion with zero deductible, it is very good but tends to be more expensive for 0 deductible. Some insurers charge the deductible per illness and some per year....important to check out. Also, some insurers charge more as the dog ages.

I am very sorry to hear that Danny's ulcer is not healing. A specialist is definitely a good idea. Is the ulcer deep? Did the vet say what kind of surgery?

Max had one ulcer that would not heal after 2 weeks of meds. He was scheduled to have a 'grid keratotomy' where a grid is scratched into the cornea to help it heal. Miraculously, Max's ulcer healed the morning his surgery was scheduled. Surgery was canceled.

Without knowing the particulars of Danny's ulcer, just wanted to share again a couple things that helped Max (along with meds and vet treatment): keeping him from overheating. Fresh, cool morning and evening air helped him heal.

I discovered his eye reacted badly to saline, even the non-preservative kind.

I kept all water out of eye -- didn't bathe his head. With his last ulcer, it was over a month after he healed before I gave him a full bath.

I had to be very careful with him outdoors, not allow him to stick his face in the grass or bushes. Carried him a lot.

Had to be vigilant about keeping hair out of his eyes.

Danny and you are in my thoughts and prayers.

This is a good reference for non-healing ulcers:
Non-healing corneal ulcers in dogs

I have used Eye Care for Animals and the difference between the specialist and being treated by the regular vet was pretty amazing. I am glad you're being referred. They will get Danny right in and take care of the problem quickly.


For my yorkie with a non healing ulcer, they used a treatment sort of like stem cells. They took blood from him, put it through a machine to spin off the cells and put the liquid right into his eye. After weeks of messing with it, using various drops and ointments, having the eye surface abraded, etc etc etc, the cell treatment healed the ulcer in just a couple of days without any surgery. We did have to go in daily for the treatment for a few days.


Now with the eyes I don't mess around with a regular vet and ask for a referral right away. I didn't find the specialist to be much more expensive than the regular vet and with all the trips we made and treatments the regular vet tried before referring us, we'd have saved a ton of money by going to the specialist directly. Unless you already have insurance though, I don't think it will be much help with the eye as it will be pre-existing.


Good luck. Please keep us posted.


Diana

Diana's (Scoobstersmom) post above -- :thumbup::thumbup:

Update on Danny:
Danny was referred to an Ophthalmologist in Albuquerque New Mexico this past Monday. So my husband, Danny and I traveled 7 hours to see the ophthalmologist yesterday. Danny was a good boy the entire trip. I was surprised because it was his first long distance trip.

The doctor examined his right eye (damaged eye) and used an ultrasound machine to get a closer look at his eye. We were then informed that Danny will never get his vision back in his right eye. The cat's claw really punctured Danny's pupil and pushed it to the back of his eye. The doctor said she didn't notice any discomfort. She gave us three different eye drops to help the eye color go back to normal and to stop glaucoma before it starts. The doctor also mention that she would need to take out his eye if it starts causing problems in the future.

Our main concern was wondering if he felt any discomfort/pain and saving his vision. It was heartbreaking to hear that Danny will never be able to see in his right eye again. I cried so hard when the doctor told us the news. I think I made her feel so uncomfortable because she left the room. Danny is not in any pain at the moment. In fact, he's glad he doesn't have to wear his cone anymore. His personality came back as soon as the cone came off. He seems much happier and his energy has returned. Which makes me feel a little better. I keep going back to the day he was injured. Because I had left him with a close friend and he was hurt under her supervision. I keep thinking, "I should have took him with us to the wedding then he wouldn't have been hurt." But at the same time I can't keep going back and thinking , "What if." It's heartbreaking and unfair. But I still have a healthy dog whom I love and I know he loves me. All that matters is that he's loved and that he's happy.

I am very sorry to hear he won't get his vision back. But don't blame yourself. You cannot predict every event that will happen in his life. Keep giving him the love and care you have always given him and he will be happy his entire life. Don't feel sorry for him because he is not feeling sorry for himself. Yorkies don't know what that means. He can't see with the one eye so he will adapt to being a happy dog with the one good eye. Sasha was limping around for months with a dead bone in her hip and she never complained. She was always happy and playful and Danny will be too. That's one of the things that make them special. Give him a hug for me.

Thank you. I will give him a hug for you. He loves hugs and kisses.

I'm so sorry he won't get his vision back, but honestly he will do fine with vision in only one eye. Actually even completely blind dogs do amazingly well. I had a poodle with glaucoma. She lost one eye (removed) and eventually the other. She barely missed a beat. So keep your chin up and keep smiling for Danny. He'll only feel as bad about it as you do!


Diana

Kewy, you are are a great doggy momma. Danny is lucky to have you.

I'm sorry the news from the specialist was not better, but I am happy to hear that Danny is doing very well overall and that he handled the big road trip like a champ. Good boy!

He is definitely still your adorable, fun-loving little guy from the video you posted in the video section.

Thank you for updating us.

Danny watching a movie during yesterday's trip. He enjoys cartoons.

So sorry for this dreadful news. Sweet little Danny. I know this will not be any consolation to you, but, dogs do adapt and work with what they have. So very tragic. Hugs and kisses to Danny from Cody and myself and (((HUGS))) to you momma. That is so cute Danny watching cartoons lol such a cute little boy.

Adorable! How cute that he enjoys cartoons.

So sorry to hear that it won't be better, but as was mentioned before, Just tell Danny that girls like scars and heroic war stories... I recommend that he end that particular story with "but you should see what that cat looked like!"