May I Introduce Merlin my very special boy

[JDH780]

Hello and thank you for reading this.
Merlin has been with me since 2012 when I was lucky to spot him at my local rescue centre. He has been by my side pretty much ever since. As he was picked up as a stray in a nearby town the vet had to guess his age at 2years old which makes him about 8 years old now. About 6 weeks ago I noticed Merlin was having a problem with his eyesight so immediately took him to the vet. After a few tests it was confirmed that Merlin had been struck by Sudden Aquired Retinal Degeneration SARDS. Basically he had lost his sight to full on blindness within a week. I cannot begin to tell you how upsetting this is to witness. Thoughts of having Merlin put to sleep crossed my mind as it was breaking my heart to think how scared and confused he was. Looking back over the past 6 weeks Merlin has dealt with blindness heroically along with the other effects of SARDS increased urination and appetite being the most obvious. He has just been prescribed a mild dose of anti depressants to ease his anxiety slightly. I am so glad I didn't take the decision to end his life. Dogs are so amazing, I cannot imagine my life without my boy. We still go on all our regular walks and most of the time off the lead. He has become quite lazy but I'm determined to work on this with him and help him live out his life comfortably and happy.
By the way my name is John and we live in West Sussex.

 

[Kara 1]

Hi john ...yes dogs are pretty amazing and adapt much quicker than we think ...im not far from you in denmead hants

 

[JDH780]

Hi Kara
Thanks for viewing my introduction. I know Denmead, nice spot and handy for A3

 

[arealhuman]

Hello John and Merlin, welcome to this friendly forum. Sorry to hear of Merlin's loss of sight, hopefully with your support he can continue to live a long and happy life.

 

[Josie]

Welcome @JDH780 and that story brought tears to my eyes.

How gorgeous lovely Merlin is and how awful it must be for you both. Dogs are so amazing and I’m sure with your support and love he will adapt.

 

[excuseme]

Oh what a lovely boy.

West sussex too.

 

[JudyN]

Welcome, John and Merlin. Dogs' sense of smell is so amazing, I suspect that can compensate to a large extent for a lack of vision. It must have been horrible for him to go blind so quickly, with no time to adapt. He's so lucky to have you though.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Im glad you are willing to work on this with Merlin. There are loads of things you can do with blind dogs their lives do not have to be restricted or dull. Benny went blind as a result of cateracts my vet advised against surgery because Benny was not a dog easily handled or confined. But we still had 3 amazing years before he passed away aged 15.
This is him 7 months before he died enjoying one of the three walks we had memorised before his sight fully failed. We never strayed from the route and so he was always able to follow the route off lead..
Good luck to you and Merlin.

 

[Violet Turner]

Welcome

 

[JDH780]

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I hope along the way we can share with you our adventures and news and also help others who may be in a similar situation. I don’t do Facebook etc so it’s nice to belong to a community of like minded people with lots of lovely dogs. I have found forums very useful and friendly places in the past. I am a regular visitor to a Land Rover sight which has helped me no end of times. So here’s to a long and happy future. Thanks again

 

[Mad Murphy]

I hope you will share your adventues maybe start a diary thread for Merlin?

Only by sharing and showing how life can be for these dogs can we help people understand its not the end of the road and that just because a pet has a disability it does not mean they have to be PTS