A few months ago I noticed it again, but it was significantly bigger than I remembered. I asked my vet about it, and she referred us to an eye care specialist. I had no idea they had ophthalmologists for dogs, but I’m glad they do. We had an appointment with her yesterday, and she’s a lovely woman. Sadly, it was not a good outcome.

Mia is going blind.

She has what’s called Pigmentary Keratitis, which is extremely common in pugs. It’s basically brown scar tissue that grows over the cornea, effectively rendering the dog blind. The doctor gave me drops to try and thin the scar out, and an ointment to try and stop the scar from spreading.  According to the doctor, there’s no “cure” for this problem, just options to try and deal with what’s there. She wants to start with medication to see if that decreases the problem, before we discuss surgical options. Surgery wouldn’t be to remove the scarring, however, as that’s too deep into her eye. The surgery would be to reshape her bottom eyelid, so her eyes close completely, therefore eliminating the irritation that is speeding up the growth of the scar. It’s just a way to slow the process, it’s not a way to stop it. No matter what happens, Mia will eventually be blind.

I am devastated. I know it doesn’t hurt her, and that it’s actually better for her (comparatively) to go blind gradually, rather than just be born blind. Her sense of sight is only her 3rd most important sense (smell and hearing being 1st and 2nd, respectively), and there are plenty of dogs that are born blind or who go blind that are completely happy and just as fabulous as if they could see. It’s just hard to know that eventually she’s going to lose her sight, and there’s basically nothing I can do to stop it.

Blind or not, I can take you!

• The dancing class Donald and I signed up for has been a blast. We skipped last week due to exhaustion, but the other classes have been great fun. You rotate partners, so you have to learn to dance with people that might not be as good as you'd like them to be. (See? Wasn't that nice?) Everyone there is really nice, despite some lack of rhythm, memory, or  in some cases, deodorant. When this class ends, I want to try and get into another one.
• I've started a new hobby! I am big on taking pictures of things, and keeping mementos of events, (ticket stubs, cards, parking passes, etc.) but I never have anything to do with them. A couple of my friends are big scrapbookers, but I'd always rejected the idea since I have no creativity. As it turns out, you can copy other people's ideas using your own pictures and paper, and it comes out looking great! So I've started scrapbooking. I took a beginner's class last week, and really enjoyed it. And a friend generously sent me some stickers, vellum phrases, tags, and an album to get started! I'm taking it slow, because it can be REALLY expensive, but I'm enjoying it!
• I also joined the Ontario Reign Booster Club. I've mentioned on multiple occasions that I've become a huge Reign fan, and I thought joining the Booster Club would be a great way to get out and meet new people with the same interests. I'm notoriously shy, but I've been trying hard to get past that. My first step was the small scrapbook class I mentioned, and now I'm jumping into a booster club with both feet. I have no idea what I'll be doing, but it'll be a way to get out and meet people, rather than sit at my computer wishing I had more friends to hang out with.
• Mia got a new vet and I LOVE her. The first thing she did was look at Mia's medical history and get downright pissed off that they (the clinic) had been treating her for 5 years but hadn't figured out what was wrong. In her words it was "unacceptable!" I couldn't agree more. She basically suggested an "overhaul" for Mia. She has all new prescription food, a firm restriction on treats (she can't have ANY), and she got several skin cultures, blood tests, and different shots to help treat the problem. It cost me an arm and a leg, but at least now I have a vet who wants a permanent cure, not just a temporary fix. The best part, in my opinion, is that the vet called me the next day to go over everything she'd done, since she didn't get to see me when I picked Mia up. The previous vet NEVER called me to talk about what happened. In fact, it's something I've complained about to the clinic. They do a whole battery of tests every time I come in, and then I hear absolutely nothing about the results. I go back 3 or 4 months later and lather, rinse, repeat. This time I'm getting answers and I am THRILLED!
• Donald and I have decided to move in together in the next couple of months, so I've been going through my stuff and getting rid of things I just don't need or want. All day yesterday I sorted through boxes and boxes of junk, taking out what was salvageable for Goodwill, and putting the rest in bags for the dumpster. I made 8 trips to the dumpster, and had a full bag of clothes and a box of odds and ends for Goodwill. And I'm only about halfway done with my second bedroom/office/junk storage room.

I think that about covers everything. I feel like I should have so much more to say, but I just don't.

She has yet another appointment at the vet on Friday to get this new rash looked at. Every time I think I want another dog, I get a vet bill for the first one.