Ursa needs your good thoughts, please...

[Berna]

Aging sucks. Good thoughts for you and Ursa. The good thing with dogs is that they just accept and get used to the changes really fast.

[SunDance]

It's good that you have Loua to offer ongoing companionship/support. I really believe that this provides crucial comfort in addition to what we mere mortals can give. We can mitigate some of the cruelties of aging but we can't escape them. All good thoughts headed your way for Ursa.

[Snowshoe]

Good update, hope things continue to improve. Friend sent me the attached recently, about treating Sarcoptic Mange with Bravecto. Would be nice to read some Veterinary research on this. https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/f...ario-1.6544802

[Black Labbies]

Interesting info, Snowshoe.

Thankfully, Ursa and Loua each had a mild case of sarc mange and we treated them early. We can only imagine the pain and itching the poor wildlife creatures have if as bad as the fox in this news piece.

[Black Labbies]

Ursa and I will see Dr. Brian, the ophthalmologist, in 2 weeks. Our hope and prayers are that Ursa will not lose her eyesight! PRD starts with night blindness and can lead to day blindness .

Ursa saw Dr. Brian today and we have good news! No PRA or PRD!! Ursa's diminished eyesight is all age related, with cloudy and thickening of her lenses and some atrophy in her irises. No cataracts! She has night blindness, so we need to give her more light when it's dark outside...no problem, headlamps are a great thing! He said that "Ursa has become nearsighted and needs glasses, but we don't do that with dogs". So now we need to train Loua more to help guide Ursa around the backyard in the dark areas.

Thanks for all your kind and encouraging words!!! .

[Berna]

That's great news! Cookie also had cloudy lenses when he got older, it never bothered him and he compensated really well so you would never guess his eyesight wasn't the best.

[Snowshoe]

Good news Ursa. I wonder, did anyone ever try contact lenses on dogs? There are kinds for children that don't have to be changed every day, I think. Also comparing people to dogs, nearsightedness can be a factor in detached retina. VEry near sighted me was told the eyeball can get so stretched out that the retina just comes off and two nearsighted friends have just gone through detached retina. At least there is a link, if not a proved cause. So I wonder again, do dogs get detached retinas?

[Black Labbies]

Snowshoe, ya, that's one reason why Ursa saw Dr. Brian, to make sure her retinas are okay, and so far, they are. I'm not sure about the detached retinas in dogs, however.

Maybe one day dogs will be fitted for eye glasses...

[smartrock]

Our bullmastiff Jack went blind when he was probably 4-5 years old, PRA. We did not realize the extent of his blindness, both because he compensated really well and probably because we had a second bullmastiff, Magpie, who he could follow around inside and outside. I think just as with people, they get a sense in the house for where various items of furniture are and can maneuver pretty well. Plus, I imagine they can smell things in front of them better than we can. Fortunately for Jack I'm not the sort who needs to redecorate and move furniture around on the regular. I'm glad Ursa has a seeing eye dog sister in Loua and for Ursa's sake I hope you're OK with where all your furniture is!

[Black Labbies]

That's sad about Jack going blind so young from PRA .

I'm glad Ursa has a seeing eye dog sister in Loua and for Ursa's sake I hope you're OK with where all your furniture is!

Thanks, we're also glad to have Loua helping Ursa. That's what we tell Loua, "go help Ursa", and most of the time she does.

Our furniture hasn't moved since Ursa came home to us as a puppy (except to vacuum underneath it), I doubt we'll change it now, lol.