LIVE24SEVEN // Motoring, Sport & Entertainment K AT E JUS T I C E – P E T S
A Family’s Best Friend
Kate Justice discusses the agony on discovering her dog had gone blind
If you have pets, the chances are they are a big part of the family… mine certainly are. I have friends that don’t have children and love their pooches as much as if they had actually given birth to them.
We have three dogs and they all, pretty much run the household and dictate a lot of what we do. One of them has even prevented us from going on holiday this year, our seven-year-old black Labrador, Jesse.
Jesse’s story is one of very mixed emotions. The upshot is that we are now several thousand pounds down as we don’t have pet insurance… but… a miracle has occurred in our household. It’s also been quite a good lesson in sacrifice for the children who were looking forward to going to the beach, but who love their animals more.
About a year ago, Jesse inexplicably started behaving slightly differently. Normally a very relaxed, friendly dog, that would wag her tail at a burglar, she started to bark at the neighbours, passers-by and sometimes even me if I wasn’t right next to her. She also attacked another dog as it was being walked past the end of the drive. This was extremely out of character and we struggled to figure out what was happening.
Then, a few months ago, I noticed her right eye started to look a bit cloudy and this became gradually worse over a number of weeks. I guessed she had developed a cataract. Then suddenly, a few weeks after that, her left eye went completely white in the space of 24 hours and my gentle, patient and enormously loving dog, was blind.
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It was torture to see her staring desperately into space – looking, searching past my shoulder when I called her name, unable to see me. She started refusing to leave the house unless I had my hand on her head and was on constant high alert, ears pricked, frantically trying to SEE, staring into what must have been nothing. If anyone moved any of the kitchen chairs she would crash into them and she ran into the door when it was left ajar. The whole family was in turmoil.
I immediately called my vet, who said I would need an eye specialist. Luckily, I know Tim Knott from Rowe Veterinary group – the best eye vet in the UK and based near Bristol. 24 hours after Jesse’s blindness began I was sobbing my way back up the M5 having left her with Tim for examinations. Later that day, Tim confirmed Jesse had double cataracts and no vision… and they would have to perform emergency surgery to prevent her eyes being damaged forever. I told the family about the huge cost of the procedure and the implications of this. I cannot put into words how proud I was when everyone agreed that there was no decision to make – without a doubt - Jesse would have the operation.
The incredible truth, though, is that this would not only save her eyes, but also restore her vision. Tim did the operation that same day, implanting false lenses into her eyes and removing the cataracts. Three days later I picked her up and she saw me properly for what was probably the first time in more than a year.
That was two months ago and Jesse has made an astonishing recovery. It is a long road - she will have daily eye drops and regular check-ups for the rest of her life, but her personality; her happiness and sheer joy at life, is back. It is a very First World privilege to be able to do this for a pet dog, I know… but to us, she is a member of our family and we feel like we have been given an astonishing gift.
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