I have a 4 year old shih-tzu named lady. Tonight she started running into things. So I used a flashlight and I looked into her eyes and noticed what seems to be a brown film covering one eye intirely and the other just has a small area covered. I was horrified to see this, I feel like a bad mother for not noticing this before but since she is black with dark brown eyes I never noticed it before. If anyone has ever heard of this, please let me know. My regular vet is out of town until friday and I don't know if this can wait until then. If anyone could shine some light on this situation until tomorrow I would appreciate it.

thanks,
shon

Hi Shonna,
Not sure but I think it could be "dry eye". I found this extract for you.

"Many of these dogs also develop clinically dry eyes, where their tear production and/or tearfilm quality is poor. If the eyes are dry in addition to the above mentioned problems, the dog is at extremely high risk of becoming blind from corneal pigmentation and scar tissue developing. Often, the corneal pigmentation is not noticed until it is quite advanced, as it is a dark brown color and blends in with the natural brown color of the iris. Dogs will not begin to bump into objects until they have lost most of their vision-- thus, if you notice a "film" on the surface of your pet's eyes but your pet is visual, this does not necessarily mean that your dog's vision is normal."

This is the whole page

http://www.animaleyecare.net/diseases/macropalpebral.htm

HTH,
Kath.
Edit. just read this again. It is talking here about dry eye *plus* other problems but they may get it on it's own so may not be as serious as this article appears! :) The medical term for Dry Eye is Keratoconjunctivitis sicca so you could do a search for it.

hello Kath,

Thanks for the information, I found it to be very useful. I tried searching the internet but I kept coming up at dead end. I'm almost positive that is what she has. She has an appointment with another vet at 5 p.m. today, since our regular vet is out of town. I'll let you know what the vet thinks when i get home.

Thanks,
shon

Hi Shon,
yes, please let me know how you get on. :)

Good luck,
Kath.

He said that's what it is..He told me that the damage couldn't be reversed but with a $400 surgery we could stop it from progressing. We are going to apply for a credit card through the vet clinic because we don't have the money for the surgery. I just spent $175 on our boxer yesterday and found out he is alergic to the food we were feeding him, now he is on an expensive dog food ($25 for a 10 pound bag!!!) Now we have 3 dogs on a speciality food. Its a good thing we love our pets because they cost as much as our kids. (ha ha)

thanks,
shon

Just a suggestion Shon, but do you have our UK equivalent of the PDSA, or Blue Cross, who will treat sick animals for a gratefully received donation??

Good luck :)

liberty

Hi Shon,
I'm so sorry, I can't think of any suggestions moneywise, but Liberty's was a good one. :) I don't know if this is any help but I've looked in one of my "natural" dog books and it says ...
"Dry eye is a deficiency in tear production which causes the surface of the eye to dry out. Bathing with cold tea 3 times a day will soothe and cleanse the eye. Cod-liver oil is a good lubricant and aids healing: 3 drops should be applied to each eye 3 times daily."

Re the allergies, have you considered raw feeding? Bess is on half raw now and is livelier, not itching so much and her coat is thicker.

Kath. x