1999

Marlie, believed to be a Chow/Schipperke mix, began her story in Charlottesville, VA where she had been dumped on the street at about six to eight weeks of age. A young man away from home attending college found her and took her in. When he came home on holiday, he brought her to his parents and asked if they would take care of her. So, they gave us a call and asked if we could take her into the rescue system to find her a home.

The foster family had taken Marlie to their vet to inquire as to the cloudiness of her left eye. It was determined that she was a victim of glaucoma that had been brought about by an injury to the eye that had never been treated when she was a very young puppy...probably while still with the litter. Their vet recommended that her eye be removed and sewn shut.

When we first took Marlie into the system, we took her to an ophthalmologist locally we'd been referred to. However, we weren't impressed with the attitude of the staff toward Chows they displayed openly to us, nor the attitude of the doctor. Consequently, we took Marlie to another ophthalmologist we found out about after speaking with the president of our rescue association. So, the next morning we took Marlie for another appointment at the other vet clinic where we found out about another process that is available where the eye does not have to be removed, using a gentocin injection directly into the eye. This causes the fluid ducts inside the eye to dry up and shut down, keeping any more fluids from building up within the eye which is what the glaucoma condition is. The pressure of the fluid buildup is so great that it causes pain that would feel like having a migraine within the eye non-stop. After the injection, the pressure goes down and the eye ceases to bulge. If it works, there is no need for removal of the eye. It sometimes takes more than one treatment before it takes. In Marlie's case, we were very fortunate in that not only have we been able to save her eye, but it only took one treatment.

Marlie was a hyperactive little girl and was much more to handle than could possibly be imagined. But she really was a love and we were able to spend enough time working with her to calm her down. We had her for quite a number of months due to her partial blindness. It is very hard placing special needs pets and it is a while before someone comes along who will give a special needs pet a chance. Fortunately, at 7 months of age we were finally able to find a good home for her.

Donations

Chow Rescue is a non-profit organization. If you would like to make a donation by credit card to Chow Rescue, you can register for online payments at PayPal; the email address you'll need to use is chowrescue@cox.net and the name is McBee. You can also make a donation by check payable to Michael McBee at P.O. Box 2083, Falls Church, VA 22042-2083.

Page created by: Chow Rescue
8 June 1999