Bailey has an ulcerated cornea. Really!?

Seriously. Bailey had randomly been "winking" with his left eye. Other times he'd have it open but in the last week or so it seemed to be closed more often than not and this morning it was pussy on the outside and red on the inside.

I called Cedarbrae Veterinary Clinic around 9am and asked if I could get squeezed in today. I couldn't wait another day. Even the vet's office said he should come in right away to get examined. She said come as soon as possible but that Dr. Lavoie is booked. So I arrived around 1030am. Although it was quite busy it cleared out and I was into a room before too long - driving away within an hour of arrivng.

Bailey's left cornea is scratched. Dr. Lavoie applied those neon yellow/green drops into his eyeball and when we opened his lids I could see where it was 'patchy' on the surface over his iris. It was explained (like with Leo last year) that there are no blood vessels there to bring oxygen to the site and assist with healing so what he did was mix several viles of Bailey's blood with 'something' to make a special healing serum at the injured site.

This is what Dr. Porter suggested we do with Leo, use his own blood and re-inject in at the surgical area. Sounds cool. The deal is I have to put 2 drops into his left eye every hour. Every hour! Second day, every 2 hours. Thereafter, every 3-4 hours. He also has the antibiotic drops which remains 2 drops every 2 hours. Thirdly, there is the Metacam anti-inflammatory which will help remove bacteria from the site and promote healing.

Because the drops bothered Bailey (they were painful) we needed to put a cone on him. I cut it a bit when we got home so he can maneuver around better. But the drop applications are so aggressive! I really hope this helps heal his eyeball so he doesn't require surgery.

He seemed to be in fairly decent spirits and slept quite a bit today. He doesn't love the drops but he is a good dog and will stand there for the hourly application. Unfortunately, tomorrow my husband has to work so he can't administer the medicine. I'm going to have to crate Bailey so I can tend to him while at the dojo! Sigh....