Like Mother, Like Dog

I took Rags to his six-month checkup last weekend. Or should I call his almost-six-year checkup? Either way, he'll be 6 years old in September and he goes to the vet for a checkup every six months. So that's what this was.

After trying to teach the vet tech who was boss (Rags - 1, vet tech - 0), he got a cool muzzle and his vaccines. Much like a human going to the dentist or an annual physical, we saw the vet for about two minutes of a 25-minute appointment. The rest was spent waiting, with the tech, waiting, and more waiting. When the vet finally made an appearance, he told me Rags is 90% healthy. He knocked 5% off for a one tooth that's worn down (as in, it's not deadly sharp) from "eating something hard." I don't give Rags bones or anything hard, but my dad has always let his dog eat bones and gnaw on plastic bottles, so when I moved in, suddenly Rags was introduced to this delicacy. Once I realized it, I quickly nipped that in the bud (I don't let Rags eat anything that isn't natural or that contains red dye), but apparently the damage was already done. The other 5% was because of his cherry eye.

You can't see his cherry eye here at the ripe old age
of 8 weeks, but I had to throw it in for the cuteness factor

Rags has had a cherry eye since he was born. As a puppy, it would only pop out every now and then. Lhasa apsos are prone to cherry eye, and since he's half Lhasa, half poodle, both he and his brother have them, but only in one eye. Every once in a while, the other one will pop out but my previous vet taught me how to massage it back in. It works, but since the "bad" one had been popped out for so long, there's no massaging it back in. Every time I take him to the vet, they tell me, "Well it doesn't appear to be bothering him but a $2,000 surgery would take care of it so that it doesn't cause problems down the road."

I am obsessive dog mommy, but I don't think it's worth putting Rags under anesthesia for a $2,000 surgery that has a 20% failure rate, plus all the risks that any surgery carries. This new vet told me it would only be around $700, and he strongly recommended the surgery. I don't understand why. It gives Rags character - along with his underbite, bowed front legs, and affinity for sleeping like a human (under the covers with his head on a pillow).

How his eye normally looks

When my surgeon asked me to bring in photos of my "old eyes" so he knew how much bone to take out in order to make my eyes look like my eyes again, he also asked me to bring any photos I had taken when my eyes literally bugged out the sides of my head last summer when all these shenanigans started. So I did, and I also slipped in a photo of when Rags and his brother got into a tussle and Rags' cherry eye was scratched and bleeding. I thought my surgeon would appreciate the fact that both my dog and I have wacky eyes. He did.

Rags' battle wound after it finished
gushing blood

I asked my dad if he'd rather just kill two birds with one stone and take care of both of us after surgery at the same time. He said no. I still haven't decided if I'm actually going to put Rags through this. I'm leaning toward no. I'll definitely get a second opinion, but right now, he's fine and my eyes aren't so I'm going to let him keep being his cute self until I'm back to my old self.