My 2 year old Goldendoodle has been diagnosed with a cataract!!!

[Angie Davis-Dearth]

How could this be at such a young age?!?!? I am not sure with my salary that I can afford the $3800 surgery, does anyone have any suggestions, ideas, alternatives??

[Angie Davis-Dearth]

I want to thank everyone for their stories, ideas and support. This website is wonderful and I am so glad I joined. Have a great weekend!!!!

[Elizabeth]

My dog Sophie has recovered from this surgery, and can now see wonderfully!! Sophie was likely born with cataracts and they worsened with age. Sophie's doctor has seen a large number of doodles with cataracts, many of them from reputable breeders. Cataracts are the #1 Genetic eye problem in Golden Retrievers and the gene seems to carry thru to the Doodle dogs also. Cataracts in young dogs develop rapidly and cause poor vision and inflammation. The inflammation can be managed with eye drops, but to fix the vision the one or both cataract needs to be removed.
A cataract is an opacity of the lense within the eye, interfering with light reaching the retina and causing decreased vision or blindness. The large majority of canine cataracts are the result of genetics, Diabetes, sinility, trauma to the eye and poor nutrition may also cause cataracts in dogs. Surgical removal of the lens is the only effective therapy. The dog should be carefully screened by an experienced board certified veterinary opthalmic surgeon.
Sophie's cataracts were similar to looking through a car wind sheild with an inch of ice on it- she was basically blind with some light and movement perception. If we walked into another part of the house, she could usually only find us if we were moving.
The cataracts can be removed and the dog will regain a large amount of their vision, similar to a human that goes from being blind to needing glasses. The dog will be farsighted, but they adapt really well with this. The surgical success rate is about 90-95%. They will be able to function, will likely not run into things anymore! This will definatly improve the quality of life! Many people go with this option. We were told Sophie would have had 70% of her vision with this procedure.
There is also the option of artificial lenses. We were told this would improve her visiont to 94% of normal. This is what Sophie had done. They used an acrylic lens which is very inert. The "first generation lens inplants for dogs were made out of plexiglass and there were MANY reactions. Sophie's eye doctor has seen NO reactions to the new acrylic lenses.
I would be happy to answer any questions you may have!
You can have the cataracts extracted from one eye, or both. You can have lenses placed in one eye or both. It is not all or nothing, there are many options with this surgery. Sophie's eye doctor offered many options ranging from 1470.00 to 2675.00 for the surgery. She was a canidate for all options. Keep in mind though, that they dialate the eyes before the procedure and do two tests to verify that the retina (nerve in the back of the eye) is ok. So even if you decide to do both eyes, they may only be able to do one eye.
There are usually 4 office visits are required at 1day, 1week, 1mos and 3mos post op, After that, they reccomend visits annually. 52.00 per visit.

It changed her life! I am a HUGE supporter of this procedure.

[Debbie and Thomas]

I just ordered pet insurance for my 6 1/2 month old GD after reading this!! We got the deluxe plan just in case.

[Angie Davis-Dearth]

Good Morning everyone! I received a health gaurantee with her for 2 weeks after I brought her home, it was my responsibility to take her back after I found the initial problems with her digestive problems. The problem with this was after finding out all of the problems, I didn't want to give her back and put her back in that place!!! The vet said if I didn't get her when I did, she could have died if left untreated. They were feeding her lamb when she was allergic to it, had extreme cases ear mites, yeast infections, worms, etc etc.....

It is a long story, but the breeder I bought Lola from was just selling her for another friend. This person couldn't sell her from her litter so that is why she was a discount puppy. After driving her home, all of the problems started, the breeders started pitting against each other and "telling" on each other which made the situation even worse. The original breeder of Lola, had never bred doodles before and said that the other pups in the litter were deformed, several problems...... So they initially paid me $250 back that went towards the $600 vet bills for the first week. That I had to fight to get!!! I have spent triple than what I spent on Lola for xrays, rx food, etc... But the breeder told me she wouldn't breed doodles anymore b/c of all of the issues she had with Lola's siblings. She usually breeds weiner dogs. I have already contacted the better business bureau since buying her May 2006 and I was informed about the cararact 2 weeks ago. Sorry for the vent- but this is so frustrating.

Thanks for all of your posts- I have learned a lot so far.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Hi Angie,
Are they sure it is a Cataract in such a young dog, and not a form of Entropion, and the second eyelid is or can be showing at times. I think I would want a second opinion. Entropion is hereditary and found in both Poodles and Goldens, although it is more popular in breeds such as Shar Pei's, Chow's...etc. Entropion if not caught can cause a dog to go blind also. Most Vets have a Care Credit program, it's a Credit Card for animals so owners without insurance can afford surgery for their pets in rough times. It is costly as most Credit cards are with interest rates, but is something to check into.

[Debbie and Thomas]

I am not an expert on this-but the cataract could be due to an injusry of the eye that you were not even aware of. So-it may not be genetic, especially if one eye is still healthy. All it takes is a bump on the eyeball from a ball or something to damage their natural lense. Over a period of time when the lense is damaged or tilted-a cataract can form. A cataract happens when the lense becomes cloudy. Older dogs and older people can develop this naturally as their eyes age, but with a young dog-it could be that he had an injury that you were not even aware of. Similarly, my husband developed a cataract at a young age in one eye. His other eye was fine-Years before he had broken his cheekbone just below his eye socket in a hockey game. His opthamologist told him that this injury also caused eye truama to his eye socket-and eventually the lense in his eye was tilted and after a period of time clouded his vision. With humans, they remove the natural lense and implant an artificial one with great success. I have heard that with the surgery for dogs, that they remove the lense only. Without a lense, they cannot see properly anyway-so what is the point especially for 3800 BUCKS. If anyone here knows more about the surgery, please comment. I hope that the vets hace progressed with this.

[Stella]

Where did you get your dog from? Did you get a health guarantee with him? You should contact the breeder if you can incase other puppies from that litter develop problems, then they probably shouldn't breed from the parents again so as not to produce more puppies that may have problems. Our breeder will pay for medical treatment up to the cost of the puppy if a genetically related disease is found within the first couple of years. I'm not an expert, so don't know if cataracts are genetic, but he is so young to have developed them,

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

May I add............... Pete was 140 lbs so it hurt like H*** when he walked into us. Possibly the worst--he stared at the walls and there was nothing there. :( I added you as a friend. I hope I can be of help and support because my blind dog was the best dog I ever had.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Hi Angie;
My dog developed Retinal Degeneration around 8-9 years and become blind--He lived almost to be 15. At the time, oddly enough, I was working for 7 ophthalmologists, as a LASIK eye surgery coordinator. This was in 1999-2001. I too, looked into eye surgery for him. At this time, I received a lot of advice. All told me any eye surgery for dogs was not very successful or recommended--but treatments and advances in medicine advance very quickly so I don't know what advice they would give today. But I truly want to relate my story to you about owning and loving a blind dog.
We were fortunate to have a gradual blindness occur over about a year. Most people thought we were cruel to allow him to live--WHY because he can't see? Should I throw him out because he has faults??? He could sure LOVE. He adjusted wonderfully. Dogs adjust much better than humans to blindness. He seemed to not be unhappy or have trouble with his new life. He was the better dog because of this.
We made a few adjustments:
* We had to enclose the deck and build a wheelchair ramp, so as not to fall off the porch.
* He now had to be leased ( he never was before ) but he liked it and felt much more secure.
* The worst--I could never rearrange the living room furniture!
* And even worse--he left long marks all along the walls where he walked. lol
That's all.
His sense of smell increased. He could smell and steal a pizza or a loaf of bread faster than he ever could before. He was still a dog. He still slept on the furniture, warmed my feet, and kissed me when I came home.
When Pete reached 13 years of age I remarried and moved into a home with my new husband and two cats. I thought at that time it was going to be a disaster. As a matter of fact we had postponed our wedding for several years because of our animal situation. We waited thinking he would pass away soon. He thrived and lived on. I thought it was time to put him down at the time of the move. NO. Within 24 hours his new cat mates realized he was not going to hurt them. The cats quickly jumped into to help.
Laz the cat would walk in front of him, tail up to touch his nose. This cat led him around the new house--to his food bowl and to the door to go outside. He adjusted in one day. Laz continued to mother him for the next few years. Our marriage and our pets were happy.
I truly hope you are able to find successful help for your dog's vision. If you can not here is some hope in living with a loving blind dog.

[Angie Davis-Dearth]

Thanks!! Yes once I found out several other things were wrong with her after I brought her home, they wanted to refund the money, but I feared what would happen to her if I took her back there. I will contact the humane society also. Thanks!!!