Late last night my Moose started to have some trouble with his left eye. He was pawing at it constantly, and there was a clear gooey discharge. Like any concerned parent would do, I tried to pry his eye open for a look. No dice. Moose was not interested in having me investigate his eye problem.
So… the pawing continued. All night long.
This morning? Same story. Pawing at his eye, clear discharge. The area around the affected eye is warm to the touch, warmer than the other eye. It seems to be a little swollen, as far as I can tell. And Moose is reluctant to even open his eye at all.
We’ve got a vet appointment this afternoon; I’ll let you know what it turns out to be.
Half of me is thinking I overreacted. He’s got something in his eye and it’s irritated, but not worth a vet visit.
The other half is in a panic. What if he punctured his eye when he was nosing around in the bushes? What if he scratched his cornea? What if it’s a serious infection? What if he loses his eye? I’ll have to call him Moose-Beard the Pirate and give him an eye patch.
Time for a little research. It’s hard to tell, with eye problems, what’s serious and what’s not. When in doubt, call the vet. They’re the experts; I’m just some girl with a couple of pet first aid books and a high-speed internet connection.
Squinting, for example, could be a sign of a pretty insignificant irritation. Then again, there could be debris lodged beneath the eyelid. Worst-case scenario? Maybe your dog got a BB gun for Christmas and really did shoot his eye out.
We’ll see what the vet says. I hope it’s nothing, but until I know for sure, I’ll worry that it is something serious. Keep your paws crossed!