Meet Goma. Goma has SARDS, a syndrome which causes sudden blindness. She has been blind now about a week, and is beginning to adjust. It was sad (still is) as you feel like something has been taken away from her, and it's so unfair. But the truth is, this is how we feel. What she wants is what she wanted before, food, water, a ball to play with, someone to play with her, and to be safe. And these things all became harder, but not impossible.
If your dog goes blind, is going blind, etc. you need to do the following...
1) Go to your vet and make sure the reasons behind it are known as much as possible.
2) Discuss lifestyle changes with your doctor for your dog (blind dogs don't move as much, so diet becomes more important.)
3) Don't trust everything you read. Dog owners are panicky, and do way too much self analysis. Read the stuff from people who have dogs with SARDS and you'll be in a panic. The truth is, she's just blind, and there are no other confirmed symptoms. People say their dog died from SARDS but SARDS doesn't cause death - no link to anything else is certain. Get good info.
4) Research as much as you can. There are things you can do which are not hard.
5) And if your dog is blind, be patient with it, and give as much attention as you can. Anyone who has a dog knows that their dog wants, you. So that's what you need to give...
Hopefully Goma is with us for years and years to come. She is an important member of our family.
