Black Dog Sunday

Our Black Dog had a bit of a rough time during our time in the desert. He seemed uncharacteristically subdued. The most surprising thing was that he was not enthusiastic about going on walks or runs. He'd balk when heading into the unknown world, sometimes resolutely refusing to go.

Believe me, we checked him over many times, and we could find no signs that he was sick.

Then, when I asked him to run for photos along a path that I showed him carefully before asking him to run, he acted like his usual self. He looked like our normal happy Black Dog.

We made lots of guesses about what was going on with him but the one that rings true to me is that the vision in his remaining eye is at a very low level.  That also fits with his very tentative movements in the dim light of the inside of the Labmobile.

He has an ophthalmologist appointment this week. That will tell us about the pressure inside his eye, which tends to get painfully high with glaucoma. Alas, there is no standardized vision test for a dog. Our amateur tests suggest that he is still seeing something out of that eye. For example, if you act as if you're reaching for a treat to give him, he sees it.

Since getting home, our Black Dog instantly returned to normal. He is running with exuberance, and he not hesitant about steps or other obstacles in the world that he knows so well.

We hope that his happiness continues. We will be working on figuring out how to guide him better in unknown environments because we know that his vision isn't going to improve. The goal is for all of us to keep on a happy path that helps R be comfortable with his low level of vision and still lets all of us have our adventures.

It is a Happy Black Dog Sunday!