A Dogs Vision

     I apologize for missing the last couple days. I have been having a very troublesome eye problem  that caused being at the computer very difficult. Our vision is a precious gift to us that we take for granted; never fully realizing how precious that gift is until we experience a problem.
     With the problem I have been dealing with this past week, it made me ask myself the question: what do our dogs think when they begin to have problems with their vision? When we 'two-leggers' have a problem with our vision we visit an eye doctor, explain our problem, and usually something can be done to help with our problem. But for our four-legged companions they are not able to vocalize to us if they are having vision problems. We probably eventually are able to notice that our friend may not be seeing as well as they use to. When we look into their eyes, at times we can see a sadness; I feel that is when they are telling us something just isn't right.
     Our very dear friends have a dog named, Tucker. I guess you could say that Tucker is now a senior citizen. Along with this 'title' comes the natural aging symptoms: diminished hearing, vision changes, and maybe even some arthritis.
      Tucker's arthritis is helped with some medication, and once the ice is out on the lake his 'fishing' helps ease the arthritis discomfort throughout the summer months. As far as I am aware. there is nothing available to help our companions with the other aging symptoms. Wouldn't it be wonderful if, soon, there would be something available to help our four-leggers with the vision and hearing difficulties.
      We have been fortunate to have the honor of 'dog sitting' Tucker when his owners need to travel. It truly is a joy to have the privilege of having him stay with us. (I have to say a huge 'thank you' to his owners for allowing us to take care of their precious companion whenever the need arises.)
      On a humorous note, a couple of winters ago we enclosed our deck with a very heavy plastic--you were able to see through it, but everything seemed distorted and blurry. Tucker was staying with us for a few days. When he steps outside onto the deck his normal habit is always: he surveys the yard for a few minutes by peering between the deck posts. Now, though, he is looking through the plastic and things are looking a little confusing to him. I watched as he blinked his eyes several times, gave his head a couple shakes, and then gave me a look that said, "I could see just fine a minute ago, what the heck happened to my eyes." He quickly figured out that if he took a few extra steps to the doorway and hurried down the stairs, avoiding looking through the plastic, his vision was perfect.
     How unfortunate the aging vision can't be fixed simply by taking a few extra steps.
    
     So long, I'll see you soon!