A Mayday for Mia
Donation protected
And now... A true story...My best friend in the world is my dog, Mia. She goes by Twirly Girl, Boo Boo, and when she's bad, Mia Elizabeth. She is a 75lb boxer/mastiff puppy which is important to remember when she comes barreling down the hallway upon my arrival home, attacking me with unconditional love and tons of kisses. Did I say puppy? Ok she's 10 years old...semantics. She truly is my teacher, companion, and angel and I am so lucky to have her in my life.
Now time for the tricky part. About a month ago Mia started having problems in her good eye. I say "good eye" because when stupid Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc on Central Park, NYC Mia had the audacity to attack a fallen limb:and that fallen limb attacked her right back:in the left eye:which we now refer to as the bad eye. Now, back to the good eye. I had noticed some inflammation, and took her to my vet (Symphony Vet) where they tested her for glaucoma. The reading was double what it was supposed to be. We put her on medication immediately and to no avail, Mia went completely blind within 48 hours. My heart broke. And not only that, but did I mention that my apartment is on the third floor of a walk up. 75 lb blind dog. You do the math. Later that week, I took her to a canine ophthalmologist (because we live in New York City, one of the greatest cities on earth, and we have those here). Mia could smell that Dr. Welser was totally cool and trustworthy. We discussed the options which went from "Ok, she could be fine with eye drops", to "We have to remove the eye." "WHAT!?!"
We agreed to give it some time. 2 weeks had gone by and I was not seeing any improvement; no control over the glaucoma. I was freaking out yet trying not to show any fear or frustration in front of Mia (but we all know that dogs are smarter and more intuitive than we are). So, Mia was taking these heavy Meds, was blind as a bat, and though in obvious pain, was hiding it well. In the meantime, I had become a non sleeping ball of stress. I finally made the decision. I made an appointment to enucleate(removal of) the eye.
The next morning, I took my girl out for her walk. I was feeling a little grim until my arm was pulled out of it's socket as Mia ran towards a squirrel only to stop midway to sniff some goose poop. I froze in my tracks as it finally hit me. Mia was nonplussed by any of this! My pup was teaching me the lesson that I had been teaching to all of my improv students. "It's not a problem." She took what she had (an amazing sense of smell, sound, taste and 4 working legs) and said "Yeah, and? What else you got? Cuz this blind crap isn't gonna stop me!" She is one resilient mut and I love her so much.
Mia had the enucleation surgery last Friday at Symphony Vet. The incredible Dr. Levison, her long time vet, performed the procedure, and she is recuperating well. Please help by donating because, yes I live in one of the greatest cities in the world AND it is also one of the most expensive. So this will help greatly with the veterinary bills.
Any donations above my goal will be donated to the Humane Society of NYC.
Thank you.
Now time for the tricky part. About a month ago Mia started having problems in her good eye. I say "good eye" because when stupid Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc on Central Park, NYC Mia had the audacity to attack a fallen limb:and that fallen limb attacked her right back:in the left eye:which we now refer to as the bad eye. Now, back to the good eye. I had noticed some inflammation, and took her to my vet (Symphony Vet) where they tested her for glaucoma. The reading was double what it was supposed to be. We put her on medication immediately and to no avail, Mia went completely blind within 48 hours. My heart broke. And not only that, but did I mention that my apartment is on the third floor of a walk up. 75 lb blind dog. You do the math. Later that week, I took her to a canine ophthalmologist (because we live in New York City, one of the greatest cities on earth, and we have those here). Mia could smell that Dr. Welser was totally cool and trustworthy. We discussed the options which went from "Ok, she could be fine with eye drops", to "We have to remove the eye." "WHAT!?!"
We agreed to give it some time. 2 weeks had gone by and I was not seeing any improvement; no control over the glaucoma. I was freaking out yet trying not to show any fear or frustration in front of Mia (but we all know that dogs are smarter and more intuitive than we are). So, Mia was taking these heavy Meds, was blind as a bat, and though in obvious pain, was hiding it well. In the meantime, I had become a non sleeping ball of stress. I finally made the decision. I made an appointment to enucleate(removal of) the eye.
The next morning, I took my girl out for her walk. I was feeling a little grim until my arm was pulled out of it's socket as Mia ran towards a squirrel only to stop midway to sniff some goose poop. I froze in my tracks as it finally hit me. Mia was nonplussed by any of this! My pup was teaching me the lesson that I had been teaching to all of my improv students. "It's not a problem." She took what she had (an amazing sense of smell, sound, taste and 4 working legs) and said "Yeah, and? What else you got? Cuz this blind crap isn't gonna stop me!" She is one resilient mut and I love her so much.
Mia had the enucleation surgery last Friday at Symphony Vet. The incredible Dr. Levison, her long time vet, performed the procedure, and she is recuperating well. Please help by donating because, yes I live in one of the greatest cities in the world AND it is also one of the most expensive. So this will help greatly with the veterinary bills.
Any donations above my goal will be donated to the Humane Society of NYC.
Thank you.
Organiser
Rebecca Stuard
Organiser
New York, NY
