Help Charlie See Again
Donation protected
Help Us Give Eyesight back to Charlie
Summary of Our Story
Two years ago we adopted a new pup, Charlie - a 5 year old goldendoodle, who was set to be sent to a kennel as his last owner could no longer care for him (It was his third home in 5 years!). Over the last two years we have welcomed him into our home and all of us have worked really hard to get him fit and healthy. Since then, he has quickly become a strong part of our family. Our two children, TJ and Liv, love him and take good care of him. Sadly, due to an error in medication and judgment by our former Veterinarian , Charlie developed Diabetes and had rapid onset of Cataracts, causing pain and blindness. After our kids told us all they want for Christmas is Charlie's eyesight back (really, you can’t make up how sweet they are to him) we made the decision we had to try.
Knowing we couldn't let Charlie stay blind, we needed to act fast because the cataracts are rapidly still developing. At the last ophthalmologist appointment we learned that the right eye can’t be saved. The cataract exploded and is oozing into the eye so it has to come out or it will develop into Glaucoma and be very painful for Charlie. The left eye still has a chance and would make a world of difference for him. We had the surgery and unfortunately it was not without complications but we pray to God that the eye he has will heal quickly. The surgery cost a little over $6,000, and we had to charge it on a credit card because time is of the essence. Any donation will help. Thank you in advance!
Full Story
Two years ago we adopted a new pup, Charlie - a 5 year old goldendoodle, who was set to be sent to a kennel as his last owner could no longer care for him (It was his third home in 5 years!). Over the last two years we have worked really hard to get him fit and healthy, and he quickly became a strong part of our family. Our two children, TJ and Liv, love him and take good care of feeding, walking, and playing with him.
Well, six weeks ago, we took our Charlie in to see our veterinarian with a belly rash. We thought it would be an easy fix, as we have had dogs in the past and thought it might be hot spot or fall allergy or something similar. The vet offered two treatments; steroids or an expensive new drug. We chose the steroids as we have taken Prednisone before so we were slightly familiar. Unfortunately our doctor at the time did not inform us of the potential dangerous side effects or what to watch for (frankly, this lack of service became a consistent practice, so we have since switched to a wonderful Animal Hospital that we feel are partners with us in keeping Charlie healthy and happy). It makes us sad and angry just to think about it. As a result, within that month Charlie started having some bathroom accidents. He also came back from a grooming looking very thin. That Saturday we made a vet appointment for Monday, as he was also squinting his eyes. What we did not know at that time, was that the steroids had wreaked havoc on his blood sugar and insulin production, and Charlie had developed diabetes which also caused the rapid onset of cataracts! The cataracts were developing so fast they were burning Charlie’s eyes. At the Monday Vet visit they told us he was 100% blind and now a lifelong diabetic. He then spent two days with the Vet to get his sugar’s regulated. This was all happening so quickly that our family was in shock and not sure what to do next. We now know, as our new Veterinarians specialize in animals with diabetes, how to check Charlie’s sugar levels and give him his daily doses of insulin. We have also learned to stick to a rigid feeding schedule to give Charlie the best care and are happy that we are getting the diabetes under control
However, the cataracts are irreversible and his blindness has substantially changed his behavior and personality. We are heartbroken to see the playful dog, who used to have “mega mutt” moments tossing my son’s socks in the air to himself or stealing a sock and bolting around the house and yard, doing nothing much more than eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. He is still lovable and enjoys cuddling and having his belly rubbed, but now Charlie gingerly walks with one foot thoughtfully in front of the other bumping into walls, tables, etc. as he makes his way around our home.
We found out that cataracts can be taken out and his sight restored with surgery, however, this is a pretty big operation and an expensive proposition. After some family discussion and our two kids telling us all they want for Christmas is Charlie’s eye surgery, we made the very big decision to restore Charlie’s eyesight. It is very expensive but this doggie has lived with three other owners before us and while he came with other issues, we promised him that he was our dog forever. It took a while for him to trust us and he went through resource guarding, growling at us when we tried to back whatever he snatched up, jumping up on the tables and counters, and getting into any place we store food, but he has grown so much with our family and he has turned into a sweet guy. We love him, he is part of us. Charlie is now known as “lovebug” by our NEW vet hospital folks! We know that is because our family does a good job loving our pets. Charlie is family. He is our kids’ brother from another mother (as our son says).
Knowing we can’t let Charlie stay blind, we need to act fast, because the cataracts are rapidly still developing. At the ophthalmologist appointment we learned that the right eye can’t be saved. The cataract exploded and is oozing into the eye. The right eye has to come out or it will develop into Glaucoma and be very painful for Charlie. We had the surgery and unfortunately it was not without complications but we pray to God that the eye he has will heal quickly. The surgery cost a little over $6,000, and we had to charge it on a credit card because time is of the essence. Any donation will help. Thank you in advance!
Summary of Our Story
Two years ago we adopted a new pup, Charlie - a 5 year old goldendoodle, who was set to be sent to a kennel as his last owner could no longer care for him (It was his third home in 5 years!). Over the last two years we have welcomed him into our home and all of us have worked really hard to get him fit and healthy. Since then, he has quickly become a strong part of our family. Our two children, TJ and Liv, love him and take good care of him. Sadly, due to an error in medication and judgment by our former Veterinarian , Charlie developed Diabetes and had rapid onset of Cataracts, causing pain and blindness. After our kids told us all they want for Christmas is Charlie's eyesight back (really, you can’t make up how sweet they are to him) we made the decision we had to try.
Knowing we couldn't let Charlie stay blind, we needed to act fast because the cataracts are rapidly still developing. At the last ophthalmologist appointment we learned that the right eye can’t be saved. The cataract exploded and is oozing into the eye so it has to come out or it will develop into Glaucoma and be very painful for Charlie. The left eye still has a chance and would make a world of difference for him. We had the surgery and unfortunately it was not without complications but we pray to God that the eye he has will heal quickly. The surgery cost a little over $6,000, and we had to charge it on a credit card because time is of the essence. Any donation will help. Thank you in advance!
Full Story
Two years ago we adopted a new pup, Charlie - a 5 year old goldendoodle, who was set to be sent to a kennel as his last owner could no longer care for him (It was his third home in 5 years!). Over the last two years we have worked really hard to get him fit and healthy, and he quickly became a strong part of our family. Our two children, TJ and Liv, love him and take good care of feeding, walking, and playing with him.
Well, six weeks ago, we took our Charlie in to see our veterinarian with a belly rash. We thought it would be an easy fix, as we have had dogs in the past and thought it might be hot spot or fall allergy or something similar. The vet offered two treatments; steroids or an expensive new drug. We chose the steroids as we have taken Prednisone before so we were slightly familiar. Unfortunately our doctor at the time did not inform us of the potential dangerous side effects or what to watch for (frankly, this lack of service became a consistent practice, so we have since switched to a wonderful Animal Hospital that we feel are partners with us in keeping Charlie healthy and happy). It makes us sad and angry just to think about it. As a result, within that month Charlie started having some bathroom accidents. He also came back from a grooming looking very thin. That Saturday we made a vet appointment for Monday, as he was also squinting his eyes. What we did not know at that time, was that the steroids had wreaked havoc on his blood sugar and insulin production, and Charlie had developed diabetes which also caused the rapid onset of cataracts! The cataracts were developing so fast they were burning Charlie’s eyes. At the Monday Vet visit they told us he was 100% blind and now a lifelong diabetic. He then spent two days with the Vet to get his sugar’s regulated. This was all happening so quickly that our family was in shock and not sure what to do next. We now know, as our new Veterinarians specialize in animals with diabetes, how to check Charlie’s sugar levels and give him his daily doses of insulin. We have also learned to stick to a rigid feeding schedule to give Charlie the best care and are happy that we are getting the diabetes under control
However, the cataracts are irreversible and his blindness has substantially changed his behavior and personality. We are heartbroken to see the playful dog, who used to have “mega mutt” moments tossing my son’s socks in the air to himself or stealing a sock and bolting around the house and yard, doing nothing much more than eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. He is still lovable and enjoys cuddling and having his belly rubbed, but now Charlie gingerly walks with one foot thoughtfully in front of the other bumping into walls, tables, etc. as he makes his way around our home.
We found out that cataracts can be taken out and his sight restored with surgery, however, this is a pretty big operation and an expensive proposition. After some family discussion and our two kids telling us all they want for Christmas is Charlie’s eye surgery, we made the very big decision to restore Charlie’s eyesight. It is very expensive but this doggie has lived with three other owners before us and while he came with other issues, we promised him that he was our dog forever. It took a while for him to trust us and he went through resource guarding, growling at us when we tried to back whatever he snatched up, jumping up on the tables and counters, and getting into any place we store food, but he has grown so much with our family and he has turned into a sweet guy. We love him, he is part of us. Charlie is now known as “lovebug” by our NEW vet hospital folks! We know that is because our family does a good job loving our pets. Charlie is family. He is our kids’ brother from another mother (as our son says).
Knowing we can’t let Charlie stay blind, we need to act fast, because the cataracts are rapidly still developing. At the ophthalmologist appointment we learned that the right eye can’t be saved. The cataract exploded and is oozing into the eye. The right eye has to come out or it will develop into Glaucoma and be very painful for Charlie. We had the surgery and unfortunately it was not without complications but we pray to God that the eye he has will heal quickly. The surgery cost a little over $6,000, and we had to charge it on a credit card because time is of the essence. Any donation will help. Thank you in advance!
Organizer
Colleen Tierney Sousa
Organizer
Epping, NH
