- A
- N
- A
Ozzie. Lover of people, all food, and serious snuggles- like attached to your side snuggles. Our Shar Pei potato. Seriously, his body is shaped just like a potato. This potato came into our life three years ago when we decided to foster him through a local rescue organisation. We were so pleased to see how well he fit in with our household. He brought energy back to our other two dogs, and was absolutely in love with myself and my husband. He followed us everywhere to see what we were doing. He would lay on the lawn and watch my husband mow the grass, follow me around vacuuming, things that typically scared other dogs just brought out more of his curiosity. He absolutely adored people and became fast friends with anyone who came over, or simply looked at him.
We quickly found that people were his purpose. He loved visiting the Assisted Living where I work, has been Santa's "reindeer" during the Christmas season and accompanies our team for the Annual Alzheimer's walk. He knows when I am unwell, and has made it his duty to lay next to me on the bathroom floor when my chronic illness flares. Bath time alone? Never. He has what our friend and pet sitter calls "concerned bath face" and will come sit by the tub, anxiously gazing at you to confirm your safety. He is all about his people. And after fostering him for a few months, my husband and I agreed that we were his people.
We don't know what happened in Ozzie's life before we began fostering him, but it was clear that he did not know his name (at the time it was WonderBoy), any obedience commands, and hadn't been socialised with other animals. He also had multiple health issues, as Shar Peis often do. He was a yeasty dude with severe allergies and multiple ear infections. Shar Peis are notorious for skin and eye issues, so we were so surprised that his eyes seemed to be in perfect condition. No entropion! After many vet visits, diet changes and medication, Ozzie was feeling fabulous- and looking like one handsome potato!
Then one morning, after he had been living with us for about two years, I noticed that he was periodically squinting. I could not see anything in his eye, and he only occasionally squinted, and of course didn't seem to when anyone else was watching him. I was convinced that something wasn't quite right, and became vigilant about monitoring his eyes. A couple of days later, he was gazing out our front window, and the sun caught his eye just right, showing a small uneven area in his eye. We immediately got him in to see his vet, who said that he would need to be seen by Ophthalmology at UW Vet Clinic. This was the very beginning of a year long journey attempt to save Ozzie's sight.
At UW, he was diagnosed with SCCEEP in his left eye and Bilateral Intermittent Entropion. Spontaneous Chronic Corneal Epithelial Defect occurs after a scratch on the corneal surface. It is the result of the outer layer of the cornea not adhering to the underlying cornea. Wow, right?! Unfortunately, this was much worse than what we had expected, and it was just the beginning.
And now, for more technical jargon. That day, the vet performed epithelial debridement and anterior stromal puncture and then placed a contact lens on Ozzie's eye. This was also the beginning of Ozzie's fashion craze. For the next six months, E-collars of all different shapes and sizes were tried in an attempt to prevent him from scratching his eyes. Ozzie beat them all until we found an E-collar that resembled a satellite dish. This mammoth saucer seemed to finally keep him from getting at his eyes. During those six weeks, we found that luck was not on our side.
The next UW vet visit was the beginning of a 2 week cycle of monitoring and providing different treatments to save Ozzie's eyes. This visit brought more bad news. Even though his condition was not contagious, Ozzie had somehow now developed an ulcer in his other eye, and the left eye's ulcer had not healed. The vet decided that the intermittent entropion was likely the cause of the ulcers, and Entropion surgery was scheduled for the following week. The surgery was successful, and Ozzie's entropion was healed! Unfortunately, he still had ulcers in both of his eyes, with another new ulcer on his right eye.
Ozzie underwent anterior stroll puncture again, this time on both eyes. The procedure was again unsuccessful in healing the ulcers and his next vet visit showed continued corneal erosion and bilateral corneal pigmentation and fibrosis. Now the important thing through all of this, was that Oz maintained his rock star personality. He was always happy. He actually smiles, and it's a beautiful thing! He continued to eat well, play, follow us everywhere, and take up tons of space on the bed when we snuggled. It was inspiring to watch him go through these procedures along with all of his eye drops, eye ointments and oral medications, as if it was his same old routine.
The next visit was more bad news. We were expecting this, as we had noticed that Ozzie was starting to lose his vision. The vet shared that not only had his eye ulcers not healed, but he now had corneal edema in both of his eyes, which was caused by endothelial degeneration. This basically means that cells on the inside of his cornea were not functioning as normal, and causing a build up of fluid. This caused Ozzie's eyes to have a blue hazy appearance and also resulted in decreased vision. Again, Oz was as happy as ever, and thrilled to see his buddies at the Vet Clinic. The vet again stated that Oz did not appear to be in any pain or discomfort, so we continued to move forward.
During the next couple of weeks, Ozzie's vision continued to worsen. At his next vet appointment, he was diagnosed with primary Glaucoma. This was a shock, as it is unrelated to his previous Entropion, or his non-healing eye ulcers. It's just plain bad luck. The pressure in his eyes had spiked and he now had significantly decreased vision. The pressure was able to be controlled with multiple eye drops, but the damage was done, most of Ozzie's vision was gone. He could still see very bright light, and possibly shadows, but that was all. Eventually, all of his eye ulcers healed, but the damage to his eyeballs was severe. Still, Oz ran around in the yard, chowed his food, and loved his humans. His loss of vision, which would have been devastating for a human, did not change his personality one bit. He is truly an awesome potato.
Through MANY vet visits, medications, treatments, and surgery, we had managed to save a bit of his vision. We continued to go to UW for eye pressure checks weekly, then bi-weekly, monthly and then every three months. The concern was that at some point, the drops would no longer prevent pressure from building in his eyes, which would cause pain. When it was time for his second 3month pressure check, CoVID 19 had struck, and the UW clinic needed to close its doors for a few months. This meant that Oz was not able to have a three month check up, and again, luck was not on our side. When the clinic reopened, we got in right away, but this was six months since his last pressure check. At some point during those months, the medication stopped working, and the pressure in his eyes increased- resulting in complete blindness.
At this time, Oz has no vision, but is still living his best potato life. He plays, runs, soaks in the sun, snuggles, eats all the tasties, and, yes, runs in to things. He is getting more savvy navigating his blindness, and learning his way around the house. He has the yard memorised and loves being outside. He almost has some sort of super power, that doesn't allow sadness or depression to develop in him. When he bounces off of something in the house, he smiles and just keeps going, not even slowing down.
His surgery is scheduled to have his eyes removed this Thursday. It is the only way to stop the pressure and pain in his eyes. As he is already completely blind, the surgery will just ensure that he has no pain. While his spirit and positivity is incredibly strong and resilient , his eyes were unable to heal. The cost of the surgery is $2,200 and we are still paying for some of his unsuccessful treatments and medications. He is a middle aged potato, and is likely to live many more happy years. We want him to do that pain free! He has so much love for others, and we have so much love for him. Thank you so much for reading his story, and considering contributing to his care. This potato invites you to always see the positive things in life, even if you can't see them with your eyes!
We quickly found that people were his purpose. He loved visiting the Assisted Living where I work, has been Santa's "reindeer" during the Christmas season and accompanies our team for the Annual Alzheimer's walk. He knows when I am unwell, and has made it his duty to lay next to me on the bathroom floor when my chronic illness flares. Bath time alone? Never. He has what our friend and pet sitter calls "concerned bath face" and will come sit by the tub, anxiously gazing at you to confirm your safety. He is all about his people. And after fostering him for a few months, my husband and I agreed that we were his people.
We don't know what happened in Ozzie's life before we began fostering him, but it was clear that he did not know his name (at the time it was WonderBoy), any obedience commands, and hadn't been socialised with other animals. He also had multiple health issues, as Shar Peis often do. He was a yeasty dude with severe allergies and multiple ear infections. Shar Peis are notorious for skin and eye issues, so we were so surprised that his eyes seemed to be in perfect condition. No entropion! After many vet visits, diet changes and medication, Ozzie was feeling fabulous- and looking like one handsome potato!
Then one morning, after he had been living with us for about two years, I noticed that he was periodically squinting. I could not see anything in his eye, and he only occasionally squinted, and of course didn't seem to when anyone else was watching him. I was convinced that something wasn't quite right, and became vigilant about monitoring his eyes. A couple of days later, he was gazing out our front window, and the sun caught his eye just right, showing a small uneven area in his eye. We immediately got him in to see his vet, who said that he would need to be seen by Ophthalmology at UW Vet Clinic. This was the very beginning of a year long journey attempt to save Ozzie's sight.
At UW, he was diagnosed with SCCEEP in his left eye and Bilateral Intermittent Entropion. Spontaneous Chronic Corneal Epithelial Defect occurs after a scratch on the corneal surface. It is the result of the outer layer of the cornea not adhering to the underlying cornea. Wow, right?! Unfortunately, this was much worse than what we had expected, and it was just the beginning.
And now, for more technical jargon. That day, the vet performed epithelial debridement and anterior stromal puncture and then placed a contact lens on Ozzie's eye. This was also the beginning of Ozzie's fashion craze. For the next six months, E-collars of all different shapes and sizes were tried in an attempt to prevent him from scratching his eyes. Ozzie beat them all until we found an E-collar that resembled a satellite dish. This mammoth saucer seemed to finally keep him from getting at his eyes. During those six weeks, we found that luck was not on our side.
The next UW vet visit was the beginning of a 2 week cycle of monitoring and providing different treatments to save Ozzie's eyes. This visit brought more bad news. Even though his condition was not contagious, Ozzie had somehow now developed an ulcer in his other eye, and the left eye's ulcer had not healed. The vet decided that the intermittent entropion was likely the cause of the ulcers, and Entropion surgery was scheduled for the following week. The surgery was successful, and Ozzie's entropion was healed! Unfortunately, he still had ulcers in both of his eyes, with another new ulcer on his right eye.
Ozzie underwent anterior stroll puncture again, this time on both eyes. The procedure was again unsuccessful in healing the ulcers and his next vet visit showed continued corneal erosion and bilateral corneal pigmentation and fibrosis. Now the important thing through all of this, was that Oz maintained his rock star personality. He was always happy. He actually smiles, and it's a beautiful thing! He continued to eat well, play, follow us everywhere, and take up tons of space on the bed when we snuggled. It was inspiring to watch him go through these procedures along with all of his eye drops, eye ointments and oral medications, as if it was his same old routine.
The next visit was more bad news. We were expecting this, as we had noticed that Ozzie was starting to lose his vision. The vet shared that not only had his eye ulcers not healed, but he now had corneal edema in both of his eyes, which was caused by endothelial degeneration. This basically means that cells on the inside of his cornea were not functioning as normal, and causing a build up of fluid. This caused Ozzie's eyes to have a blue hazy appearance and also resulted in decreased vision. Again, Oz was as happy as ever, and thrilled to see his buddies at the Vet Clinic. The vet again stated that Oz did not appear to be in any pain or discomfort, so we continued to move forward.
During the next couple of weeks, Ozzie's vision continued to worsen. At his next vet appointment, he was diagnosed with primary Glaucoma. This was a shock, as it is unrelated to his previous Entropion, or his non-healing eye ulcers. It's just plain bad luck. The pressure in his eyes had spiked and he now had significantly decreased vision. The pressure was able to be controlled with multiple eye drops, but the damage was done, most of Ozzie's vision was gone. He could still see very bright light, and possibly shadows, but that was all. Eventually, all of his eye ulcers healed, but the damage to his eyeballs was severe. Still, Oz ran around in the yard, chowed his food, and loved his humans. His loss of vision, which would have been devastating for a human, did not change his personality one bit. He is truly an awesome potato.
Through MANY vet visits, medications, treatments, and surgery, we had managed to save a bit of his vision. We continued to go to UW for eye pressure checks weekly, then bi-weekly, monthly and then every three months. The concern was that at some point, the drops would no longer prevent pressure from building in his eyes, which would cause pain. When it was time for his second 3month pressure check, CoVID 19 had struck, and the UW clinic needed to close its doors for a few months. This meant that Oz was not able to have a three month check up, and again, luck was not on our side. When the clinic reopened, we got in right away, but this was six months since his last pressure check. At some point during those months, the medication stopped working, and the pressure in his eyes increased- resulting in complete blindness.
At this time, Oz has no vision, but is still living his best potato life. He plays, runs, soaks in the sun, snuggles, eats all the tasties, and, yes, runs in to things. He is getting more savvy navigating his blindness, and learning his way around the house. He has the yard memorised and loves being outside. He almost has some sort of super power, that doesn't allow sadness or depression to develop in him. When he bounces off of something in the house, he smiles and just keeps going, not even slowing down.
His surgery is scheduled to have his eyes removed this Thursday. It is the only way to stop the pressure and pain in his eyes. As he is already completely blind, the surgery will just ensure that he has no pain. While his spirit and positivity is incredibly strong and resilient , his eyes were unable to heal. The cost of the surgery is $2,200 and we are still paying for some of his unsuccessful treatments and medications. He is a middle aged potato, and is likely to live many more happy years. We want him to do that pain free! He has so much love for others, and we have so much love for him. Thank you so much for reading his story, and considering contributing to his care. This potato invites you to always see the positive things in life, even if you can't see them with your eyes!