Blind man’s guide dog may lose sight after being diagnosed with pigmentary uveitis

A MAN who lost his sight and hearing eight years ago is fighting to ensure his seeing eye dog doesn’t face the same fate.

AFTER a lifetime of acting as a seeing eye dog for his owner, a golden retriever now faces sight problems of its own.

Henry and his best mate

Ronald Henry first got his guide dog Kehotay eight years ago after losing his sight and hearing.

“I went through blindness, and now I might have to watch my dog go through blindness,” he told the Ohama Metro.

“He’s been my best friend for eight years.”

The first sign of the trouble for the pooch came after he was admitted to Val Verde Animal Hospital last December with a cloudy right eye and corneal ulcers.

While the ulcers healed, the pressure in the dog’s eye had more than tripled.

Veterinarian Dr Mike Hord’s office said the complication may be a sign of a bigger problem called pigmentary uveitis — a condition common among golden retrievers.

“We’re controlling the pressure with (eye) drops twice a day now, but his eye is so cloudy that we couldn’t see into it. We’re in the dark, so to speak, about what’s going on in there,” he said.

“Pigmentary uveitis can mean the dog will lose the eye and the condition can spread to the other eye.

“We’ve been pretty much trying every trick in the ulcer cookbook to try and get this healed up.”

In a move of good faith, the Val Verde Animal Hospital has partnered with Hearts United for Animals to set up a fund to help Henry cover the expensive treatment.

“We just want to make sure both are taken care of and there are a lot of hopeful, friendly people that have taken this to heart,” he told KETV.

“Things are going good.”