Bleu Update

I know some people are curious as to what is Bleu's medical update from the last blog post.  The good news is that we know what Bleu doesn't have. He got tested for all kinds of diseases including: Addison's disease, Some strange disease that can be spread through his urine, diabetes, and so on and so on. He still remains undiagnosed as to anything that has caused the vision loss and our primary vet is extremely frustrated that he couldn't not find the cause of Bleu losing his vision.

Bleu's Optometrist Dr. Bonney, who is very kind and wonderful let us know that Bleu's vision diagnosis is SARDS- which stands for Suddenly Aquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome.  At his last appointment I asked him that I know he cannot be exact but how much does he think Bleu can see. He said probably about 25%. He thinks he can still see shades and shadows.
There are days when I think that Bleu can see shades and shadows because he will turn right before he hits something. However, there are days that Bleu runs right into a tree or a pole. It has helped him that we have kept the house in the same organization but if we leave a chair out Bleu will let us know quickly that it is out of place. 

Bleu Enjoying the sun on the back porch. 

He was on a ton of medication because his liver enzymes were a little out of whack but he has now finished those and is pretty much on his normal medication that he has taken for years for his hip dysplasia. We took him to the lake house this past weekend for the first time since the vision loss and I think he did pretty well. It is just so tough to see him struggle. He basically has lost the freedom of being a dog. He can't run because he could fall or run into something or hurt himself and he just needs our consistent guidance.  Swimming at the lake is his ultimate favorite thing to do. When he was a puppy we had to leave him on a leash ALL the time because he was so crazy and he would run away and chase deer or go to far in the lake. Within the last 4 years we finally trusted him enough to do his thing and swim and stay in the area. It was nice. We could be inside or outside and we didn't have to really worry about him. Now, it is like we have a puppy again. We have to keep him on a leash or be close by at all times.

Holland and Bleu at our Lakehouse dock

We took him off the leash after half a day of getting to know the dock again. He was able to show us that he could come up our of the lake around the dock and he could easily make his way back to the water with no help. He fell into the lake probably about 4 times total in one day. I was always in the water to help him find his way back to the ramp so when he was done swimming he could get out. Holland stayed out of the lake so he could receive Bleu. It was so nice to just see Bleu swimming and doing what he loved without having to worry about hitting a tree or a wall. It was the first time he was free again(with a little bit of guidance ;) ).

I am kinda getting a sneak peek of how Holland and I are going to be when/if we have kids.  I want to protect Bleu from every little obstacle so I follow him around and stop him before he hits something and Holland says he thinks it is beneficial for Bleu to experience things on his own and get to know it. He told me I was babying Bleu too much which I agree with but I just don't want him to get hurt! We are making compromises and Holland still allows me to baby him and I just try and turn away when Bleu is "exploring" because I will end up shouting at him to watch out or slow down.


Bleu has an eye appointment this Thursday so we shall see what Dr. Bonney says. Again, any information or suggestions y'all have are always welcome!Thanks for all of the helpful information y'all have provided so far.

Love, Amanda