Blind animals given gift of sight
If Godzilla had a pillow fight, it would have looked like the inside of Cyd and David Fraser’s Toronto home. That’s their analogy. “If it was puffy and soft, it was taped to the walls and furniture,’’ says Cyd Fraser, explaining this was the only way they could keep their house safe for their dog, Halo, who had suddenly gone blind just over a year ago.
They had adopted the female poodlecross from a shelter in Niagara Falls about three years ago. She could be between 5 and 7 years old.
Last May, she suddenly developed pancreatitis (cause unknown), then her condition lapsed into diabetes and before the month was over, Halo had developed cataracts on her eyes and was blind.
“Our world turned upside down,’’ said Fraser. Their happy, energetic, social dog turned overnight into a frustrated, unsure and very clingy animal.
“When she became blind, she’d want me to pick her up and hold her. . . . She had to touch me all the time,’’ said Fraser, a TV sales executive.
As difficult as it is for the animals, she said, it’s also frustrating and emotionally draining for the owners who watch them flounder, unable to explain to them why their world has gone suddenly dark.
Fraser took the summer off, learned everything she could about canine diabetes and the couple pondered the possibilities of care for their dog.
They were getting advice from their regular vet but had a chance encounter with another vet, Dr. Markus Luckwaldt, from Greenwood Park Animal Hospital. He told them he’d had his dog’s cataracts successfully removed at the Toronto Animal Eye Clinic. The Etobicoke clinic, opened in 2000 by Dr. Joseph Wolfer, was the first of its kind in the city to specialize in animal eye care and surgery.
The Frasers became so heartened by talking to Luckwaldt, who also gave them good advice about how to get their dog’s diabetes under control, that they looked into the possibility of cataract removal.
They had a consultation at the eye clinic last June, where they asked “a bajillion questions,” got the answers they needed and realized there was a light at the end of the tunnel — and if everything worked out, their dog would be able to see it.
With a strict regimen of diet (weighing everything she ate), exercise, blood monitoring and injections, Fraser got Halo’s diabetes stabilized. The dog’s health improved to the point where her surgery could go ahead in mid-August.
The operation was a success and Fraser was impressed not only by the care, but by how well the science was explained to her by Dr. James Histed, the clinic’s other veterinary ophthalmologist.
“He actually disintegrates the crystals forming on top of the lens. They’re destroyed and they won’t form again. Then they take this plastic cornea, which folds up, and they put it through a tiny slit at the top of the eye,” said Fraser, who admits she didn’t even know there were animal eye specialists before her dog went blind.
“Till people need us they often don’t really know we exist,’’ acknowledged Histed.
Halo’s eyesight is back to normal — or as close as it can be. “They explained it would be almost like she was looking through a screen door — there would be some sense of a screen,” said Fraser.
The dog is back to her old self, fetching balls, going for walks and “doing tricks. We call it her circus routine. Every two weeks I’ll teach her a new trick because she’s very smart and we like to keep her focused. She will go through my legs, sit, lie down, crawl . . . she’s got her confidence back. She’s no longer a prisoner of the house.”
Halo was one of about 2,000 animals (including some from the U.S.) seen at the clinic last year — about 65 per cent of them dogs, 30 per cent cats and the rest equine, avian and “pocket pets,” like hamsters.
The clinic also does a lot of pro bono work. Any owner of a guide dog can have its eyes examined free. And they help out with Pugalug Pug Rescue and injured owls being rehabilitated by the Owl Foundation in Vineland. When wild animals with eye injuries are brought to the Toronto Wildlife Centre, executive director Nathalie Karvonen often turns to Wolfer.
He’s been “a great help to us,” she said. “He saved a huge snapping turtle’s vision in his one remaining eye, allowing him to be released back into the wild.” This was a few years ago, but there are still sightings of this distinctive turtle in Toronto harbour. “I was there when they released him,” recalled Wolfer with a smile. “It was amazing to see him go, absolutely amazing.” One of the most exotic — and dangerous — clients seen at the clinic was a king cobra brought in a few years back by a zoo reptile handler. Wolfer and Histed looked at each other when the topic came up during an interview and they chuckled. “It had a cataract in one eye and we were evaluating it. The reason why I remember him so well is we didn’t sedate him to examine him and he was fully venomed,” said Histed, adding the handler told him there was no antidote in Canada at that time for the venom. “It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but we were so interested,” said Wolfer, with a laugh. They also had a lot of confidence in the snake’s handler. The exam went without incident and they recom- mended against surgery because the snake was coping quite well and appeared very healthy otherwise. Cataract operations, which have a 90-per-cent success rate, are the most common surgical procedure at the clinic. Cataracts are seen much more in dogs than cats, are usually linked to genetics or diabetes, and can occur at any age, even as young as six months. The surgery is one of the most rewarding things they do. “You’re giving sight back,” said Wolfer. One of the most challenging cataract operations Wolfer has performed — difficult even with equipment that magnifies 20 times — was on a cockatiel because its eye was so tiny. It was a success. One of the procedures Wolfer finds most interesting, and which has an 80-per-cent success rate, is vitreoretinal surgery, fixing a detached retina. The layer of tissue at the back of the eye acts like camera film. If it becomes detached — by trauma, infection or inflammation — vision will be lost. Histed also fixes defective eyelids, which can turn inwards, causing eyelashes to irritate the cornea, and are often seen in purebreds. The risks involved in these procedures are thoroughly explained to clients, said Wolfer, as well as success rates. Fees are also discussed up front, he said. As any pet owner knows, regular veterinary care is not cheap, surgery and specialist care even more so. Wolfer wouldn’t discuss fees “because it gives people a false impression. There are so many factors. Unless we see the patient, we can’t really estimate costs.” However, the Star spoke with a client who spent about $4,000 to have his dog’s cataract removed. That was in addition to a $295 initial consultation fee. While it’s a hefty bill, he said the operation was a success. “They’re really good at what they do.”