Glaucoma - 1st person stoies: Bea

Bea's Story
by Janet Land
Saturna Island, BC
Excerpted from the Bouvier Mail list
with the author's permission

Thu, 05 Aug 1999 Last week I took Bea to our vet about her eye. It seemed that she'd got something in it that had caused irritation and edema. We got some drops and took her back yesterday for a check up. It was no better so we got some stronger meds. By the time we got her home last night her other eye was rolled back and red and her "bad" eye was squinted shut. She wouldn't eat and completely flaked out not wanting to move or do anything. What really worried me was her reaction to a severe thunder storm we had during the night. Normally she would have been hopping around barking like mad at the perceived "intruder", the thunder, but last night she didn't move a muscle or make a sound. I, of course, got next to no sleep with the noise and worry about her.

This morning I called the only ophthalmologist in the southern part of BC but I can't see him till tomorrow morning. That means I take a ferry out of here this afternoon, spend close to 5 hours on ferries (assuming it isn't too crowded and I get on), spend the night in Vancouver and then drive 45 minutes in the morning. The breeder is worried about Bea, too, and will meet us at the ophthalmologist.

I'm sure all this travel isn't going to help her much but there isn't much I can do to prevent it and still get her to a specialist. The poor baby. I hate the feeling of helplessness when they are sick especially with Bea. She has an incredible pain threshold so when she shows it you know its bad.

Fri, 06 Aug 1999 I am having trouble typing this through my tears. I had my precious Bea to the ophthalmologist today and she has Glaucoma. If my regular vet had diagnosed it correctly a week ago she may not have lost the sight in her right eye, and this was a vet I trusted.

I spent an exhausting day today going in and out of the vet's office every hour to see if the pills and two types of drops would bring the pressure down. I hope that the current combination will work since he is gone for the weekend and I am heading home to the island. It is very unlikely that Bea will regain sight in her right eye and it will probably have to be removed. Our biggest challenge now will be to keep it at bay in the left eye.

It is not a question if she will get it in her left eye, but when, because, and this is the real "pisser", this is a hereditary genetic condition in both eyes! It is gonodysgenesis (sp?), a drainage angle maldevelopment that cannot be detected in a CERF examination , a goneoscopy (sp?) is required. And what is even more of a "pisser" is that the Ophthalmologist said that this is a real problem in Bouviers but no one seems to be talking about it.

Bea's breeder was as horrified to hear this as I was. She is what I would call a small time breeder who has depended on other more prominent and experienced breeders in the area for information on this. She loves Bea like one of her own dogs and cried almost as much as I did in the sessions between vet visits.

I feel so bad for Bea. As the specialist said, of all the eye diseases this is the worst one to have since in addition to the blindness it is very painful. I realize now how much pain Bea must have been in at the time and it makes my tears fall harder.

Bea was the special puppy that no one thought would survive her premature birth (all her litter mates were stillborn) and she is my special girl that has my heart in her paws. I know she will handle these problems better than I will but I have promised her that if she loses her sight completely I will be her "seeing eye person" forever and ever.

Sun, 08 Aug 1999 As time went on, and it wasn't treated, Bea showed signs of acute pain which I'm sorry to say I didn't recognize as such. Her good eye drooped down and showed red, much like a saggy Basset hound eye, and the eyeball was rolled back up almost out of sight. I shudder just writing about it.

The treatment is drugs (tablets and drops) to take the pressure down (it is the pressure that causes the pain). If the pressure stays high for any length of time blindness will occur. If you can catch it in time the drugs may prevent the blindness. Once we get the bad eye stabilized (and removed surgically since she is blind in that eye) she will have to have drops in her "good" eye for the rest of her life and be monitored very carefully. I have a prescription for some heavy duty drops that I will keep in the refrigerator. If I suspect a problem, I'll use those and get her to the ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

I guess my advice to all Bouv owners is to keep a real close watch on your dog and if you see anything out of the ordinary in the eye go directly to your vet and insist that they do a pressure test. My vet says he put manual pressure on the eye and she didn't react. Obviously wasn't good enough.

This experience reconfirms my resolve to go with my gut reaction. I knowmy dogs and when something isn't right I'm going to act on it right away.

Mon, 09 Aug 1999 When I took Bea in to the ophthalmologist he said that glaucoma was a real problem in Bouviers and indicated that he'd seen a lot of it in the breed. Now he is the only ophthalmologist in British Columbia so I'm assuming he's referring to BC Bouvs yet […] no one in BC has come forward and told me about cases of glaucoma in their breeding so I come back to the ophthalmologist's comment that "no one is talking about it". To me it seems that no one is admitting to it. Is this yet another "not in my lines" situation like SAS?

Bea will be 7 years old this month and I know that testing for some of these problems is much more recent than that so I don't fault the breeder for not testing. However if I had known that glaucoma was a problem in the breed and had known what to look, for then perhaps Bea would not be in the situation she is now. And in my opinion the blame for that lies clearly in the lap of those breeders who put their own egos above the health and happiness of the dogs they produce.

Mon, 23 Aug 1999 Today is Bea's birthday! She is 7. We got up at 5:00am to catch a ferry to the vet to have her stitches removed (she had her right eye removed 10 days ago because of glaucoma). She was such a good girl during this procedure and having the pressure tested in her left eye (normal pressures are 10 - 20. Bea's right eye was 43) Thank goodness her left eye is fine. So after that we celebrated.

We stopped at the pet store for special treats (dried liver) for immediate consumption and some smoky bones for both Bea and Boudi who are currently attacking them with relish. Then I met my Mom for lunch. We sat outside and had Bea with us because it was too warm to leave her in the car. Dozens of people stopped to adore her and no one even mentioned that she only had one eye. She loved the attention. We did some other errands then caught the ferry home. Bea missed out on her daily quota of sleep so she is flaked out after dinner.

Although I'm terribly sad that Bea lost an eye to glaucoma I am thankful for every pain free day she has and intend to give her the best quality of life available.

Mon, 23 Aug 1999 My purpose in posting this is two fold. I want to make people aware that glaucoma is a problem in the breed and let people know what to look for in hopes that other dogs don't have to go through what Bea did.

The symptom in Bea's case was a cloudy area on the eye. Others have reported that their dogs also rub their eyes, exhibit redness and/or show signs of pain. My original vet said that he considered glaucoma and tested by putting manual pressure on the eye. She didn't react. Bea, like many Bouvs, has a very high pain tolerance (especially in the vet's office) so this non response is not unusual.

If your dog has an eye problem that isn't immediately evident (eg. foreign material in the eye) insist that your vet test the pressure. Most vets do not have the equipment to give an accurate digital reading but they should have a device to determine if the pressure is above normal.

I am also posting in hopes that other owners of Bouviers with glaucoma will come forward with information on affected dogs that will help eliminate this condition from the breed in the future. There are a number of studies of glaucoma in Bouviers underway in the USA and they are anxious to get data on dogs with the condition in North America and Europe. Please email me privately for the researchers to contact.

Bea had her stitches removed today, her 7th birthday. Other dogs have developed glaucoma earlier in life. If it is detected soon enough, it is possible to prevent blindness. Please talk to any and all Bouvier owners you know, let them know what to watch for and encourage them to come forward with information on affected dogs. Keeping this condition "hidden" will do nothing to prevent the pain and heartache for dogs and owners alike.

I am pleased to report that Bea has recovered well from the surgery and celebrated her birthday with vigor and smoky bones :-)) I now pray that she will retain the sight in her remaining eye .

Fri, 27 Aug 1999 I recently received a copy of a paper "Dysplasia of the Pectinate Ligament and Primary Glaucoma in the Bouvier des Flandres Dog" by J.S. van der Linde-Sipman Dept. of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University Utrecht, Yalelaan 1, Utrecht, the Netherlands from the Journal of Veterinary Pathology 24:201-206 (1987). Abstract.

The eyes of 80 Bouvier des Flandres dogs without a history of clinical eye disease and 43 glaucomatous eyes out of 35 Bouvier des Flandres dogs were examined for changes in the pectinate ligament. Slight to severe dysplasia of the pectinate ligament occurred in 75% of the normotensive eyes. In glaucomatous eyes, dysplasia was severe and similar to the severity of dysplasia in the most affected normotensive eyes. A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF THE BOUVIER DES FLANDERS DOGS IS PREDISPOSED TO DEVELOP GLAUCOMA (caps are my emphasis).

The first paragraph states: "In the Netherlands primary glaucoma in dogs occurs predominately in the basset and American cocker spaniel and the Bouvier des Flanders breeds. In these breeds a gonioscopically detectable dysplasia of the pectinate ligament frequently occurs. THE FREQUENCY OF PRIMARY GLAUCOMA IN THE BOUVIER DES FLANDERS DOGS IS REMARKABLE. "(caps my emphasis)

This paper was published in 1987. The ophthalmologist I took my dog to this month near Vancouver BC said it was a problem in the breed, two subsequent vets in Victoria said the same thing. The only case(s) I have heard of exhibiting primary glaucoma have been from vets.

I can't believe that all the dogs that these vets are seeing come from back yard breeders or that any other area of Canada (or the USA for that matter) are any different. Many of the dogs bred in North America have Dutch ancestors (and this paper says it was a problem there in the 80's) and until recently glaucoma testing was rare (one might still consider it rare). So why is it that Bouvier breeders and owners don't say they know of any dogs with the problem?

Thu, 30 Aug 1999 When I had the dogs to the vet for shots the other day the vet ran through the things to watch for in Bea's remaining eye. When I first noticed a problem with Bea her eye had a cloudy patch which means that the glaucoma was well advanced. I need to watch her and make sure if it develops in her eye that I catch it before it gets to the cloudy stage (I have some emergency pills and drops to use on the long way to the vet). I thought it might be useful to pass this information on to others.

Pull back the upper eye lid to look at the white of the eye. There are some small blood vessels there but it should be basically pretty white. If these blood vessels enlarge and the area is red, get to a vet. It helps to know what the eye normally looks like so you can recognize any change.

In a normal eye the pupil expands and contracts in the dark and light. With glaucoma the pupil enlarges but doesn't contract. Check the pupil action by having the dog in a dark room (so the pupil will be large), then shine a pen light (no spotlights please) in front of the eye. The pupil should contract. If there is no change in the pupil size there is a problem.

Glaucoma hits very quickly and if the pressure gets high enough the dog can go blind in a matter of hours. Hopefully checks like this can alert owners to problems before it gets to the critical stage.

Janet Land
Saturna Island BC

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