As many of you know, we have 3 mini-Dachshunds. Jacks was from the Humane Society and is 15 years old. Macie was from a rescue group and is 12 years old. Gretchen was purchased from a breeder and is 13 years old.

Our issue is with Macie who has very quickly, at least to us, developed cataracts and our regular vet hardly gets a reaction when shining his light in her eyes. She is running into things and per the vet the cost is $1500/eye for surgery.

We've checked around a few places here in St. Louis and ~$1500/eye seems to be the going rate. We are going to check with the Vet School at the Univ. of MO in Columbia to see if their rates are any better.

$1500/eye is simply not affordable for us and so my question to all of you is:

Have any of you done this surgery for your dog and remember the approximate cost in your area?

UPDATE: Just checked with the Vet School in Columbia MO. One eye runs $2600 to $2900. Both eyes runs $3300 to $3600.

About right.

I paid $3500 for both eyes on one dog down here. Sorry, but evaluate the potential lifespan of the dog versus the costs potential complications of the surgery.

In our case it was a no brainer for a relatively young, but diabetic dog.

RMD

Most vets don't recommend anesthesia for dogs that old.

Just did a little googling and I'd expect to pay upwards of $5K (for both eyes) around here.

-Rob

If I couldn't afford a medical procedure for my dog, the answer would be simple for me. Let nature take its course. You gave your dog a decent life, your dog gave you joy. It's not like you gave your dog the cataracts. You shouldn't need to feel guilty about this.

Three years ago, we had our Boston Terrier's eyes checked (thanks to some sort of plan/program for being a TDI Dog).

She had early onset cataracts at the age of 6. We have her on a 1/4 pill of Ocuvite, it is supposed to slow down the progression of the cataracts. Yearly check ups (again thanks to the TDI Dog program) have shown that it is working for her.

The next progression would be drops, then surgery ($3,000 per eye). Our dog competes in Teacup Agility (she has her TACH 4 title). When the day comes that she can no longer see due to the cataracts, we will put her down.

My wife and I are firm believers in quality of life, not quantity of life for our dogs. It will be hard, but for us it will be the right thing to do.

Raleigh, NC... We paid $2500 for both eyes on our Shih-tzu. He was a rescue and we think he was about 10-12 at the time of surgery and his quality of life was dramatically improved. He lived another 4 years and we are glad we did it.

Dogs are incredibly resilient. If you decide for some reason not to have the surgery done your pup will adjust and be fine with some limitations and extra attention. We have more than a few customers at the pet store that have blind and deaf dogs that lead normal lives.

At that age even if money was not a concern I would probably not put my dog through surgery.

Wishing you and your pack the best...

My 12 year old Brittany is pretty close to deaf, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all. I think as long as they can smell, they can muddle through with some pretty poor vision and hearing.

I also would not put a dog that age through surgery.

Dogs aren't like people and from everything I've read dogs adjust very well to going blind and can live healthy fulfilling lives. There is a period of adjustment for them but once they get use to it they get along fine. Don't feel guilty if you can't afford the surgery. Also is there any chance of cataracts returning after the surgery is complete?

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
Dogs are incredibly resilient. If you decide for some reason not to have the surgery done your pup will adjust and be fine with some limitations and extra attention. We have more than a few customers at the pet store that have blind and deaf dogs that lead normal lives.

At that age even if money was not a concern I would probably not put my dog through surgery.

Wishing you and your pack the best...

My vet recommends just having one eye done. She says that's enough for them to get around OK. It's not like they're gonna fly a plane or do a lot of reading.

 
A few years ago, we had an aging Ibizan Hound who went blind (I forget if it was cataracts, or what). She was still in MD at the time. When she moved out here to AZ, she had to adapt to the new environment. Here we have an in-the-wall doggie door and an acre fenced in for the dogs, with several sub-sections with interior gates. Within two days, she was running through the house to blast through the doggie door, and romp the yard, running right through the open gates at full speed. I guess she established the layout from the scent trails of the other two dogs, and the paths they took. Plus she had visited our AZ home, for a week, a couple of years before moving out here, and she still could see at that time. The only change we had to make was remember to leave the interior gates always open. She lived another two happy years here in AZ.
 
Not all dogs may adapt so well to going blind. I would be tempted to give Macie and little time and help, before taking on the cataract surgery.
 
We also have another dog (currently still living with us) who was born deaf. She has made remarkable adaptations to her disability, to the point visitors do not even know she is deaf until we tell them.
 

I'd check with the vet schools like you said you would. We had a dog that had a ruptured disk and the vet bill was almost half with the Univerity of Illinois Vet school. They were awesome with him as well. That was some time ago..1998 or so. If you are in Missouri, try IL, KS, MO, KY...etc.

My bloodhound went blind from glaucoma. Way more traumatic for my wife and me! He adapted well and had a great quality of life.

We once took our dog to a veterinary ophthalmologist in Kirkwood on Manchester Rd. I don't recall the name but if you haven't tried them, I'll see if I can find the paperwork.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
Dogs are incredibly resilient. If you decide for some reason not to have the surgery done your pup will adjust and be fine with some limitations and extra attention. We have more than a few customers at the pet store that have blind and deaf dogs that lead normal lives.

Cats, too. We had an older cat that went blind and she learned to navigate the house very quickly. Had her quality of life been poor, we would have put her down, but she lived a happy life as a blind kitty. She didn't need to see the sunshine to find the sunny spots in the house.

Good on ya, h2oys.

Thank you all for your suggestions, advice, and words of encouragement.

So far she is adapting but its disheartening for us.

You might be surprised if you research blindness in dogs. Amazingly they adapt pretty quickly and go on to live normal lives. They know the layout of the house, where the furniture is and where the food and water is located.

Consider that before you drop that kind of $ on an older dog.

You could have one eye done