I have a Golden Retriever, that is 14 yrs and 5 months old. She has always been in really good condition. Well, yesterday, I went out on my deck to fire up the BBQ grill. She looked up at me and I noticed her right eye looked horrible. Her eyelid was severely drooping down and her eye was bloodshot. It looked like she had poked it with something.
We took her to the vet. They drew blood to see if it was a Thyroid issue? The vet also said that it could be a brain tumor or a stroke.
I am not sure how any of those could cause the eye to look like it has an infection in it. Maybe a stroke could make it look bloodshot.
Have any of you here had this issue with a dog or cat? I have had dogs for many many years. I have bred dogs and trained dogs and had as many as 7 dogs at once, but have never seen this, but at the same time I have never had a dog this old.

My parents golden retriever had the same issue. It ended up being a brain tumor. They kept her comfortable for as long as practical, perhaps even a bit longer than prudent...in the end it was fatal.

I'm sorry. I hope that same diagnosis is not true for your pup.

She's in my prayers.

The eye can change its appearance quickly under the effects of a stroke or tumor. The mechanism to control blinking and hydration fails and the eye becomes susceptible to drying out, infection and so forth.

I hope that isn't the case, but the eye may be more a sign of what's going on than the actual primary problem itself.

Look up Horner's Syndrome (doggie version). Can cause unilateral nerve paralysis which results in drooping eyelid on one side, some facial droop, maybe drooling on that side.

Check out the symptoms, see if they match.

Another thought/question: did the vet use a tonometer to check for glaucoma? This won't cause a drooping lid, but acute glaucoma CAN cause a prominent 3rd eyelid to somewhat simulate a droopy eyelid. If they didn't check the pressure, might wanna ask them to. There's a tool called a Tonopen that does the check, not painful, quick to do, and relatively cheap to get done.

Prayers for you and your pet.

Check out some of Dr Karen Becker's suggestive cause/symptoms:

http://healthypets.mercola.com...s-syndrome-cats.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com...eye-in-your-dog.aspx

Sounds like you don't trust or believe your vet. Second opinion?

14+ years is old for a Golden Retriever.

My last one made it to 13. He had what I (and my then vet) believe to be a stroke (goofy looking eye, couldn't keep his balance, couldn't navigate stairs and would fall down them, etc...) and went downhill rapidly following that. It was heartbreaking to watch and I ended up putting him down a little more than a month afterwards.

While I'm not a vet, we had a Golden Lab that died of liver failure. One of the first symptoms she came down with looked like an eye infection as well. Best of luck to your pup.

Prayers sent.

prayers sent

I had a GSP that had the sMe issue in both eyes. It started on one and within 5 days it was in both. It was a tumor and had to put her down.
Prayers being sent.

I don't know. I am sure the vet will answer these questions, when he lets you know what his tests show. He might even answer them if you call him now.

I hope your dog recovers nicely.

Lots of great advice and comments.
I will do the searchs as suggested.
My wife said the vet examined her in a different room, so she is not sure what all she checked.
Our vet is a woman whose father was a vet for his lifetime. He was very good with horses and actually had Arabs who brought their horses from overseas to him. She worked with him since she was in high school. Not sure any people are bring horses from all over the world here anymore.
I really think she will not last long. It is tough but this is not the first dog I have lost.
Thanks all for prayers, they really do get close to your heart.

Ok, so I looked up the suggested things.
She did give us some lubricant to put into the eye. She fights us to hold her still to put in the drops. She blinks, moves her head, moves her body and everything else. We end up having to rub them in with our finger...not good if she has an infection.
I noticed that she will not leave the confines of our 6 ft high fenced in back yard today. I tried to coax her to come with me and my grandson to the front yard, but no. I do not think she can see out of that eye.
I really hate putting a dog down, it would be hard to talk me into it unless I see her in pain.
She seems to be in good spirits, ran near the grand kids while they played in the yard today.
Oh well, got an appt for next Wed.

If you have doubts, there is no betrayal in getting a second opinion. I recommend it to my own clients all the time. As I tell them, I would much rather be wrong and your pet do well than to never get the issue resolved here.