Thursday, October 2, 2008

Night Vision

A few months ago, the pugs were outside for the final potty of the night and Henry was smelling around in the grass.  Dead tired, I was waiting for everyone to do their business so I could get to bed already.  As Henry is smelling around, I see him jump straight up in the air like a frightened cat.  Assuming a frog or some other Florida creature startled him, I am practically rolling on the ground in laughter.  It was quite a sight.  A few minutes later, Henry goes potty and everything seems normal.

A few weeks after the first incident we are taking a nighttime walk with the pugs to beat the summer heat and as we are walking along on the sidewalk, Henry does the same frightened cat jump straight up into the air.  This time, however, I know there was nothing there.  He looks around and is a bit on edge for about a minute and then we are on our way and he seems fine.

Over the last few months, these little incidents have continued, but they have only occurred outside when it is dark out.  Not dusk, but dark.  However, last week, we were watching TV and the pugs were chewing a bone.  There was dim lighting in the room from the TV and a lamp and while switching bones with Benny Henry springs up in the air like a frightened cat.  He did it two more times while chewing that night.  He was scheduled for his annual in about a week so I made a note to be sure I remembered to tell the vet.

During the annual exam, I describe Henry’s nighttime behavior to the vet who was slightly amused by my description of the events.  I tell him it is almost like he sees things that aren’t really there.

The vet does a thorough examination of his eyes and then breaks down what he thinks might be going on with Henry.  Two things come to his mind and he is leaning towards one more than the other.  The first thing he tells us about is seizures.  He says it is possible, the the jumping in the air is a form of a mild seizure.  He went on to explain that sometimes you will see dogs involuntarily snap at the air and this is in fact a mild seizure.  But he doesn’t think it is seizures because they have only happened at night.  If it was some type of seizure, it would not just be a nighttime behavior.  So he wants us to pay very close attention to make sure we are not seeing any of the same types of symptoms in Henry during the day.

What the vet really thinks is happening is that Henry is developing cataracts on the back lenses of his eyes.  The vet thinks that he sees very small cataract development now and that these cataracts are affecting the way light passes through Henry’s eyes causing him to see things that aren’t really there.  Since we take Luna to the ophthalmologist frequently, he suggested we make Henry an appointment and let the specialists look into this.

Luna’s is due for her next ophthalmologist visit at the end of the year.  So we will have Henry tag along with her at that time and get thoroughly checked out.

Interestingly enough, Henry has not had any incidents since we went to the vet.