Percy the dog, blinded by hair dye, set to have eye removed
Medications prescribed to keep Percy's condition at bay didn't work as well as expected
Percy the dog, partially blinded when abused as a pup, is undergoing surgery on Thursday to remove his left eye.
Now 11 months old, Percy was flown to Winnipeg in February after being seized by the RCMP in a northern community. The child of his previous owner had rubbed hair dye into Percy's eyes, discolouring them and causing the blindness, according to Manitoba Underdogs Rescue, which took over his care.
While in care, he was also diagnosed with Corneal Endothelial Dystrophy, a condition that causes thickening of the cornea and fluid build-up within the eye. If left untreated, it causes extreme pain and total blindness, according to the rescue group, which said the disease's progress was sped up due to the dye.
"Percy's condition has progressed quicker than we ever thought possible," said executive director Jessica Hansen.
Rescue group spokesperson Lindsay Gillanders said Percy has been a good patient but it's all been getting to be too much for him.
"He's been having eye drops four times a day, every six hours. He's not in a ton of pain but it's starting to become painful and not only that, the poor little guy just hates his eye drops," she said.
"He doesn't understand why four times a day he's grabbed and because he doesn't like it … it's just not a pleasant experience for him or anyone else. He's been going through this since February and if we can remove that eye and make his quality of life a little better that's definitely what we want to do."
Percy was originally scheduled for eye surgery at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon in May, but it had to be cancelled when he came down with pancreatitis that needed to be treated.
It was hoped the eye could be saved but now, after consultation with Percy's veterinarian, the rescue group has decided that removing the eye is the best course of action.
"There was a process that the vets thought they could maybe do to relieve some of the pressure … but unfortunately that's not an option anymore," said Gillanders. "The disease has just done its thing much too quickly and they're unable to save his left eye."
"It's an awful decision to have to make but we truly do think it's in Percy's best interest at this point," added Hansen.
The surgery is set to take place in Winnipeg at the Dakota Veterinary Hospital.
You can follow Percy's progress on Facebook.