So, it was just a regular afternoon, right? Me and my buddy, Max – he’s my golden retriever – we were out in the yard. I was tossing his favorite squeaky tennis ball, the bright green one. He lives for these moments, you know? Leaping, catching, the whole nine yards. I threw it, maybe a bit awkwardly, I dunno, and bam! It just connected wrong. Instead of a clean catch, the darn thing bounced off his snout and smacked him right in the eye.
My heart just dropped. You know that feeling? Instant panic. He yelped, a short, sharp sound, and immediately started pawing at his face, squinting that eye super tight. I rushed over, all “Oh no, buddy, oh no, what happened?” He was whining, poor thing, and wouldn’t let me get a good look at first. He just kept his head down and that eye clamped shut.
What I did next was pretty much instinct.
First, I just knelt there, talking to him in that stupid soothing voice we all use for our pets. “It’s okay, Max, it’s okay, let me see.” After a minute or two of him rubbing his face on my leg, he calmed down enough to let me gently try and part his eyelids. It wasn’t easy. He was really sensitive.
When I finally got a peek, it looked nasty. Red, super watery, and he was blinking like crazy with it. I could tell it was really bothering him. I tried to see if there was anything in the eye, like dirt from the ball, but it just looked irritated. Really irritated.
My next move: The Vet Decision
Okay, so here’s where you have to make a call, right? Do I wait and see? Is it just a bit of a shock? Or is it serious? With eyes, I just don’t mess around. I’ve heard too many stories. So, I thought, better safe than sorry. I scooped him up – well, he’s a big boy, so it was more like guided him urgently – into the car. He wasn’t thrilled, kept trying to rub his eye on the seat. Made me feel even worse.
Called the vet on the way, told them what happened. They said to bring him in straight away, which just confirmed my gut feeling. The drive felt like forever, even though it’s only like ten minutes. Max was quiet, just panting a bit, still squinting.
At the vet’s office, things moved pretty quick.
They took us into an exam room. The vet was great, really gentle with Max. She put some numbing drops in his eye first, which seemed to give him some instant relief because he stopped squinting so hard. Then she used this special light and a magnifying thingy to get a real good look. She was looking for any scratches on the cornea, or any debris I might have missed.
Turns out, he had a corneal abrasion. Basically, a scratch on the surface of his eye. Not the worst-case scenario, thank goodness, but definitely painful and needed treatment. She also checked for any deeper damage, but luckily, it was just the surface. The vet said it was a good thing I brought him in. Waiting could have made it worse, or led to an infection.
So, the treatment plan was:
- Antibiotic eye drops, to prevent infection. Several times a day. That was fun, let me tell you.
- Some pain relief medication, because yeah, it was clearly hurting him.
- And the dreaded “cone of shame”! He absolutely hated it, but it was to stop him from rubbing or pawing at his eye and making the scratch worse.
The Recovery Journey
The first few days were a bit rough. Getting those drops in his eye was a two-person job sometimes. And Max with the cone on? He bumped into everything. Looked so miserable. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. I made sure to give him lots of cuddles and easy-to-eat food so he didn’t have to struggle with the cone too much at meal times.
We had a follow-up appointment a few days later. The vet checked his eye again, stained it with that yellow dye to see how the abrasion was healing. And good news! It was healing up nicely. She said we could reduce the frequency of the drops and, eventually, ditch the cone. You should have seen how happy he was when that thing came off!
Now? He’s totally back to his old self. Eye looks perfect. No more squinting, no redness. We’re back to playing fetch, though I’m maybe a little more careful about my throws now. Or at least I try to be. Accidents happen, I guess.
So, yeah, that was our little ordeal. Scary at the time, but it all worked out. Main takeaway for me? Don’t wait around with eye injuries. Get ’em checked out. It’s just not worth the risk. And your buddy will thank you for it, even if they hate the cone.