It is not widely known that diabetes in both dogs and cats is a growing issue. What is often not realised though, is that diabetes can have a devastating impact on animals' eyesight, just like it can when unmanaged in humans.
Thankfully, in some cases, this eyesight loss, often attributed to cataracts, can be resolved with surgery. This was the case for Irish Terrier, Duffy, whose owners feared he had lost his eyesight forever.
Duffy was just 8-years-old when his owners realised that something wasn't right. Frequent urination was the first sign, but a shock really emerged when Duffy suddenly went blind.
Duffy's owner, Benjamin May, wrote on Reddit:
"Within about 3-5 months he went from a totally normal 8 year old dog to a dog who was completely blind… It broke my heart seeing this dog I grew up with, who I see as a very good friend…running into things, not being able to recognize me…just struggling."
At this point, Duffy's diabetes was still undiagnosed. After the vet discovered the problem, the first thing they did was get him on medication for the diabetes. They then went to work in restoring his eyesight. The operation to remove the cataracts was a complete success and Duffy could once again see his owners and the world around him.
The moment Duffy could see again and was reunited with Benjamin was caught on camera and then posted on YouTube. The video has now been viewed more than 16 million times and shows Duffy in a fit of delight.
Duffy will now take medication for the rest of his life to manage his condition and Benjamin hopes that it will mean other dog owners will look out for the signs and symptoms of diabetes in dogs, such as excessive water drinking and urination, weight loss and lack of appetite, and misty eyes.
Benjamin told the Huffington post:
"Obviously he's still diabetic so he still needs to receive an insulin injection twice a day but the surgery to repair his eyes was a total success and he hasn't developed any problems or complications with his eyesight."
Animal Eye Care state on their website just why it is so important to catch diabetes early, they state:
"Diabetic dogs can live healthy lives. Unfortunately, a common complication of diabetes in dogs is cataracts (cloudy lenses). In fact, 75% of dogs develop cataracts and blindness in both eyes within 9 months of being diagnosed with diabetes. The cataracts develop very quickly—sometimes overnight! If untreated, the cataracts cause intraocular inflammation called Lens-Induced Uveitis (LIU) that harms the eyes by causing glaucoma (increased intraocular pressure). If the LIU is uncontrolled and glaucoma develops, cataract surgery might not be possible."
[h/t: Animal Channel]
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