Although I didn’t know it at the time, Bonnie, who came matted, blind, and emaciated at the HSNB shelter I’m on the Board of, also came with this haircut. As you can see the hair grew over her eyes when she was found as a stray and before all of the medical appointments to determine what was going on with her two permanent forms of vision impairment before she went completely blind.
I’m thinking I’ll let her bangs go long like this after her double enucleation so that it will look more sheepdog-ish, even though she’s a lot smaller than a typical sheepdog. The eye doctor said that sewn up prosthetics will prevent the eye sockets from being sunken like they were with my poor Tucker years ago in his one eye.
Turtle spotting, duck invading, country-music-playing float with a bunch of queers down the Russian River only to finish off with someone on a paddleboard moving forward with a dog onboard!
Bonnie’s surgery for a double enucleation will happen right after this trip to Guerneville, so I’m doubly glad that she is enjoying the travel, not that she can see anything. The quality of her life will be in sounds, feelings and smells henceforth. In one of these pictures, we are at the ophthalmologist yesterday for a last-minute pre-vacation check on the 22 drops a day and 3 oral medications that I currently have to put in her at three different times of the day. None of those will be needed when she has the surgery and will be out of pain from the eye pressure. The other picture is a screenshot from the video from today which best shows the condition of her eyes. You cannot tell that she is completely blind in both eyes when you look at her. The blueness that was in both eyes caused by the glaucoma (which everyone assumes are cataracts) is now overtaken by the blood in the left eye. This is exactly what I saw in my dachshund Tucker years ago when he injured one of his eyes and became a candidate for enucleation in that one eye. It’s a mindfuck to think that she’s not really looking at me when she’s jumping up on my legs like this every day, but I’ve processed what’s best for the dogs when they already have no function to the eyes except to manage the unnecessary pain in them.
I guess I get some credit for the enforcement of long-standing unincorporated Sonoma County Department of Health ordinances on smoking in resorts and bars. Much more signage and compliance so that those of us who wish to enjoy our expensive vacations in a forest can experience smoke-free air. Until I said something last year, the rules about smoking in Guerneville were completely unenforced. I’m so happy to have the conversation going about this and lots of people have thanked me for my activism in this area. However, for some reason, the brochure did not have the free ad for LGBTQ Minus Tobacco that they were supposed to keep in there again this year. I’m going around documenting the smoking areas that are away from pools and even in the covered area of the bar which was full of smoke with no rules for the staff or patrons who wished to be outside and to be able to breathe fresh air.
I’m taking a bunch of pictures of Bonnie with her eyes in the condition that they are in. She does appear to have zero vision, but with the current intense regimen of pills and drops, she is not squinting, so she is hopefully not in any pain. Tomorrow I find out if the surgery to remove the eyes is imminent. I gave her an intense bath and a little trim before the appointment and a trip to Guerneville with Shea and Snoopy.
We went to visit Shani Simmons today in her lovely home and yard. She’s a board member of the Bay Area Butterfly Festival and had a garden tour. There were many monarchs and finches in the yard, so she takes her volunteerism seriously! I’m glad Shea got a chance to meet her and I got to meet Shani’s husband Steve. I just realized I neglected to take a picture of the huge portion of her garden which was comprised of milkweed!
