I am raising money for Cody's medical bills. His eye removal surgery is on February 22.

My beautiful and brave best friend, Cody, an 8-year old Shetland Sheepdog, recently lost 100% of his vision in both eyes. If you know me, you know Cody because I probably showed you 937 pictures of him sleeping or I bragged about his catch and fetch skills. I am so lucky to be Cody's mom because he is one of the best dogs ever (everyone says this about their dog, but I have to say it because he truly is a special boy). Cody came into my life when I needed him the most.

Background:

Cody was diagnosed with canine uveitis in May 2019 by an ophthalmologist. To manage this condition, Cody used steroid drops. Over the past few months, we knew something was wrong with his vision because he was having trouble walking without bumping into things, jumping, playing, finding his bowl for eating - just about everything he does in his day-to-day life. 

After visiting with an ophthalmologist a week ago, Cody was diagnosed with: one hyper-mature cataract, one mature cataract, diffuse corneal edema in both eyes, adhesions in one eye, keratitis in one eye, shrinkage of one eye, and total blindness - to add to his already chronic uveitis (inflammation/swelling). At his second checkup in TX (February 8th), we found out that the additional drops prescribed didn't help his eyes at all.

Although we don't know why this happened (yet), we know one thing for sure - we are willing to do whatever Cody needs to lead a happy, healthy, pain-free life. Cody will undergo surgery to remove both of his eyes (enucleation). The surgery will help Cody feel more comfortable by eliminating the need for additional lifelong medications with numerous risks and probable side effects on his body (like immuno-suppression, blood clots, high blood pressure, fat accumulation, and more depending on the medication). All these medications to treat non-functional eyes don't sound like a good deal for Cody. Surgery will eliminate all eye-related pain. Lastly, we will be closer to determining the cause of the disease and damage to his eyes. So far, testing hasn't shown us enough evidence to determine the source. Samples from both eyes will be sent to the University of WI School of Vet. Medicine because they are very good at diagnostics.

Thank you from my family: Dan, Jodi, Cody, and Nala