my little chihuahua was diagnoised with ehrlichia, a tick disease, about a month ago. she is the second one in about 4 months. i don't understand where they are getting it. we haven't had ticks in years. the vet said they can harbour the disease for 5 years before symptoms show up. the first dog had a sudden nose bleed for no reaon and that's how we found out she had it. two months of medication got her well. our chihuahua just suddenly went blind and that's how we found out she had it. the vet said she may get her sight back, but it's been a month and she's still blind. the vet said the longer she stays blind, the less chance she will regain her sight. i was wondering if any of you have had this happen and if your dogs sight returned and how long it took. thanks.

Sorry to hear of the ongoing problem your chihuahua is suffering as a result of ehrlichia, misty. It looks like no-one else has experienced this, and I can't speak from personal experience, but I thought the following websites may be of some help.

According to this site: (It's in pdf format so you'll need Acrobat Reader to open it.)

"Subretinal hemorrhages can cause retinal detachment and blindness. The acute phase typically lasts for 1 to 4 weeks, and the symptoms usually resolve spontaneously."

This site is written by the owner of a dog with ehrlichia and asks for input from other owners.

The following give information on ehrlichia which may be of interest to you.

Encyclopedia of Canine Veterinary Medical Information

Fred Lanting

Good luck. Please do update us on your chihuahua's progress.

thanks-i'll check out the sites. we take her back to the eye specialist tomorrow, so i'll let you know what she says. it looks like the blood in the outside of the eye is clearing up, but she has a red dot still in the middle of each eye. i really hope it will clear up and her sight will return.

we took tiffany back to the eye specialist today and the news is a little good, but more bad. there is some improvement in the right eye, but the left is still the same and she is headed toward glucoma. the vet gave us another medication to try to stop that from happening, so now she is on 7 medications for the tick bite and 2 for the congestive heart failure. her medicine cabinet looks like a old persons. we take her back for a recheck in two weeks, so for you that believe in pray, please say a little one for her and for those who don't believe in prayer, keep your fingers crossed for her. thanks. p. s. i do believe in prayer. God is good.

Misty, how did the check-up go?

hi karrow-tiffany seems to be feeling okay, but she is still blind. she has a catarack, (i know spelled wrong),on one eye and the other eye has dried blood in it which means that the bleeding is clearing up. the vet said it is still possible for her to get the sight back in the one eye when the blood finally clears. i hope and pray that she will. her blood counts are slowly coming up and the vet said she may have to be on medication for a year. we will be taking her saturday for another blood test and hopefully the blood count will be a lot higher. even tho blind, she gets around well. we don't move the furniture, so she don't bump her head much. thanks for asking.

Thanks for the update Misty. I'm pleased to hear that Tiffany is feeling OK, it's amazing how animals accept accept the loss of one of their senses so much better than we humans do. It just shows how big a part the psychological factor plays.

I do hope that the sight returns to her eye when the blood clears. With regards to the other eye, cataracts can be removed surgically depending on the type. Has your vet suggested this?

the vet did say she could remove the cataract, but it would be risky because she has congestive heart failure and her blood count is so low that she may not make it thru the surgery. i did'nt ask about the cost, but even if she was healthy, we may not be able to afford it. she's 12 and a half now and i would rather have her blind than not have her at all. she is the third dog we have had that went blind and they actually do amazing well. i would love to have the cataract removed, but i just can't risk losing her.

I can understand that, given her age and health problems, you don't want to risk an operation. I would make the same choice in the circumstances. As we have said, animals cope remarkably well with the loss of one of their senses. I hope that she continues to live a happy life for many years to come. Small dogs can live to remarkable ages.