Bowl-A-Rama pups - Meet Homer!

Homer

Homer, 2 Years Old

Homer was found as a stray and turned into the Eastside shelter. His eyes were so filled with pus that he was unable to see.  The shelter is a noisy, frightening place to a dog that can see; imagine how scary it is to a dog that is blind. The first day that one of AZGRC’s dedicated shelter walkers saw Homer, he sat in one place in his kennel and did not respond. On the second day in the shelter, he still sat in one place but now he growled. He was scared, confused and did not know who to trust. On the third day, AZGRC Shelter Coordinator, Lisa, went to assess Homer.  When she saw how bad his eyes were she asked the shelter to allow us to take Homer out on a medical foster. (A medical foster is when a shelter dog is released prior to the mandated 72 hour hold period) The shelter refused as they felt his eye condition was not life threatening. Lisa did not take no for an answer and worked her way up the chain of command to get Homer released. What was supposed to be a 20 minute trip to the shelter turned into a 2 hour trip but Homer was getting out of there.  As Homer was being walked out, he ran into a tree trunk, he really could not see. Homer went directly to Desert Tails Animal Clinic where treatment was started immediately. The next day, he went to Eye Care for Animals to assess his vision and for a diagnosis of his condition. Homer had keratoconjunctivitis Sicca, a long fancy word for “dry eye” syndrome. The really simple explanation is Homer was not producing tears that are needed to protect the cornea. He was started on 4 different eye drops that needed to be given throughout the day. Two days after starting treatment, Homer was chasing a ball around the yard. He could see again.

Homer has now started producing some tears on his own. He has a long road ahead of him but for Homer, “the future is so bright he is going to need shades.”

Homer and AZGRC need your help so that Homer can continue his new beginning in life.