Page 55 of Roping Her In

Jake frowned. “That’s not nearly old enough to be acting like this.”

“That’s why we were concerned,” Hailey said. “Vitals were good. Right on target,” she said. “She’s not overweight or underweight, and she still eats and drinks as normal. She’s eager to train, according to Mitch, and other than jumping up, hasn’t had any other problems.”

“Nothing else you’ve noticed?”

Hailey signed to Mitch, and he moved into another round of a language Jake didn’t know.

“Wait,” Hailey said. “He did say she’s a little slower to get up after training, or in the morning when she wakes up.”

“Come hold her, please,” he said, and Hailey moved over, leaning right up to the beautiful setter.

“Hey, Magnolia,” she said softly. “You’re doing so good.”

Jake started putting more pressure on the dog then, really moving her joints and feeling her hips. She was a good pup, because she didn’t move at all.

“No limping?” Jake asked.

“None reported,” Hailey said. “Or observed.”

Jake couldn’t find anything wrong with Magnolia’s joints or legs, and he didn’t see signs of her biting at them. He sighed as he pulled out his ophthalmoscope and clicked to turn the light on. He stepped around Hailey and shone the light right into Magnolia’s right eye.

The retina reflected the light more brightly than it should have, and the fine blood vessels crossing it looked unusually thin. “That’s not good,” Jake said, almost under his breath. He sighed and looked over to Hailey. “Want to take a look?”

She searched his face for a heartbeat of time, then took the scope and his place in front of the setter.

“Tell me what you see,” he said.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly. She straightened and looked at him for an explanation.

He nodded to the other eye. “Check the left one, and see if you can tell a difference.”

She did but said nothing as she stepped back. She handed him back the scope. “I don’t know.”

Jake looked at the beautiful dog again, and checked both of her eyes. This part of the job was never fun, and he sighed and looked over to Mitch. “Have you ever noticed her not being able to see things? Your hand signals, a ball that you threw her, something you’ve dropped?”

Mitch frowned and both he and Jake looked at Hailey, who also wore a look of confusion before she quickly signed the questions to him. He moved over to Magnolia and ran his hands over her ears and head, obviously using the dog to comfort himself. Jake didn’t mind that one bit, and Magnolia sure didn’t.

“Nothing,” Hailey said. “He got her from another training facility about a year ago, and they didn’t report any problems either.”

“She navigates well in low light? Or when it’s dark?”

More signing, and Mitch’s frown deepened as he nodded.

Jake sighed again. “I think…her vision is changing, and she might not be able to judge the depth perception of jumping up onto the bed, or the platform, or the deck.”

Hailey stood there and didn’t start signing until Jake raised his eyebrows at her. Then she startled and flew into action.

“Her right eye is definitely worse than the left,” Jake said. “Though I’m not sure it would really be the cause of this, but maybe combined with something else, it could cause a problem. Has she had any x-rays recently?”

Hailey finished signing several seconds later, and Mitch shook his head.

“I’d recommend getting her into Doctor Carver,” Jake said. “He can do a pelvic x-ray for her hips, back legs and feet, and lower back, just to rule out any injuries or arthritis. If there is none, it could just be her wanting extra attention.” He smiled at the pretty dog and scratched along her jowls. “Or it could be an eye issue. While he’s in with Doctor Carver, he should ask him for his opinion too.”

Jake looked in her mouth and gave Magnolia a healthy pat, not finding anything else. “Sorry, that’s not the best news.” He watched Mitch, saw him smile, and even caught him say, “Okay,” as his hands flew.

“He says it’s all right,” Hailey said. “He’ll get her in with Doctor Carver and go from there.”

“Let me show him something,” Jake said. “He can do this when he’s treating her or signing with her. Have him come around this side. Has he got any treats?”