Green Squinty Glowing Corgi Eyes, or A Tale Of 10 CERF Exams

About a week ago, Mary Elizabeth and I took advantage of a hip and eye 'clinic' sponsored by the Nutmeg Portuguese Water Dog Club in Connecticut. We were honorary PWD's for the day. It is good to be able to bring your dog to one of these sponsored exams because the normal vet fee is usually discounted a bit and when you have a few dogs to check, the savings can quickly add up, leaving you money to buy more dog biscuits and toys or go to Starbucks :)

Eye drops which cause dilation are needed for part of the exam. They need about 15 minutes to work and then the doctor will bring your furry friend in for the examination. As you may be able to tell from the photos, the drops cause their eyes to glow green and get squinty when the light hits them.

Mary Elizabeth had her camera so I just had to snap these photos. Having parents and babies together was just too blog-worthy for me to pass by. The top photo are Halo & Darby babies, the bottom are Bridget & Darby/Gabe babies. Thanks to Jeanne (to Mary Elizabeth's left) and Jo Ellen (to Mary Elizabeth's right) for helping with the photos!Left to right: Romeo (Jeanne) Emma, Halo (Mary Elizabeth) Darby, Kaizey (Jo Ellen) and Willow (giving Jo Ellen a kiss!)

Here we have Bridget and her babies. Left to right: Cash, Bridget, Amy and Stella (who surprised Jo Ellen by jumping up when she heard a noise!)

Getting a CERF exam is easy and pretty quick. You need to have your dog's permanent ID# (microchip), AKC registration number and date of birth when you go. The board certified veterinary opthalmologist will fill out a form that looks like this one below (Bridget's) which then can be mailed to the Canine Eye Registration Foundation in Illinois. Any dog used for breeding should have their eyes examined and be found within normal limits. Annual re-examination is recommended for any animal that is directly or indirectly involved in a breeding program.

Happy Monday! xo xo -CS ^..^