Cinnamon Needs your Help!

Cinnamon has a bit of a sad story, although we’re really hopeful that we can make make this a very happy ending. Cinnamon was surrendered to the shelter at 8 months old because her family took in a foster child who turned out to be allergic to her. At intake, she was very friendly with everyone, but as soon as her former family left the building, Cinnamon changed. She was terrified in the shelter and she became very aggressive with anyone that got near her.

My human was at the shelter looking into a couple other dogs when one of the workers there asked him to take a look at Cinnamon, as she was having a very rough time. During that meeting, he and the kennel staff present realized quite quickly… Cinnamon could not see. While she’s not totally blind, it was clear that she could only see shapes and shadows. She also had a very hard time tracking motion. After a bit of time, he decided to take her in and see if we could help her.

The first step was to get her to a vet to get her eyes checked out but given at the time, no one could touch her, that was going to be a challenge. Cinnamon came home in a carrier that she would not leave for 4 days. Whenever my human or I would pass by, it was like the Tasmanian Devil was inside the carrier. I was really thinking there had to be a Bobcat or a baby lion or something in there because of all the noises and how ferocious she sounded. Little did I know, inside was my soon to be best new friend.

Slowly after the first 4 days, Cinnamon started to venture outside of her carrier. She would quickly retreat though when anyone came near. My human sat near her for hours trying to coax her out with treats. Each day, she ventured out just a little further. It was after about 10 days that she somewhat begrudgingly allowed him to pick her up. But quickly after that, she realized she was in good hands and began to trust him.

Soon she was laying next to him and begging for attention and loved to be held. Step 1 accomplished!

We set up an appointment for Cinnamon to meet the vet and see if we could get to the bottom of her vision problems. What we found out was that she has two detached retinas and there was hemorrhaging behind her eyes. She also has a mild cataract in one eye. This was causing the vision issues, but what caused the detached retinas was still a mystery. We opted to have a couple tests run on her and they showed that she had high pressure in her eyes, but not quite to the level of glaucoma, but still very high. The vet said it was possible that the pressure was causing the retinas to detach or at least exacerbating the situation.

While we didn’t get any exact answers why she has these issues, it was a step in the right direction. The vet also gave her a prescription for drops to lower the pressure in her eyes. They seem to be helping, but the next step is for her to see a doggy ophthalmologist. As I’m sure you can understand, that’s not exactly cheap. So now we’re trying to raise the funds.

Here’s what my human tells me about Cinnamon so far: She’s an extremely sweet girl who needs a little time to get to know someone before she really opens up. He thinks that she just needs to get accustomed to their smell. She navigates pretty well most of the time, but she has had a few incidents where she was run head-on into a wall or a door. She also seems to have the occasional hallucinations at times. It tends to happen in the evenings before bed, although it doesn’t seem to be related to the amount of light. Sometimes she will just stare at a wall and bark and hop about thinking there is something there. Sometimes she will scratch herself and then think that her own leg is something much bigger and scary. But even that doesn’t seem to stop her from enjoying life.

She is somewhat potty trained now and crate trained as well. So long as you remind her to go outside, there shouldn’t be any accidents. She also knows how to use a dog door! Cinnamon is looking for a home where she will get the attention that she needs and in return give all the love that she has, with the realization that her vision deficit could very well be congenital and she might not recover her sight. She might also need to be on medication for her eyes, conceivably for the rest of her life, and at only 11 months now, that will be a very long time! The good news is that the drops she is on now and not very expensive at all.

Anyway, That’s pretty much all about Cinnamon I can think of. If you would like to donate to her medical fund, it’s much appreciated! If you’re interested in adopting Cinnamon, just fill out the adoption application and someone will get back with you. You can also call or email if you have any questions!

Thanks in advance for any help!

Love,

Bug!