Tommy wearing his Optivizor
GSDR will soon be the UK distributor for the Optivizor and Novaguard a humane alternative to the ungainly buster collar.
The gorgeous Tommy adopted through GSDR
Not long after adopting Tommy, 3 years ago, it was discovered that he suffered with Pannus an auto immune disease which affects the eyes – blood vessels grow across the eyeball which eventually if left untreated would lead to blindness however this condition is not painful.
Tommy wearing his doggles and sun hat
This disease is incurable but can be managed with ointment. The cause of pannus is believed to be an immune-mediated inflammation of the cornea that is made worse by external factors. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation and environmental pollution increases the severity of the condition. Dogs that live in areas of extensive sunlight, especially at high elevations tend to have the worst clinical signs.
Tommy wearing his Optivizor
The recommendations are to walk the dogs in shaded areas or to keep them indoors during the sunniest part of the day. We lead a life where we are outside most of the day and the fact that it would not be fair if the other dogs were outside with Tommy shut indoors this really was not an option, so I set about trying to find a solution.
Tommy - looking very trendy!
I found Doggles – sunglasses for dogs so thought this was going to be the answer, these however proved to be ineffective as he continued to dislodge them and was clearly unhappy wearing them, where to go from there! I scoured the internet to try and find another way forward but to no avail…….
Mack wants to know, what's that you are wearing Tommy?
Visiting a friends she showed me a visor that she had purchased for her horse and I said that’s just what I wanted for Tommy and she told me that the company in Australia actually manufactured vizors for dogs as well.
Okay, it suits you and I still love you Tommy!
Armed with the web address I looked on the internet and contacted the company, explaining what the problem was, within hours I had a reply, they didn’t make a UV optivizor as standard, however they would make me a optivizor and to filter the sunlight more would also put a mesh guard on which could easily be detached. Within a few days the optivizor arrived and as you can see Tommy can’t dislodge it but can still run about and play ball.
We are pleased to say that GSDR will soon be the UK distributor for the Optivizor and Novaguard a humane alternative to the ungainly buster collar.
Donations are always welcome
Please help us by making a donation so that we can help re home more unwanted German Shepherd Dogs. Donations can be sent to Jayne Shenstone, German Shepherd Rescue Little Vauld, Marden Hereford HR1 3HA. We also accept Paypal payments - just click on the Paypal button below. Thank you.
