CERFing!

Today I went CERFing! No, it wasn’t a sunny day at the beach surfing. This is a different kind. CERF is an abbreviation for Canine Eye Registration Foundation. In trying to produce healthy puppies we have our adults tested for inheritable eye diseases. And we’re very fortunate to have a wonderful eye clinic near-by with qualified veterinary ophthalmologists. Of course, “near-by” is relative. Everything is a bit of a drive from where we live, so having a specialist only two hours away is a good thing!

It was an interesting day.  Driving two hours one way with eight dogs in the car can be an experience. Yes, since it’s still cool weather and we have no shell on our truck, all the dogs rode up front with me. Of course most of them were doubled up in their crates, but they didn’t mind the company. And they were all so good; except one.  Pooh, my spoiled, rotten housedog that sleeps on my bed isn’t real good about being in a crate for any length of time.  So, needless to say, he lets me know when he’s not happy about it. Thankfully, he did settle down and sleep. 

 Since I have an interest in dog health and anything vet related, the exams were interesting for me. The doctor hooked up a monitor to his instrument so I was able to see a picture of the eye up close and personal as he was doing the exam. The dogs with brown eyes, (most all of them) were a beautiful orange color and the blue-eyed Aussie had red color to the eye….very interesting. The doctor pointed out the optic nerve also. The eye with the optic nerve and its branching veins reminded me of a fertilized chicken egg held up to the light. Oh, so interesting!

. And I’m happy to say that all eight dogs passed their exams with normal eyes!