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Hewitt, The Doxie With Moxie

This is a tail about Hewitt, a Doxie with Moxie. He’s a long-haired dapple Dachshund with big ears and feet to match, who wrapped his mom around his paw the moment he met her. Hewitt’s super smart and eager to learn—as long as the treats keep coming, of course. A shameless flirt, he rolls over onto his back to con strangers into rubbing his belly. Works every time!

Hewitt playing ball

Talk about a big dog in a small body! Hewitt has a big personality - his short legs do not stop him from living large. Playing fetch ranks high on his list, along with swimming and eating. He will chase the ball for hours, his little legs aflyin’. He’s even happier if the game of fetch happens at the lake or ocean. Wave-hopping just adds to the excitement. Ball and swimming together? Now that’s a dog’s life.

Hewitt swimming

Hewitt has only one speed when playing fetch: FULL


Unfortunately for Hewitt, his unfettered love of fetch led him astray.

He has been known to run full speed into fences when playing. Gotta hate that!

Poor Hewitt was playing ball in the house and bashed his eye on the drawer handle of the stove. OUCH! Being short definitely has its disadvantages.

Hewitt’s eye didn’t clear up overnight, so a trip to the vet was in order. The doc could see trauma to the eye but wasn’t sure the extent of the damage. She put Hewitt on eye drops, one was an antibiotic and the other was for pain relief. Hewitt being Hewitt, he was a trooper. He took his drops and didn’t let a little eye injury slow him down.

Hewitt the morning after bashing his eye

Hewitt the Morning After Bashing his Eye

Hewitt after secondary glaucoma diagnosis

Hewitt After his Glaucoma Diagnosis

After two weeks of daily eye drops, Hewitt was diagnosed with secondary glaucoma.

He had to take two different eye drops twice a day: Dorzolamide HCL/Timolol to treat glaucoma, and Flurbiprofen Sodium, an anti-inflammatory. He also had to visit the vet once a month.

Poor Hewitt didn’t love the monthly trips to the vet. Look at our hero’s little face. Poor guy!

Hewitt unhappy at the vet

Hewitt at the Vet

Hewitt’s eye was tested monthly over five months. One month the pressure would be down and they would discuss weaning him off the drops, but the next it would be up with no explanation. After the roller coaster of ups and downs, the constant eye drops, and the fact he had lost vision in the eye, his moms made the decision to have his eye removed (enucleation). It was a relief for them because the constant eye drops and vet visits were taking their toll on Hewitt, despite his bravery. They wanted him to be pain free to live a full life.

Hewitt Home from Surgery

Just Home from Surgery

Hewitt One Day Post Surgery

One Day Post Surgery

Hewitt Sutures Removed

Sutures Removed

Hewitt obviously agreed. The night he got home from his enucleation surgery, he was raring to play with his toys and get life back on track. It turns out that due to the pressure in his eye, poor Hewitt had been suffering the equivalent of a migraine headache every day. That’s no fun! But true to form, he never let on that he was in pain or let it get him down.

Hewitt Swimming

Playing Fetch at the Lake

Since his surgery Hewitt is back to his old self, raring to play fetch and have fun.

Losing an eye hasn’t slowed him down a bit.

If his siblings get in his way he bounces right off them, much to their chagrin.

He’s back to swimming and has learned a fun new game to get his mom wet.

If she doesn’t throw the ball to his right side (with his good eye), he swims clockwise trying to find it. That way he never sees the ball so she is forced to wade in a retrieve it.

Secretly Hewitt has always wanted his mom to join him in the water: win-win all around.

Always Smiling

Hewitt, Alway Smiling

Hewitt’s moms have been so impressed with his resiliency. He never let on that he was in pain, and he has remained the same playful pup as always while on the road to recovery.

He taught his moms that anything is possible if you stay positive.

Hewitt was lucky to have the support of his moms. His moms were lucky to have the support of #WeAreIGFamily, a close-knit community on Instagram.

To help cover the costs of the surgery, his moms started a GoFundMe campaign and were able to raise the necessary funds thanks to that support. In fact, they were able to donate extra funds towards another Instagram friend in need.

The emotional support Hewitt’s moms received from their Instagram community has been the biggest help. In her words, “To know that so many other people, who 99% of we’ve never met in person, love my dog just as much as I do is amazing. We use the hashtag #WeAreIGFamily and it really is a family. We mourn losses together, human and dog alike. We celebrate milestones together, whether it be birthdays, new jobs, marriages, etc. We come together to help our other family members in times of need. We laugh, we cry, we love each other and all our dogs.”

Hewitt playing fetch at the park

Playing Fetch at the Park

Would they do it things differently if they could? Maybe they would have removed the eye sooner, because the eye drops were just a band-aid and the eye was never going to get better.

As far as words of advice for others going through an illness or injury: Never be afraid to ask for help. Everyone needs help at some point in their life; it’s okay to ask for it.

Hewitt embracing the pirate life

Hewitt Embracing the Pirate Life.

Want to get know Hewitt better? He really is a terrific fellow. You can find him on Instagram @hewitt_thedoxie.

We are grateful to Hewitt and his moms for sharing their story. When we think of how we would feel if Jasper were to lose his eye, we know we would be very upset. Hewitt's moms handled the entire situation with grace, good sense and humour, claiming Hewitt was embracing the pirate life. They did not let his unfortunate accident ruin them; instead, they chose to stay positive and take the lead from Hewitt and embrace life. We admire them!

Many thanks to my wonderful editors: Fran de Sanctis (@goldendoodlebe on Instagram) and Carol Taylor (@teddythecircusdog on Instagram or on the web www.happydogediting.com).



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