AN ADORABLE labrador from Flintshire who suddenly went blind in one eye can now see again thanks to a Cheshire veterinary ophthalmology referral centre.

Two-year-old Ruby underwent emergency cataract surgery at Linnaeus-owned Eye Vet in Sutton Weaver.

Such was the success of the operation that she is now back to her normal lively self.

Ruby’s medical drama started when her owners Jim and Lynda King, from Penyffordd, noticed her left eye had changed colour from its normal brown to black.

Concerned, Jim and Lynda took Ruby to their local vets who then referred her to Eye Vet for expert treatment.

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Jim said: “It was a shock at first as we did not expect cataracts in such a young dog. We were told it may have been caused by a trauma to her eye or could have been hereditary.

“An ultrasound scan also found Ruby had a thin membrane connecting her retina to the front of the eye, which was very rare.

“However, the care from Eye Vet was outstanding for both Ruby and us as concerned owners. All the staff were very caring and put us at ease and now Ruby’s had the operation she is back to how she used to be, with the cataract surgery not affecting her at all.”

Iona Mathieson, an advanced practitioner in veterinary ophthalmology who led Ruby’s surgery at Eye Vet, said: “Ruby was presented to us with the sudden onset of blindness in one eye and diagnosis confirmed a cataract with persistent hyaloid artery, which is an embryological vessel which regresses around birth.

“Cataract surgery was needed to restore the vision in Ruby’s left eye and I’m happy to report that Ruby now has good vision in both eyes.”

Grateful owner Jim added: “We’d definitely recommend Eye Vet. We were also worried about the recovery as Ruby is a very lively dog who needs plenty of exercise and we were told she would have to rest for a few weeks without any excitement.

“After discussing this with Iona, she prescribed sedatives for Ruby which helped to keep her calm in the early stages of the recovery period, and just look at Ruby now!”