Cowboy's looking good
<p>Colette Bergam, a veterinarian at the Kootenai Humane Society, removes stitches Wednesday from a two-year-old dog named Cowboy. The dog underwent a procedure to help relieve an eye condition which causes the eye lids to roll into the eye.</p>
<p>A black light is used to check the condition of a dog's eye after undergoing a surgery.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Cowboy has a home - and some new eyelids, too.
The 2-year-old pitbull mix was adopted Friday, after being in the Kootenai Humane Society since October.
But before he joined his new family he underwent surgery for double entropion, a medical condition in which the eyelids fold inward.
Entropion is a birth defect, and Cowboy had it all his life.
"It is very uncomfortable, as the eyelashes constantly rub against the cornea and irritate it," said Pete Chichester, KHS spokesman.
Colette Bergam, KHS on-staff veterinarian, performed the corrective surgery on Cowboy.
"He truly is an absolute sweetheart and doesn't have a mean bone in his body," Chichester said.
Cowboy was a stray picked up by animal control and brought to KHS. He was held for five days in hopes his prior owners would claim him. When they didn't, he was put up for adoption. Two and a half months later, he was picked out by a local family.
He deserves it, Chichester said.
"Cowboy is one of the sweetest dogs you'll ever meet, really," he wrote. "He is very playful, smart and knows how to sit, speak and high five."
KHS does about four extensive surgeries each week for people who can't afford them.
It also performs 15-20 spays and neuters on dogs and cats each day.
"Our vet clinic is never not busy," Chichester wrote.