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Military working dog Rex recovering from recent eye surgery
By MATTHEW EDWARDS
Era Reporter
Former U.S. Air Force military working dog Rex is recovering very quickly from eye surgery he received March 13 to replace non-functioning tear ducts in his eyes.
Rex was featured in The Era at the end of February seeking help to get him the vital eye surgery that his owner, former Air Force Tech Sgt. Jamie Himes Mangan, could not afford on her own.
The next day, an anonymous donor contacted Mangan and provided the full amount for the surgery, which was in the vicinity of $2,000. Two weeks later, Rex got his surgery at Animal Eye Care of Western New York and took just a couple of days to recover.
“He had to wear one of those protective collars around his neck so that he wouldn’t rub at his eyes and he was pretty sore the night of the surgery,” said Mangan. “Other than that though, he has recovered quickly and his eyes are producing tears again so it’s great.”
Rex’s tear glands stopped producing tears about a year ago and after trying every other possible route, Mangan concluded the only option was to get the surgery.
To replace the tear glands, a surgeon had to locate one salivary gland from each side of Rex’s mouth and re-route it to his eyes. According to Mangan, this doesn’t effect the saliva production in his mouth.
“No, the other glands in his mouth cover for these two, but he does kind of cry when he eats once his salivary glands start working,” Mangan said.
Doctors told Mangan the surgery should permanently repair the problems in Rex’s eyes and there should be no further treatment needed.
Mangan and Rex were both formerly enlisted in the Air Force and were injured when their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb in Iraq. Once they both recovered, Mangan, formerly Jamie Himes Dana, made a request to adopt Rex, which took an act of Congress to pass since technically military working dogs are the property of the military.
After retiring from the military, Mangan returned to her roots in Pennsylvania and moved to Smethport with her husband, Mike Mangan, who she met while in the military.
“I’d just like to thank all the people who called and wished Rex well,” concluded Mangan.
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