Your Frenchie
Has Questions.

My 8-month-old Gnocchi has a red bulge in the corner of his left eye — noticed it an hour ago and I'm panicking. He's not scratching at it but it looks like a little cherry. Has anyone dealt with cherry eye? Do I need the ER vet right now or can this wait until morning?

We went through this with our Waffles at 6 months. It can wait until morning unless he's rubbing his eye raw — it's uncomfortable but not an emergency. Call your regular vet first thing. The 'massage technique' you'll read about online has about a 30% success rate — surgery is usually needed but it's very routine.

Dana is right. Prolapsed nictitans gland (cherry eye) is not an overnight emergency unless there's significant self-trauma. Keep him from rubbing it — use an e-collar if you have one. Surgery to reposition the gland (not remove it — removal causes dry eye down the line) is the gold standard. Frenchies have a genetic predisposition. Cost runs $400–900 per eye depending on your area.

Pretzel had both eyes done at 9 months. Chose a veterinary ophthalmologist over a general vet — worth the extra cost. Recovery was 10 days, he barely noticed. Now 3 years old, zero issues. You've got this.

UPDATE: Just got back from the vet. Cherry eye confirmed, surgery scheduled for next Thursday. She said exactly what Dr. Fong said — reposition not removal. So relieved I found this thread at 2am instead of just spiraling. This community is everything. 🐾