Cataracts Treatment

Question by Karen: Would someone explain cataracts to me?
My dog has them in both eyes and I’m confused about what they actually ARE.

Best answer:

Answer by Donna G
I have a cataract growing on one of my eyes. It’s like a cloudy film growing over the lens. An easy operation when it is ripe can replace the cloudy lens with a clear new plastic one.

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I pulled more dogs for rescue from the local high kill rate shelter and I am irrate at people.
Can you explain why someone would allow a dog to have mange so bad that there is NO fur left on their head? And can you also explain why once you let your unaltered, 5-6 year old dog get this bad, you will just sneak by the shelter in the middle of the night and dump him in a cage?
Why would you allow a two year old, PURE BRED Boston Terrier’s eye become so ulserated that it explodes? (May not be the right term, but you get the point.) Do people have ANY idea how much that must have hurt the dog and how long it took to get this bad? And why did these lovely examples of humanity would also dump it in the cage in the middle of the night?
Also, what is the big deal about dropping off your dogs to the shelter to be put-down because they are “too old”? I have a beautiful Shih Tzu, ugly Chi/Pug mix, and a sweet Pom that are both around 10 years old, because they were too old. The Shih Tzu and Pom have cataracts, but they have plenty of “pep” left! They are happy, healthy, and should have a good 4 to 5 years of life left! There is no real, quality of life issue, since they are able to eat fine, move around fine (they must have some type of vision because they don’t bump into things) and have no “accidents” around the house.
OK, folks, fill me in! Why would somone do this? Do people not realize that a dog is for life? Do they not understand that dogs sometimes need medical care and it is not free? Or, do people just not care?