LAST week I wrote about Peppi, an eight year old shih tzu that was suffering from dry eye, a disease where the dog’s own immune system destroys the eye's ability to produce tears and eyes become dry, damaged and prone to infection.

I sent Peppi home with two types of eye cream. The first one was an antibiotic to clear up the infection in both eyes, the second is a more subtle medicine designed to damp down the overexcited immune system that has gone wrong in the eye.

This drug allows the eye to start producing tears on its own again and the results are often very impressive.

Peppi was no exception – when I saw him for a check up not only had the conjunctivitis completely disappeared but his eyes looked brighter and clearer than they had in a long time.

Because this condition of the eyes is lifelong, the treatment must also be given for the rest of the dog’s life to avoid recurrences.

It is worth noting that because of the clever nature of this immune system damping down cream it is fiendishly expensive.

As a technically advanced type of medicine it is expensive to manufacture and these costs are reflected in the product. The answer? Good pet insurance that gives lifelong cover for any condition.