ShihTzu's and other breeds of dog with bulging eyes are much more prone to this injury because the eyes aren't nearly as protected by the boney skull.   Horrified by the event, the Pocius's contacted us for help. To protect the eye, they kept it covered with gauze and moistened until they could get Sammy to the vet. It is important in this situation to protect the eye from further injury and to keep it moist. In certain situations, the eye can actually be placed back into the socket and sutured if there is minimal damage. 

Unfortunately in Sammy's case, the eye was too damaged to be saved, so surgery was performed to remove his eye (the surgery is called "enucleation").  The procedure involves removing the entire eyeball and eyelid margins. The eye is then sutured closed permanently. Sammy did awesome through anesthesia and surgery and came through his awful experience admirably!