At 4:15 AM Feb 8, I awoke to one of the dogs barking. Since I was working the 6:30 AM
shift, I was going to be getting up anyway in 15 mins., so I decided to get up and start
the morning routine a little early. When I first looked at Big Girl, she was standing in
her crate and seemed anxious. A split second later is when I saw the two white foam
puddles. When I got her to the door and in better light, I saw that her stomach was
distended. I knew it was bloat. I put her outside for a minute or so, while I got dressed.
I put her into the truck and we headed to the Wilder ER as fast as I could safely go. On
the interstate we reached speeds of 80-90. Thankfully, there was little traffic and
no patrolmen. It was not an easy trip. Big Girl paced and panted the entire trip. When
we finally arrived at the ER, she would not get out of the driver's side door. I had
to go to the passenger's side for her to exit the truck. Luckily, there was no one else
at the ER, so they took her immediately for X-rays to confirm my diagnosis. She was in
surgery for about 1 1/2 hrs. Part of her stomach was removed because of the lack of
blood flow. Her chances of survival are 60%. The only thing we are waiting for at this
point is a normal bowel movement. As of noon on Sunday, that had not yet happened. On
all other fronts, the doctor is very pleased with her progress, but is guardedly
encouraged/optimistic about her survival chances.
2/11 - I have just spoken to a vet tech and Big Girl has still had no BM. Dr. Brunner
is considering releasing her because she is doing so well otherwise. I am hesitant
about bringing her home without "all systems go," but I suppose the doctor knows best.
2/12 - Dr. B did okay release, but with the weather around here being so "iffy," I was
concerned that should Big Girl need medical attention the weather might interfere with
me being able to get her to the vet. We'll see what the rest of today brings. They
are calling for more snow overnight. Decisions, decisions...
2/13 - Well, Big Girl is home after 5 days in the hospital. We weren't home more than
5 mins, before the much anticipated BM occurred. Makes you wonder if she was holding
it until she got home. There will be a few more pictures posted in the next few days.
2/14 - So far, so good. I am nervous about leaving her alone today while I go to
work. Marie will come over to take her out about half way through my shift, but I may
just come home and check on her. We'll see how busy it is at work today.
2/24 - Things are going well. Only 3 more days until the staples come out. Until then,
we're still walking for pottybreaks. The latest pics show her in a very surprisingly
social mood. Buddy seems to like her and the feeling appears to be mutual. You can tell she's letting Buddy know who's in charge and Buddy seems to be more than happy with that arrangement.
2/25 - Finally, two weeks after it was applied, the Fentanyl transdermal patch has
fallen off. On Friday I brought home a pair of bandage scissors from the kennel to
at least trim most of it. I knew I was going to have to have Marie distract her while
I did the trimming. The weather made that impossible. I found it in her crate last
night. More updates appear with individual pics.
2/8/09 - The 1st anniversary of a VERY scary incident. All is well. I have done a bit of reading
about bloat in dogs and the only absolute is that there are no absolutes; no clear cut reason, or reasons which can cause a dog to go into bloat. So we do what we can do to HOPEFULLY keep it from
happening again; before closing her incision, her stomach was tacked up to lessen the "flip" factor, feeding three times a day instead of two, no strenuous activity an hour before and
after a meal, feeding in a dish that is raised, but not more than 3-5 inches off the floor. So
far, so good.