New little rescue girl...

Jim O'Dell

Member
Messages
2,783
Location
Between Aledo and Fort Worth, TX
One of our most recent additions is a young (est 15 to 18 month old) Irish girl. We had a new home lined up for her the moment she came in, as a previous adopter had lost a girl, and the boy we placed with them was lonely. They planned to drive up from San Antonio in 2 weeks to pick Suzie up. Well, what do they say about the best laid plans? We came in from working out in the yard about 1:00 and Suzie was not "right". Glenna took her to our vet, and our guess was right. She had bloated. Now for those of you that don't know what that is, the stomach twists on itself, cutting off the blood flow. If not caught, recognized, and surgery to correct the problem in 2 to 3 hours, the dog is dead. Suzie also had the spleen twisted, and our vet said the blood vessels looked "unhappy", but by the end of the surgery, was looking less so. We just got back from taking her to the emergency clinic where there is a Dr. on duty overnight to keep an eye on her, hooked up to EKG to monitor the heart, as this can cause problems there from toxins released from the stomach after a bloat. She's pretty wiped out, but seems to be doing well.

So, any who feel so inclined, please pray for her. For the others, some good thoughts and Zen would be appreciated. She is such a sweetheart, it would be a shame to lose her. Thanks for reading! Jim.
 
Sending out the best I can from here, Jim. Between Glenna, you, and your vets, I'm certain she's in great hands.
 
All the best from here Jim. I did not even know this was possible with a dog. Sorry to hear it happened, I hope all ends well. Looks as though you caught it in time. :thumb:
 
good thoughts jim and webster is doing the same in own way..
what cause them to twist or bloat like that.. heard of it in cattle but not dogs??? what do you need to do to prevent it?
 
Thanks everyone! Got a call just before 7 this morning. She is doing well, no heart problems, so they took the EKG off of her. She had already been up and out to pee. No BM yet, but that's not a surprise.
This has gotten pretty prevalent in big dogs, especially the deep chested breeds. Glenna was in the operating room for the surgery. She was amazed at how much extra room there was inside the stomach cavity. Our parent club, Irish Setter Club of America, has helped fund research over the last 2 decades into what causes this and how to avoid it. There have been many suggestions on feeding, most of which were later rescinded because they were found to not be of any help. So the mystery continues. Thanks for the continued prayers and good thoughts! Jim.
 
Just to let everyone know, we got to bring Suzie home tonight. She's still a little out of it, and whimpers a lot, but she is home. It will be a few weeks of rehab to heal, but all indications say that she will be fine. Wish they could have spayed her at the same time, but just too risky. Unfortunately, she will have to go back under the knife for that in a month or so. Was supposed to have been done tomorrow morning so she could go to her new home in San Antonio in 2 weeks, but that is postponed for now.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, it does make a difference! Jim.
 
Top