I remain just stunned by Harper B’s death.
Bloat?!
WTF.
Baby Harper TD at about seven months
Harper ate her dinner on Monday evening at about 5:30 pm. She was fine. Nothing unusual.
At about 8 pm I put Sparkle and Capella in the bedroom, and let Pozy and Harper outside to potty. All normal.
Harper B for Beautiful
About 30 minutes later I let them in and Harper was whining a bit, but that wasn’t too unusual as she was a noisy girl. Then she promptly retched a couple of times. I put my hands on her, felt her hard abdomen, and within about four minutes we were in the car and on the way to the ER vet. She was crying in pain — it was the longest 12 minutes.
Harper B for Bombproof
They took her back immediately and used a needle to decompress the gas in her stomach. Between that and pain meds, she was comfortable enough for the x-rays and ultrasound that confirmed my worst fear — not only bloat but her stomach had twisted (torsion).
There is no good option when this happens. A painful death is assured without surgery. Based on her crying in the car it would be a very painful death. I feel sick imagining what would have happened if I had not been home.
Harper B for Bounding
In the best of circumstances, surgery for this condition — officially known as gastric dilation volvulus (GDV) — has about a 30% mortality rate. So many later complications can happen, including changes to the heart’s electrical system. The surgery is just not a guaranteed easy fix.
By this time it was 9:30 pm.
Harper B for Babies
The ER vet was great. She joined a telephone conversation/consultation with my MT veterinarian. It was soon clear there was no choice — surgery on such a senior dog was ill-advised 💔
I spent time with Harper B, and she left peacefully while being told that she was the B for Best Girl and that I loved her.
And I cannot believe that happened.
Harper B for Berkeley
There really isn’t any good evidence for what causes a dog to bloat. Aside from not letting them run amuck after feeding, we have no clear sense of how to prevent it. We can pretend we know because that might make us feel safer but that doesn’t change the “random bad shit happens” nature of bloat.
Things I do — feed three times a day. Feed a mix of kibble and homemade. No running amuck after meals. Lucky Socks.
When Pozy was spayed, I had her stomach tacked. That doesn’t prevent bloat but it makes it hard for the stomach to twist, which is the especially deadly part of things. I will do that with all of my dogs in the future.
So there you go. Some additional info about that horrible thing we call bloat 💔
In other news, Sparkle’s leg lesion remains a mystery.
Taken today 🩷
The second cytology report isn’t even calling it for sure cancer 🤯 The bisphosphonates infusion Sparkle received last week had no impact. We are regrouping with a new plan.
Thanks for all your kind support 🙏