Hi all -
We survived a REALLY BAD scare with George. He bloated and his stomach twisted Tuesday night.
He is home and alive today (Friday) for a few reasons.
1)We were really lucky.
2)We were home when it happened.
3)It had happened to our dog when I was little 30 years ago and it was so traumatic that we caught the symptoms early.
He was restless, drooling and panting Tuesday evening. Something was wrong, but as soon as I saw his abdomen puff out we were out the door to the emergency room. After a quick x-ray and a large credit card deposit, he was on his way in to surgery. They untwisted his guts, took out his spleen and patched him back up. At 1 am, he was resting and we were all holding out breath to see how he would respond.
After a couple of days of observation, he came home last night. He ate a little this morning which is a pretty big deal. It is really hard to get too optimistic. I guess that I wont really allow myself to relax till he is 100% again.
I know how lucky we are. It seems like everyone that I talk to has been touched by this illness and very few of the stories that I hear have happy endings.
Here is George in happier times:
![226161859205_0_ALB[2].jpg](http://www.danerescue.net/sites/danerescue.net/files/sites/danerescue.net/forum/226161859205_0_ALB[2].jpg)
He is fine...
Ok, I feel comfortable saying that George is just fine. He is back to his old self in terms of behavior and is eating. Were it not for the long scar on his tummy, you would think that nothing ever happened... Will post pictures soon.
Thanks for everyone's kind thoughts and comments!
Woo-hoo!
I love good news like this! Give George a great big hug from all of us!
jamie
Woo-hoo!
I love good news like this! Give George a great big hug from all of us!
jamie
GREAT NEWS!
Whew, what a relief! I know you must be soooo happy to see your boy himself again! Crisis is over!!! Yea!
Sara (Bubba Chad's and Shammy's mom)
Looking good!
6 days after surgery and he seems 80% back to normal. He is up and around and his personality is back.
We had to get him some realy stinky canned food from the vet b/c he wasnt eating his old dry food but other than that, it looks like he is going to make it just fine.
He is down from 127lbs to 117lbs. Some of that was his spleen, but not much...
So our next job is to get his weight back up.
It really is amazing what a good vet can do. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and attention!
80% = Woo-hoo!
I am so happy all is still well!
"It really is amazing what a good vet can do." You ain't kiddin' about that! Finding a really good vet can be hard. Honestly, it's a lot like finding the right spouse... ;-)
Please keep us posted on George's continued recovery. He's got a lot of people pullin' for him!
Relieved!
We are so sorry that you all experienced such a trauma, but we're so relieved to hear that George made it and is improving!!
We are one of the sad stories. We lost our beautiful Charentay to bloat many years ago. And yes, you are so right, after going through that, the signs are enbedded in the front of your mind forever! We didn't know anything about it then and we lost her. Thank goodness you were able to indentify them quickly!
We know praying that George will be okay since he's made it this far! Our hearts and prayers are with you!!
To George & Fam
You all are in my thoughts and prayers! What a blessing it is to have noticed the signs and reacted in time. I have faith that he'll pull through.
Much love to you all,
Stephanie
My heart stopped...
...as soon as I saw that "b" word.
Oh, Jimmy, I am so sorry you, your family, and George had to go through that nightmare. It's really, really promising that he's home now, but I understand why you still can't relax. You're right, too many stories end with heartbreak. Fortunately, there really are just as many that turn out okay - off the top of my head I can think of two former board members who had dogs bloat and twist and not only survive - but also go on to live long lives. So keep that chin up! George has an excellent chance at making a full recovery - especially since he has so much love and care in his life from you guys.
Since it's hard to post pictures in the comments section of this discussion board, I'll post some REALLY old pictures of George in new thread.
jamie
George
Thanks for that picture! I had a copy from way back when and lost it.
He seems to be improving more and more. He ate more this afternoon and is back to one of his old behaviors - when I am walking in the house, he will walk in front of me and cut me off so that I will have to pet him...
tack?
did they tack his stomach while they were in there?
reilly had his spleen removed when he was in foster care and they tacked his stomach at the same time. makes us much more relaxed although we still look for signs, just in case.
in any case, not having a spleen is not a health issue, he's had no ill affects from the removal. unless he's involved in a major trauma he'll be fine.
hope george recovers quickly. glad you guys were home!
Tacked.
yup. they tacked him up while they were in there.
he is eating. that is the main thing right now.