Suzie needs your help...

[Jim O'Dell]

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.

[David Christopher]

Jim, hope Suzie gets well soon.....she will be in our prayers

[Scott T Smith]

Jim, I am sorry to hear about Suzie. What you describe is called GDV - Gastric Dilitation Vovulus (my wife is a Vet), and you're lucky that you caught it so quickly.

19 years ago I lost one of my collies to this same problem.

We'll keep Suzie in our thoughts and prayers.

Scott

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Done--hope everything is better soon.

[Jim O'Dell]

Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts! We got a call just before 7:00 this morning that she was doing well. No heart problems overnight, so they were taking the EKG off of her. She had been out to pee already, so she is getting up and around some. Looks like we may get to bring her home this evening. Jim.

[David Christopher]

Jim, prayers work every time

[Brent Smith]

Glad to hear things are looking up for Suzie, Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

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.

[Scott Donley]

Jim, good news:DMy daughter takes in Husky rescue dogs and last year she called me at 1 AM with her own dog having the same problem and asking what to do. Having never heard of the bloating problem before all I could tell her was an address of an emergency animal hospital near her. her out come was not so good. Thanks for bringing this up as I am sure there are others who have no idea and as you said, time and quick care are the only answer. Again, YOU did GOOD:D

[Orion Henderson]

Good luck. I thought it was a baby girl at first:o AS odd as it sounds, I am glad to know it is a dog. I do like dogs, but still...

[Jim Becker]

I hope things work out...and it's good you were there to get the right help.

In the horse world colicing like that would also necessitate surgery to correct...if the owner could afford it. We have insurance for that, but many do not.