Bob M
New member
Our eleven-year-old Nelson bloated Monday evening. Please keep him in your thoughts.
We had to drive him nearly two hours to the nearest emergency vet clinic, where they operated on him at midnight. Fortunately, despite the unavoidable delay, it appears we got him there in time to avoid irreversible damage to the stomach or spleen.
He is currently in an animal hospital 70 miles from home. I was about to say that you can't imagine how awful that feels, but I think if anyone can understand, it would be fellow Newf people.
The vet is generally pleased with his progress, especially given his age. We were hoping that we might be able to bring him home today, but it now seems unlikely. He is still on IV medications, and until we can be sure that his digestion is working well enough to switch to oral meds, he's going to have to remain hooked up. Also, we just found out our local vet will be away tomorrow through Saturday, giving extra reason to err on the side of caution.
One thing I have to say that is very important. I recognized Nelson's symptoms immediately and knew right away that I needed to take action without delay. Why? Because of reading discussions of bloat here on NewfNet. So, to anyone who has ever made the effort to post their own experiences in this situation, thank you more than I can say. It's no exaggeration to say that, if he makes it through this, you helped save his life.
And if you are reading this and wondering, "What are bloat symptoms?" find out now:
http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm
http://www.gdca.org/Bloat Chart.pdf
We had to drive him nearly two hours to the nearest emergency vet clinic, where they operated on him at midnight. Fortunately, despite the unavoidable delay, it appears we got him there in time to avoid irreversible damage to the stomach or spleen.
He is currently in an animal hospital 70 miles from home. I was about to say that you can't imagine how awful that feels, but I think if anyone can understand, it would be fellow Newf people.
The vet is generally pleased with his progress, especially given his age. We were hoping that we might be able to bring him home today, but it now seems unlikely. He is still on IV medications, and until we can be sure that his digestion is working well enough to switch to oral meds, he's going to have to remain hooked up. Also, we just found out our local vet will be away tomorrow through Saturday, giving extra reason to err on the side of caution.
One thing I have to say that is very important. I recognized Nelson's symptoms immediately and knew right away that I needed to take action without delay. Why? Because of reading discussions of bloat here on NewfNet. So, to anyone who has ever made the effort to post their own experiences in this situation, thank you more than I can say. It's no exaggeration to say that, if he makes it through this, you helped save his life.
And if you are reading this and wondering, "What are bloat symptoms?" find out now:
http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm
http://www.gdca.org/Bloat Chart.pdf
