Me – Approximately 1 Year ago (Caution – Graphic Pictures)

Hi Everyone,

Mom wanted to do a post about what happened to me approximately 1 year ago.  It happened on March 4, 2009…it was not a good night.  That was the night I bloated with torsion.  Those of you with Great Danes and other large chested breeds of dogs know what this is all about.  It’s a horrible, horrible thing and I hope none of you ever have to experience it. 

Nobody is really for certain why we bloat (there are all sorts of theories).  I just want to share what happened to me so maybe I can help someone else recognize the signs of bloat if it happens to them.  I’m sure some dogs are different but this is just my experience. 

The day I bloated, mom came home from work as usual, we went for a little walk (no playing around).  Then I just hung out in the house with nothing exciting happening.  Later on mom fed me my dinner (I eat kibble by the way from a raised feeder) which I ate then I went to my room to rest after eating for about an hour.   After that hour I came out of my room and this is where mom thinks something went terribly wrong.  My room is upstairs and I have to come down 2 flights of stairs that twist.  Well that night I decided to come flying down the stairs like a maniac (which I am never encouraged to do).  Mom was already in her jammies sitting in the chair eating something  and I came by her to see what she was eating then I went and laid down in a spot that I don’t normally lay.  Mom thought this was odd but continued on eating.  When she was finished she called me over to come and lay on my bed and that’s when mom noticed I was really drooling like crazy (and those of you who know me I’m a dainty dane and I don’t drool that much). 

Mom  mom got very concerned at that point.  She had me lay down and at first she thought maybe I had hurt my leg or something from flying down the stairs and she felt all over my body to see if I would yipe or anything and nope nothing hurt me.  My tummy was still fine at this time but the drooling had mom keeping a watchful eye on me.  Dad came home shortly after this point and normally I would go to greet dad as he opens the door to the house, this day I did not.  Dad yelled for me and mom yelled…I think Kasha is ill and may be bloating.  At this point I got up from my bed and now mom noticed my tummy had expanded…then I started this horrible kind of throwing up sound (but not the normal dog throw up sound, more like wretching).  It was a sound mom will never forget…but nothing was coming up.  Mom was in her jammies already, threw on a coat and slippers and away we went to the Emergency Vet.  Daddy drove and mom was in the back of the truck trying to comfort me during the drive to the ER Vet.  Now our ER vet is only about 5 minutes from our house but mom said it seemed like forever getting there. She kept telling daddy to drive faster.  Well we made and I was still able to walk and they brought me in right away for x-rays and a very nice Vet (Dr. Fox) came out and told mom and dad that yes it was bloat with torsion.  Those of you that don’t know it’s the Torsion part that kills us doggies quite quickly.  Not only does your tummy bloat but then in turns and twists all up cutting off the vital organs which leads to death.  The vet told mom and dad they could operate and/or put me to sleep….I sure am glad they decided to operate.  I don’t know if emergency vets are the same everywhere or not but here they make you pay first so if they operate and you don’t make it through the surgery then at least they collect their money.  They give you an estimate of how much it will cost for the operation but they estimate on the high end, you pay then if you paid too much in the end, they refund your money.  It seems kind of mean but it’s a business.   So they went ahead with the surgery that night it was probably around 8pm at this point.  Mom and dad left me with the vets and went home since there was nothing else they could do that night.  The vet dr. called mom and dad about 11:30pm that night and said that I had survived the surgery…YIPPEE for me and that they could come and see me later the next day. 

WARNING:  There are some graphic pictures below so don’t go any further if that kind of stuff bothers you.

This is me the day after my surgery…I know I am not looking too good here.

Another day after surgery picture…I’m stoned here.

Me when I came home…I wasn’t into eating unless mom fed me by hand.  They had to keep me inactive so you can see they moved my crate into the dining room to keep me quiet and still.  

Here’s a close up of my bruised and stapled up belly.  Mom counted the staples, she said I had 52 of them…WOW that’s a lot of staples.

Here I am again…I didn’t have to wear a cone-head since I know “leave it” and someone was with me all the time so I knew to leave my ouchie alone. I did end up getting an infection but that cleared up.

This is my belly approximately 27 days after I had surgery..looks pretty good eh?  It took a very long time for my hair to grow back.  Mom was amazed at how long it took especially since I don’t have that much hair to begin with.

This is my underbelly this past Dec. 2009.

Here I am all better and happy that my surgery went well and that mom and dad caught it in time.  Most of you know that I was a rescue dane and now I can say that I was a very, very expensive rescue dane. 

AARF Kasha the Dainty Great Dane