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Life After GDV - Gastric Dilation and Volvulus

I'll Never Be The Same Again........

Some of you will read this article with tears and memories, some will be unaware of the true severity of this condition, some will learn from it, and sadly, some will disregard it with the opinion that “it’ll never happen to me” but you need to stop and think, because it can happen to you, it happened to us………………….

As a loving caring dog owner and exhibitor for over 30 years I’ve always been aware of this dreadful, cruel condition, and indeed have always respected it for what it is, a killer, deep chested dogs being more prone to this but it can actually affect almost all breeds.  For those who have never seen a dog with “bloat” I hope and pray that you never do, I hope yours are never afflicted by this condition, for I promise you it’s not a pretty sight, and it can and does rock your world to the very core.

Mortality is high in fact it’s the second highest killer of our K9 companions, the first being cancer, yet there is little known about this condition and we MUST know more, we NEED to know more, dogs have no voice of their own, we must be their voice.  No one is completely sure why this happens, oh yes we know the effects and we know why it might happen but we want to know exactly what causes this, and we want to know exactly what to do to protect our dogs.

Do we raise feeders or don’t we???  Do we moisten or soak kibbles???  Do we add supplements and if so what ones and how often???  Should we feed two, three or four times a day???  Why don’t the manufacturers of dog foods put an awareness on the packaging ie it is not advisable to feed your dog directly after exercise and a resting time of 2 hours is recommended after feeding???  Gastric torsion is a condition of many variables, too many variables, we simply need more accredited information and we’re not getting it..

There are pages of information to be found, some good, some not so good and some totally contradictory, my advice is make sure you have a good rapport with your vet, if the emergency surgery isn’t your daytime surgery make sure you know where it is located, time your route there in rush hour, if it’s over 30 minutes then look for an alternative route and make sure you know it, just in case.  Most importantly, know your dog, know him well and should your dog show any odd signs then get him to your surgery immediately, far better I assure you to be told you’ve over reacted than to have a dead dog!  Remember time is of the essence here, every second, yes every second counts, you have no time to spare!!!

Fortunately for my dog I recognized something was very wrong when he woke in the night at 1.40am with the most dreadful of screams, he was on the operating table by 2am .  He fought for life so very hard for 5 days, sadly losing the fight and the battle for life, passing quietly in my arms, he was 4 years old.  I shall forever be haunted by that scream and the cries of excruciating agony, as we rushed him to our vet, I knew in my heart we’d be very lucky to have him alive in the morning, I knew The Silent Killer had struck, and I knew then, what I know now, that killer shows no remorse, it’s the most cruel of cruel killers and life as we knew it would be very different in the future.  From my boy’s death has come a support group for those suffering the loss of a pet, Forever Sherman is open to anyone who is suffering the grief associated with losing a beloved pet.  

For more details please contact us at forever-sherman@teroleboxers.co.uk  you can also find a Memorial to my beautiful boy here www.teroleboxers.co.uk/chubbs-forever-our-sherman.htm and more information  www.teroleboxers.co.uk/the-silent-killer.htm

If pet owners are unaware of this condition it will continue to go unnoticed, we cannot allow naivety to be a reason as to why people do not ask questions. This condition is a killer and unless people are aware of how it happens, and aware of the warning signs also how rapidly it can occur, we shall never get the research and the answers we need, and more dogs will continue to die.  Remember, it happened to us, we pray it won’t happen to you.

This is written and Dedicated to my beautiful Boxer boy Chubbs– Forever Our Sherman 2002 – 2006 Carole Gaved

I've had a tremendous volume of mail from people all asking if and how we can try to protect our dogs.  Well I'm afraid I don't have the answers you all need and want, that's why we desperately need MORE RESEARCH into this dreadful condition!  

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