08/30/2025
This is how our holiday weekend began. Aspen and I were at the Emergancy Vet because of a very scary set of events. We were outside and all the sudden she just kept gulping, swallowing really hard, not settling, and her stomach bloating more and more as the minutes went by. I was baffled, she hadn't eaten since about an hour prior (the well known rule), she hadn't eaten anything in the yard. I wasn't comfortable with how she was and immediately was concerned her stomach had flipped. We got there after she had thrown up in my car, all of her vitals were stable they rushed her back for xrays. These showed her stomach was VERY full of gas. The specific cause is still unknown. I am beyond thankful I had her stomach tacked (gastropexy) when she was spayed or her stomach would have been flipped, she would have been rushed into surgery, if they could have even saved her. So we went home late last night after she got fluids and a nausea med to hopefully get improvemnt. She ate a little this morning, bloat is still there but am hopeful its going down. If she stays uncomfortable or gets worse, we will be going back for her to get a gtube doen her nose to her stomach to release gas and repeat xrays. We will be switching to slow feeding bowls because she eats very quick, we will also try and stay calm up to 2 hours after meals now. If you have the option for a gastropexy for your dog especially large breeds, PLEASE do it. It is not 100%, but it essentially saved Aspen's life last night.
