My worst nightmare.

My worst nightmare came true. Kaleb Bloated on Saturday night.

There was nothing different in his schedule that day, we trained Agility in the AM, field training in the PM, relaxed at home with the family having a BBQ, supper, watched TV, then bed. He woke us up half an hour after going to bed, he was retching up nothing, restless and wanting to keep laying down, and his tummy was feeling a little hard I knew right away what is was, I called the vet and literally 5 minutes later we were there. By the time we got there his tummy had ballooned, and Pete had to carry him, it happened that fast. The Vet had no doubt in her mind that is what it was too, she was great and acted fast.

His x-rays showed the twisting clearly. The vet gave him a needle through his stomach to pull out some air and relieve some pressure, he also had a tube put down his throat to get more air out, it worked as he seemed to get more comfortable and his tummy went down a bit too, but his gut was still twisted. And he was clearly in pain. He lived through the Gastropexy surgery to untwist his gut with no complications, his stomach was in good shape since we were able to catch it so soon. The Vet said another 2 hours and he would have been dead. His stomach was tacked to his rib cage, and we were relieved there has been no further complications yet, but the next 48 hours to 10 days are critical I guess. We are both totally devestated and it doesn't seem real yet at all that this has happened.

We were able to bring him home early because he was not settling down at the clinic when we weren't there - charging out of his kennel, pulling the nurses over when he was going out to Pee, he even started barking near the end of the day (we spent most of yesterday with him at the clinic). He was running on adrenaline, it is a very busy clinic, and he was excited and anxious, and he needs to rest and the vet agreed, it was either home with us, or sedation at the clinic. And he has been sleeping like a baby since being back. I work at home, so it is easy for me to accommodate.

We have an arsenal of meds he needs for the next 3 to 10 days, 4 times a day, and we check his temperature here too

Pete has to come home at lunch so he can carry him up and down the stairs to go out to Pee - which has to be on leash. He is keeping down water and eating bits of wet food, so as long as that stays the same we are good to go. He has an incision about 8 inches long on his belly and various bald patches all over him. Poor guy.

I am just glad he lived through this, I was NOT ready to say good-bye and I don't think he was either. Thanks to everyone who has sent nice messages for him, it means more than you know. Kaleb is alive because we were able to get in him quickly, and with the care of really good vets he is still with us. I am hoping for a full recovery, and he'll be back to himself soon. And if this time is like any other in his life, he doesn't give up easily :)

Here are some symptoms of Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV), Bloat, if you don't already know:

• Your dog retches from the throat but nothing is produced other than small amounts of frothy mucus
• Your dog tries to defaecate unsuccessfully
• Your dog adopts the 'Sphinx' position
• Your dog's tummy goes hard and/or swells up like a balloon and is as taut as drumskin
• Trying to bite, or worry, the abdomen
• Your dog is very unsettled

CONTACT YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY. Bloat is a true emergency - be prepared to drive to the surgery straightaway. The chance of survival decreases alarmingly if you delay getting the dog to the surgery more than 60-90 minutes after the first signs.