[nagdu] Bloat

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Yeeks!  $5K????  Yes, that is horrible!  I'd better check with my vet to see
what that is here.  For a guide dog, that still works out as the better
bargain, but good grief!  

I feel so bad for your friend and her loss.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 11:06 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Bloat

Hi Tami.
Thanks for the further info. I'll take Ben's pulse tonight.  (People might
think it was weird, if I did it in my office.)
May bloat never happen to any of our dogs.
My friend said that surgery might have saved the dog, but it was $5000 and
the owner just couldn't afford it.  Isn't that horrible, to have to choose
between a huge bill and the life of your dog?! It's nice to know, but,
should I ever be there, I could call on my school for help, so long as my
dog was still working.

Tracy

> Tracy,
>
> I'm so sorry about your friend's dog!  Thank you for the reminder about
> bloat.
>
> It is good to know the signs of bloat, since it leaves no time to waste in
> getting to a vet.  Poodles are prone to bloat, so I live in fear of it and
> check Mitzi over regularly, just in case.  If she seems to have a tummy
> ache
> or even to be feeling a bit off, I check her abdomen and femoral pulse
> first, just to be sure!
>
> So the signs I know to look for are a hardened, distended abdomen and lack
> of femoral pulse on either side.  You can feel the femoral pulse by
> standing
> behind your dog and putting your hands around the thighs so that your
> fingertips can feel up into the groin where the pulse is.  No pulse means
> blood supply is cut off and you're nearly out of time!  It never hurts to
> know what your dog's normal pulse feels like, so you can tell if it's very
> weak or thready, especially if there's unusual tension in the abdomen.
>
> So far, so good with my girl, and I plan to keep it that way!  But if the
> signs do show up ever, I will know it's time to head to the vet!
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 6:54 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] Bloat
>
> My neighbor's lab mix died last night from bloat.  My friend was
> dog-sitting, and called me to see what I thought about the dog pacing and
> crying.  I guessed bloat, and thought the dog should go to the vet
> immediately, but the owner wanted to wait and see if it got better.
> Off-hours vet visits are very expensive, but sometimes you just can't
> wait.  I'm sorry I was right, though.
>
> I thought I'd share, so we can all have a better idea of what to look out
> for.
> Tracy
>
>
>
>
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