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Winter 2008

SHARED REAL STORIES

Submitted by Michael Zefiretto on  July 10, 2003

At the age of one my Rottweiler Zack began yelping in the middle of the night due to stomach pain. After a week of tests he dropped from 115 lbs. to 79lbs.  The vet did exploratory surgery which resulted in his removing six feet of Zack's small intestine.

We do not know the cause of why Zack's intestine died.  A few months later an endoscope was done and he was diagnosed with inflamed bowel disease.  We had to treat both of Zack's conditions through a special diet and medicine.  Due to the inflamed bowel disease we fed Zack cans of Purina EN because Zack tolerated the beef protein but not chicken.  We also added Pancreazyme or Viokase to the food in order to help break the food down.  In order to compensate for the shortened bowel syndrome, we needed to add fiber to his food.  The fiber absorbed the fluid which was not absorbed due to the lack of small intestine.  The fiber was added by either grinding up Purina OM dry food or by adding Metamucil.  We would sometimes add vitamins and MCT Oil due to the fact that most of the foods nutrition and fats would pass through Zack without being absorbed.  Zack would get fed twice a day for this same reason.  Zack also took prednisone.

In March of 2002 Zack had his first case of bloat.  I recognized the signs and rushed him to the vet.  A tube easily passed down his throat and released the pressure.  He went home the next day.  Following this episode, I researched Canine Bloat and made a Bloat First Aid Kit for my home.  I highly encourage all owners of large breed dogs to research canine bloat and make a first aid kit.

On March 4, 2003, (1 year later) Zack had his second episode of bloat.  I went to my Bloat First Aid Kit, secured his mouth in an open position and shoved a 6 foot half inch tube down his throat.  I then rushed him to the vet. Zack went home later that night and spent the week at home.  He did not seem like himself.  On Friday, March 7, 2003, I took him to the vet because he was not acting like himself.  When we arrived at the vet he was acting normal but he was tender.  The vet said that he was probably in some pain from the tube being passed down his throat.  My vet was also going to call a Board Certified Surgeon in order to consult with him about Zack's case.

I brought Zack home and went to work.  Zack passed away that day while I was at work.  He had another case of bloat.  He would have been 6 years old in April.  Zack was like a child to us.  He was a loving member of our family and we think of him daily.  Since Zack was young we did all of the things that they say should be done in order to prevent bloat -- we elevated his bowl, fed him small portions at a time, did not give him a lot of water following his food, we did not have him run around before or after being fed.

Following a case of bloat I would recommend that a dog have exploratory surgery and have his stomach stapled.  My vet did not take this action because the tube passed easily into his stomach and he did not believe that the stomach had flipped.  I wish that we had made some different decisions. Zack lived a long life with special care each day.  He even slept in our bed.  He was happy until the end. He is missed by my entire family and many of my friends.

Read more about the RHF Completed Study:
'Incidence and Breed Related Risk Factors for Gastric Dilation-Volvulus (Bloat) in Dogs'