Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog health - Ask members * If your pet is vomiting-bleeding-diarrhea etc. Vet time!

 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #1  
Old August 18th, 2007, 05:06 PM
jawert1 jawert1 is offline
PeachesnSimon'sMamma
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Washington DC
Posts: 1,362
Dogs and Fabric - A Cautionary Tale **semi gross photos warning**

I'm writing this post to chronicle WHY it is vitally important to get your dog to the vet's office in case of a suspected or confirmed eating of fabric. Most of the regulars on the board know me from the various posts I've made on my 2 dogs Peaches and Simon, most recently Peaches' diagnosis of a nasal tumor. Imagine my surprise when my parents called to inform me that while Peaches and Simon were on doggy holiday in PA, Peaches ate most of a large hand towel. Based on certain "outcomes" in the 2 days post eating, my father and I felt confident that most of the towel had passed via normal channels. So when she vomited each and every meal on Sunday, Aug. 12, I thought it odd, and took her to our emergency clinic. Turns out not only was most of the towel still in her stomach, but it had started to move and would have ruptured her intestine in maybe 24 hours, probably less. The surgery to open her stomach and part of her intestine began that night, and went well, however due to her already compromised health (prednisone therapy decreases immune response), the recovery had nearly tragic consequences. She developed severe arrythmia and required lidocaine injections directly to the chest to correct. Her gastrointestinal track in general refused to move, so her stomach had to be pumped THROUGH HER NOSE. She developed enough fluid in her abdomen to need draining via needle. As of Wednesday night, she was a 50/50 survival chance, and my vet did her best to prepare me for the worst. On Thursday however, Miss Peaches was feeling well enough to snip at the vet when they went to put her back in the cage post walk outside. The ultrasounds on her abdomen and heart showed no fluid and her heart rhthym had returned to normal. She'd even conned the night vet into hand feeding her (again) for 45 minutes some of that real nasty I/D stuff (blech!). By Friday, she was home, though she's on 6 different medications (2 pain, 2 antibiotics, 1 Pepcid, and regular prednisone) with decreased activity. 45 exterior abdominal wall stitches, 30 internal ones, and a weirdly shaved dog later (not to mention the obscene amount of money invested), I'm posting this so that ANYONE who finds their dog or cat has eaten something they shouldn't, and loves their animal enough to find their way here for advice, will read this and immediately pack up their pet for the emergency clinic (preferably a 24 hour staffed one - she would've died if not for the staff on hand at 2am). Below are the outcome pictures, I've spared some of the closeups, but you'll get the jist:

Name:  P8180005.JPG
Views: 134
Size:  39.9 KB

Name:  P8180006.JPG
Views: 136
Size:  34.8 KB

Name:  P8180007.JPG
Views: 141
Size:  27.9 KB
__________________
"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you"
Ralph Waldo Emerson

~Those who KNOW better are responsible to TEACH better~


Jenn, Simon and Peaches
12/14/03
Reply With Quote
 

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:39 PM.