So this morning was the scariest morning I have had in a while. Barley needed to be rushed to the hospital.
I was making some coffee, which I never really drink; but for some reason I was craving coffee. I fed the dog and turned my back as I ground some beans. Suddenly I see my dog circling near the kitchen rug, and then collapse. He looked up at me with “devil” eyes. I saw that his food un eaten and a few kibbles on the floor near him. My first thought was that he was choking, but he had no food in his mouth. He stood up on all fours, but was a rock. I tried to coax him to walk near the kitchen door since he has been a bit sick and has tossed up his food once or twice. When I walked around to his backside, I could see that his back was arched in such a fashion I have never seen before.
“Barley! Come!” I yelled.
Nothing.
He stood there and I tried to move him, but he was so stiff and looking at me as if I was his prey. It was not anger, it was fear. He was bloating. I yelled up to Monique to get her coat and lets go to the Emergency Animal Hospital. I called to find out what to do in this case. When I did, Monique saw that his chest and ribs were inflated. He was showing signs of “Bloat” which is a serious condition of barrel-shaped torso dogs.
The hospital asked me to check his gums. They were white and bluish. They said to get to the hospital immediately.
So we did. I had my Jeep up to 100+ MPH on i-90. We made it to Westlake in 10 minutes. When we got to the hospital, he was looking normal in the abdomen, but his lips were still white. We rushed him in. They checked him out and could not conclude that he had bloat. The vet said that carrying him and driving him may have reversed the torsion. They took X-Rays, and blood. They think he may have had a seizure. He was let down to the floor and he began to “kidney-bean,” the happy-circle-dance. This meant that he was going to be ok. For now. Phew!
