Can anyone help me make sense of what has happened....we lost our beautiful black lab, Fletcher on Wednesday - he was 22 months old. He was sick Monday morning and then again Monday afternoon so I took him to the vet Monday evening. They examined him, temp etc and gave him anti sickness injection. Said to take him home and if not sick again, feed him Tuesday afternoon. He wasn't sick again but would not eat and was looking very down and didn't want to come out of his bed. I took him to the vets again on Tuesday evening and they said they could feel what they thought was an obstruction and so he needed to go to hospital. They took him off me and said they'd call me. He was X-rayed and they called me around 11.45pm to say they could not see an object but a build up of faecal material so they thought perhaps he could be constipated. They said they would perform an enema and call me in the morning. My husband called at 8am to be told that they had not done the enema as they had had an emergency that evening and that the vet coming on duty would call. He was told that Fletcher was up and had been out for a wee and had had an ok night. Vet called me at 11am to say they wanted to give him anaesthetic so they could X-ray again. They called me after that and said they could see a build up of gas and that it could be 'ileum' ? or an obstruction but that they would need to rule our obstruction first so would need surgery. They called me at 12.45ish to say that they had opened him up and that he had twisted lower and upper intestine and necrosis of the stomach and both intestines had occurred. They basically said that his chances of surviving the operation were slim, that if he did, the chances of pulling through the 7 days following were slim and that he would suffer terribly during this time and that if he did both, once recovered, he would always have issues and problems. The vet said she had never seen anything quite so bad. They were suggesting we let him go there and then. It was devastating. I was with my husband and we made the decision to not let him suffer. I am utterly bewildered, shocked and gutted. How can this happen to such a young dog ? He was such an otherwise healthy boy, fed best food, exercised every day and loved so much by us and our three young boys. I know it wont help and certainly wont bring him back, but I need to understand what happened and so I am meeting with the head vets of my vets and the hospital on Wednesday. I cant help wondering whether if they had performed the enema instead of dealing with the other 'emergency' whether they would have seen an object and operated earlier. Was he just very unlucky ? Should the vets have done more ? Could the 'obstruction' the vet had felt on Tuesday have moved and not be identified by other vets ? It is plausible that this 'obstruction' could have been faecal material as they suggested Tuesday night ? Would he have pulled through and been ok if they'd have operated ? I am going round in circles and feel bereft. He made us so happy, he was so loved. Help.....
I'm so very, very sorry to hear this - it must be heartbreaking for you. You obviously loved Fletcher very, very much. I don't have any answers to the questions you ask, but I understand why you have all these questions, it must be terribly difficult.
I'm so sorry. How devastating. Unfortunately a twisted bowel or blockage can happen at any age... So sorry that it happened to your boy. I don't know if an enema would've helped. They did the right thing by x-raying quickly. Unfortunately it does sound like a lot of bowel was affected. Of course you are feeling overwhelmed, bereft and probably have a thousand 'what if' scenarios going through your head. If you can, try to push the 'what ifs' away from your mind as much as you can...
So very sorry for your loss. I don't know the answer to your questions either, but my thoughts are with you at this sad time.
I know, it's like torture but I feel so guilty and miss him so. I know blame wont help but I feel the need to understand why a healthy young dog can have such serious damage. Thanks for your post
I am so sorry to hear this. This must have been such a shock for you, totally unexpected. I agree with Rachael (Oberon) that it sounds like such a lot of bowel had been damaged. I'm not a vet, but by the sounds of it, a simple enema wouldn't have solved this. I really hope your questions can be answered by the vets at your meeting to help you come to terms with this awful event. Its sounds like you did everything you could to help your boy. Will be thinking of you too x
You must be absolutely devastated. I hope your vet is able to talk it through with you. Fletcher was obviously much loved by you and your family and was still a young dog, making it all the more incomprehensible. He must have had a wonderful life and you made the right decision not to let him suffer, hard though it is to let go. I can't give you any advice, but I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am.
I hope that the meeting on Wednesday gives you some answers. The vets might not have answers to everything.... Sometimes bowel can get twisted for no particular reason. It's really long, and looped in a complex arrangement. They might not be able to say why it happened. But they should at least be able to explain the reasoning behind their treatment decisions. I'm sure you want to know that. I hope that that chance to talk it all through will be of help. I'm sure you're just struggling to grasp it all. So sorry.
I'm so sorry to read this post.I can understand you being being devastated and I can understand you using the word bewildered .....this all happened so fast it must not feel real at times .If the meeting is Wednesday it gives you a little bit of time to gather yourself and have questions ready. I'm so very sorry this has happened,my heart goes out to your family x
My goodness what an ordeal for you all. I am so very sorry, you must be devastated. And so hard on the kids, too. I don't have any wisdom for you, but I hope the vets will be able to shed some light on this. But sometimes things just happen and you don't know why. Hugs to you, it's so very hard, especially when your dog was so young.
I can't help at all, but just wanted to add my voice of sympathy. I can't imagine how hard this must be for you. I hope the vet is able to answer your questions and give you some closure.
I wish I could give you some answers of comfort , but all I can say is I am so terribly sorry for your loss .
I'm so terribly sorry you've lost your young lad. It's always sad but even more so when they're young. I think because we feel they have so much life left to live there must be something that could have been done and sadly this isn't always so. I hope you get some answers and can find some peace.
I'm so sorry about fletcher. I can understand you want answers as it must be such a shock that this has happened. I hope your meeting with the vets helps you to understand why. You did all you could.
I am so sorry to read this. It must feel so unjust to you. Twisted bowel can happen at any age, that I do know after having a young dog admitted with a similar condition. Fletcher sounds like a much loved boy, and you did everything possible. Big hugs and thinking of you xx
