My friend has a bullmastiff puppy, he is 6 months old and huge, 80-90 pounds at the moment. She came home from work the other day to him being violently ill, throwing up everywhere. She didn’t feed him that night and was up with him until 3am. Next morning same thing, still throwing up and not able to kee anything down. She asked me for suggestions and what could be wrong. My gut told me a blockage so I said to get to the vet right away regardless because of a risk of a multitude of things, blockage, dehydration, etc etc. So I get an update later that day, he had what looks to be a Barbie head in his belly which eventually did move in to his intestines. They were quoted $4500 for surgery, unfortunately they are not well off and simply can’t afford this. So now they are left with a choice of put him to sleep or wait and hope it makes it way out of his system. The vet said because he is big there is hope that he can pass it. Today will be day four, he can drink a little but still can’t eat. She can feel the blockage and it has moved some more so she is hoping it makes its way out but of course she feels awful because he’s not well and miserable. I can’t help but feel that he’s a big dog so surely he must be able to pass a Barbie head but that’s why I decided to write this here. Wondering if any of your dogs have passed a hard object and were ok? I just want to give her some hope to hold on to She should be giving me an update in a few hours so I’m hoping for the best.
Oh dear, what a very sad situation for your friend , do you not have animal charities that could possibly help with the expense ? I`m sorry I haven't any experience of this , but I will be keeping all crossed that it moves along and finds its way out , so sorry x
Oh no, that really is a dreadful situation I don’t have any advice to offer, I’m sorry. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that you will get a positive up date soon. Xx
Or you you could try "Crowd Funding" or ask the vet if your friend could pay weekly? It seems dreadful that a dog has to die because of lack of funds. Some dogs have swallowed strange objects and they have finally appeared, so fingers crosse.
I agree, very sad. We don’t seem to have any funding type thing here that she would qualify for. The vet won’t do a payment plan. Just sad, I could never be a vet because I would just save all the animals no matter what I’m thinking the fact that is is moving through that it will come out, just unfortunate that it’s taking so long.
Very tough situation It’s probably pretty painful which is why he’s not eating. Round objects are tricky as the gut can constrict around them. And I guess it has long hair on it too which won’t help. Giving the dog liquid paraffin by mouth can help lubricate the system. When my first Labrador had a blockage (a watermelon stem in his case) that’s how my vet got it moving. He had a few mls of paraffin by mouth in a syringe every hour or two while staying at the vets. The object appeared after about 4 days (our dog was 12 yrs old and had nearly not survived a previous op so we wanted to avoid major surgery).
Well I hve a bit of an update and probably the last update. She brought him back to the vet today, the vet told her straight up be is dying and either has to be put to sleep or surrendered to the spca who will then pay for surgery. So she surrendered her sweet boy who was rushed into surgery right away. Heartbreaking but least he will be okay, hopefully. There is a risk of necrotic tissue but they won’t know how bad or if any at all until they are in there.
Glad he has at least got a chance. Poor boy. I really hope he pulls through. Something to think about for anyone wondering whether or not to take out insurance for their dog...
How heart breaking for your friend , but at least the dog will be alright, hopefully , he has a good chance x
Will she not be able to have her beloved dog back? If the SPCA have the dog, he will need to find a home when he has recovered, so surely he could be returned?
I hope he's now got a good chance of survival. How sad that she has had to give him up. I hope there may be a chance that she could adopt him if he recovers...
Don't want to appear negative but, if she gave him up because she couldn't afford treatment, wouldn't it be a risk taking him back in case another emergency occurs? I feel very sorry for the original owner, but do have sympathy with the rescue's approach.
That is why you can’t adopt them back. They see you as unfit to care for the animal. Quite unfortunate as she loves him dearly. She feels completely awful for not getting pet insurance as this all would have been avoided. Sadly you can’t go back in time.
What a devastatingly sad story. Have they considered helping to find someone to adopt the dog, to prevent it languishing at the SPCA? At least they would be continuing to be involved in the dog’s welfare, albeit up till new owners are found.
