Things are not getting better and we may be facing the last option in assisting my boy in having a sense of a normal life. Tomorrow morning I take my baby to the Veterinary Specialty Center in Delaware where he will undergo some pretty invasive surgery. They are going to tack his stomach down (gastropexy), do a surgical exploratory, do an endoscopy and scope his esophagus as well as taking biopsies of his intestines. Here's why:
While the bloat symptom of filling with gas has remained under control he is still clearly experiencing bloating on a regular basis, meaning, after each meal. He paces, he licks the air, he hypersalivates, and he is very uncomfortable for 3-4 hours after breakfast and dinner. The suspicion is that his stomach has been doing a 90 degree twist most, if not all, of his life. And he is now at the point where it has become more and more difficult for his body to unflip his stomach back into a normal position.
**IF** this is indeed the problem (for there is no real way to prove the suspicion unless the internist was to catch an actual twist/flip on an xray) then tacking his stomach may just solve his digestive problems.
If this is not the answer to the problem....we may be out of options and I may have to face making that decision every pet owner prays will never have to be made.
What makes things harder is that he is active, alert, hungry, playful and energetic. He trots the entire way during his 30-40 minute morning and evening walks; he greats me happily at the door when I come home; he plays with Della....and the list goes on. How do you make a decision to end the life of a dog whose very soul has touched your own when he simply does not appear to be clinically ill, but clearly is medically?
I do hope that is not the road we will travel....I suppose I will just have to wait and pray he 1) survives the surgery and 2) the gastropexy works.
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