Blockages, Mesenteric Torsion, Insurance, and Pippa

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#1
It's been a while since I've posted here, but I try to keep up with everyone on Facebook as much as I can. That said, I thought I would post a little bit on here about Pippa's recent ordeal.

I left Pippa with a "friend" and professional dog trainer (N) about a month ago while I was traveling for work. I gave her as many resources as I could, and although I was apprehensive about leaving my high-drive, working line GSD, I sucked it up and went. My dad came to visit and found an extremely sick dog. Pippa had lost almost 10 pounds and was listless and vomiting. N insisted that she had been "fine" except for getting into it with her terrier cross over food (although I requested she be fed separately) and generally being "poorly trained."

Livid, my father immediately brought her to my regular vet, whose abdominal x-rays caused him to suspect that she had an intestinal blockage. He sent them home, but they quickly rushed to the emergency vet when she continued to vomit and visibly deteriorated.



At the emergency vet, Pippa was stabilized and rushed into emergency surgery, where they removed a large portion of her dog bed from her lower intestine. She responded well, and was sent home three days later, which is when I returned from my trip.



Immediately following surgery, they made note of a small pocket of fluid that had accumulated in her abdominal cavity. A test revealed that it was antibiotic-resistant E. coli, and she was put on a cocktail of drugs to help combat the infection. Still, when it came time for me to leave again 10 days later, I woke up to find her unwilling to eat. Hoping she was just feeling "off", I hopped in the car to drive to work. About 15 minutes into my commute I changed my mind and called my dad, in tears, begging him to take her back to the emergency vet while I was away.

When he did, they discovered that she was once again in critical condition. Fearing another blockage, they opened her up to find a massive mesenteric torsion: her intestines were necrotic. A torsion of this type has a fatality rate of nearly a hundred percent, but when they finished the procedure she pinked up almost immediately.

Through the course of this, Pippa had wracked up almost $23,000 in medical bills. In any other circumstance, I would have had to put her down. That's as much as I make in a year (and then some). But my parents insured her for me as a graduation present, and so Pippa came home early last week. Hopefully for good.





Hug your dogs, insure then if you can, trust your instincts. Holy crap.
 

teacuptiger

floor dancer
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#2
Oh my gods, I am SO glad that Pippa made it through.

No more emergency vet, okay puppy? STAY SAFE now.
 

Moth

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#5
What a scary thing to have to go through for you and Miss Pippa.

I am glad she seems to be on the road to recovery now! Get better Pippa <3
 

*blackrose

"I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
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#6
So so SO glad she is doing okay! That must have been terrifying.
 

Paviche

Duuuuude.
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#7
I am SO glad she's okay! What a nightmare. Riff suffered a partial mesenteric torsion... we caught it before anything became necrotic and he bounced back well, but we were extremely lucky, and I'm glad that you and Pippa were that lucky, too.
 

FG167

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#8
Omg I don't know what I would do to that "friend". How horrible. I'm glad she is ok. What an awful ride.
 

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
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#9
I've been sending vibes since seeing pictures on facebook. Glad to hear she is finally (hopefully!) in the clear.

DO NOT SCARE YOUR MOM LIKE THAT AGAIN. <3 Hugs. Can't imagine how awful that would be, even worse when you have to travel for work and cannot be there. :(
 

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