by Julie Brewer
Tomorrow at 8pm Twiggy will have been alive 7 days longer than she would have been.
On Saturday night (11th January 2025) after a normal day at Little Tykes Dog Hub, which involves my dogs doing demos, playing with one another between client sessions, and on this day ended with a social session with their friend, we were all tired ready to go home, warm up and relax. Usually we all settle down pretty quickly after we’ve eaten. Twiggy didn’t want to eat, this is not uncommon because she has a sensitive stomach. But she also didn’t seem to be able to settle.
She was wandering around, she was digging at her bed which is not uncommon (she likes her comforts), and then digging at the carpet (strange), and then she was sticking her head into corners, this really was out of character and finally got my attention. At about the same time she started to try to vomit, but was bringing nothing up. My veterinary nurse brain finally kicked in and I called her over to check her. I checked her gums, pale and grey, I checked her belly, hard like a drum, she was becoming weak on her hind legs. She was bloating and was starting to go into circulatory failure. I knew immediately that she was at risk of dying, and immediate action was required, she was showing all the signs of a Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV). Her heart was failing because of the pressure of the gas filling up her stomach, the blood supply to her stomach and to her hind quarters was compromised because her stomach was flipping over twisting all the major vessels with it as it went. She was dying in front of my eyes.
Less than an hour later she was being prepared for major abdominal surgery to correct the position of her stomach, first the gas had to be released to allow the vet to be able to turn the stomach into its correct position. The blood supply to the stomach was compromised, it was turning purple and although we might save her life there was a chance the damage to her stomach might be too great and she might die later as a result of septicaemia.
Once the vet had managed to get the stomach into a normal position, and the blood flow around her body was better, he performed a surgery to attach the stomach wall to the inside of her rib cage (Gastropexy) to prevent it from rotating again, something which commonly happens with this condition. Twiggy had a splenectomy surgery due to masses on her spleen just a few months ago, and I learned that this can predispose them to GDV.
She came off the surgical table extremely poorly and with so many reasons why she might not make it through the next few hours. The nursing care she received was intense, they literally stayed with her all night checking her regularly for any changes. I was less than useful at this point so I went home, but I didn’t sleep, I was waiting for the inevitable phone call to tell me that she was failing.
The nurses, who know her because she comes in with me to work regularly, took such good care of her, even adding little loving touches.
After 2 days of intensive nursing she finally started to eat tiny pieces of food, but more than a mouthful was too much. Her protein levels were low causing her to develop oedema in her feet, face and neck.
She came home 3 days after surgery and I slept next to her, every change in breathing or movement in position waking me in a panic. Every refusal to eat making my heart sink.
The boys, Dodo and Dez have been sensible around her, sometimes needing a little reminder to be gentle.
Day 4 we were at work at Eastfield Vets again and she was examined and declared to be doing really well considering what she had been through. Her wound was a little sore, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing to worry about.
Just forward through the past several days of constant worry and I’m finally starting to breath properly. She’s marking off each hurdle as she heroically passes it. Now she is much brighter and starting to look and act like a normal dog, with me clucking around her like a frantic hen.
The love and support we have received from friends, work colleagues and family has pulled us both through. She has a future, this morning she pushed her own boundaries, making it onto the sofa, and even up the stairs to my office where they all usually sleep!
I am a happy owner. Facing the fact that dogs don’t have long enough lives anyway, and that we can loose them suddenly, it is important to make the life they have with us as good as it can be. Princess Twiggy Woo, I’m glad that I don’t have to mourn you … yet.
LITTLE TYKES DOG HUB 