Some Special Notes:

Our dog Mulligan at 14 years old just had an episode of Bloat. Very fortunately we called the Vet and they diagnosed her over the phone and we rushed her to the Animal Hospital where they did emergency surgery and saved her life. Gladly, 5 days after surgery she is getting stronger every day.
I would like to thank you for your web page about your dog Jake and sharing your information about this disease/condition of Bloat. I can tell by your writings, that you truly loved your dog the way we love our Mulligan. I only wish that "man's best friend" could live a much longer life since they bring so much happiness to all they touch.
I am truly sorry for your loss of Jake, but thanks for sharing his life with us. Best of luck with Duke!
PS. Jake and her look like they could be brother and sister

Wonderful website. I have tears in my eyes. Thanks for sharing. I have 2 poms and 1 12-year-old Sheltie. Terri

Last night on July 3 my in laws who own a 9 yr. old boxer--Bubba became sick. Of course it had to be at 11:30 at night, our vet was not available, and they are from out of town. They took him to an emergency animal clinic where he was immediately diagnosed with Twisted Stomach. The vet of course said immediate surgery or he would die. They gave the ok and we were told to wait. My husband came home and got on the internet to see if he could find anything about this nasty thing. Your website was the very first thing they found and just wanted to tell you first of all we are so sorry to hear about Jake--I am sure you miss him a great deal. But Jake's story gave us great comfort and understanding as to what was happening to Bubba. Thank you so much for taking the time to publish the story of Jake. Bubba is doing fine this morning and will get to come home if all is well on Friday.

Hi...My name is Laurie and my dog Kane (Greater Swiss Mountain Dog) just went through the same thing....He had to have surgery on Sunday July 7 and is doing much better now....Hopefully he won't have anymore problems but I just wanted to tell you that I think you web site is Great...Dog Owner need to be aware of the symptoms and recognize that this condition could kill their pet in a very short time. I have always been aware of bloat and was paranoid about it from day one. The breeder who I got Kane from informed me of the dangers right away....but I have spoke with people after this happen to Kane and most have no idea what bloat is or what the symptoms are. So anyhow I just wanted to Say That I think your web site is Great and I truly hope that people read and educate themselves on the dangers of bloat. Thank you, Laurie I appreciate you putting info on the web about twisted stomach. I only wish I had seen it sooner. A week ago while visiting my daughter in California, her beautiful 11-year-old Akita, Kioki, unfortunately got a twisted stomach. We had never heard of it. It was on Sunday, and we couldn't get a hold of our regular vet so we went to an emergency clinic. The vet discouraged surgery saying an 11 year old Akita was too old to make a recovery. He gave him less than 20% chance of making it with surgery and strongly recommended putting him out of his misery. He did not start an IV or release the pressure from his stomach while we tried to decide what to do. His choices were put him down or give him painkillers and send him home to die. He made us feel like monsters for even hesitating to put him down. We actually had to MAKE him take an xray to show us his stomach was really twisted. Sadly, we let him put Kioki down. I suppose had we waited a day for another vet, it would have been too late anyway, but if I had read your info before this happened, things would definitely have gone differently. If I had been informed, I would have made the vet do all the things he could have & should have been doing, but wasn't. Maybe Kioki & Jake are playing together & having a great time. I hope so. Thanks so much for taking the time, trouble & concern to try and educate all of us dog lovers. If I ever have another dog with this condition, at least I will be better informed and prepared to fight for my dog. Bless you & Jake

I wanted to thank you for putting your experiences with bloat on the web. Our dog is currently in the University of Penn. Vet Hospital, recovering from the same surgery, after experiencing bloat and the twisted stomach last night. Like you, we caught it in time, and right now he is stable but it is a god-awful experience to go through. Knowing Jake lived a full life after the surgery was just exactly what I needed to read, it gives me great comfort. I was looking for success stories and I'm going to be thinking about Jake to make me feel better and help me get through this, because i've certainly been quite a wreck. I can't tell you how much better I feel after reading Jake's story.

I truly enjoyed your page on Jake. What a beautiful old man he turned out to be. I am "owned" by my chocolate lab, Jack. I noticed that he is belching about every couple of hours or so. I think I will call the vet to see what he may think that is all about. When I put "belching dogs" in my search engine, I pull up all of the bloat websites. He's been doing it for about a few weeks now. No change in his diet. He does gulp his food like a mad man. He was rescued and I always wondered if he wasn't fed properly. So, now when he gets fed, he gulps it like crazy. I will try the "gruel" technique you mentioned with Jack. Maybe it will help him digest better. Great memorial to beloved Jake. Great work, Heather

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