On December 4th, a Friday evening, Boss started trying to throw-up. After the fifth attempt, with nothing coming out, I knew he must be going into Bloat. His stomach didn't appear abnormal at that point, but it was evident that something was wrong. Since he couldn't get anything out, I feared that his stomach had already torqued. I was right. I rushed him to the closest Emergency Vet Hospital and by the time I got there, Boss's stomach had swollen up. He was miserable. Tech's came out with a stretcher to carry him inside...I knew that I caught it right away, but I was terrified that he wasn't going to survive. Bloat can take a life so quickly. The surgeon who would operate on Boss came in and assured me that he was stable, and there was time to get him prepared for surgery. I was upset!! I asked the vet how many bloat surgeries he had performed and he thought a minute and said, "About six". I began to tell him how awful the condition was, and fortunately for both Boss and me, he was a calm and patient doctor. He waited until I was done with my tirade and assured me that Boss was stable and they were giving him fluids via IV to help stabilize him, so that he would survive the surgery. We arrived around 8:30 PM and I never saw Boss again until after midnight...he was barely lucid, but he had survived the surgery. The vet warned that the worst was over, but the next 24 hours were crucial. Boss was happy to see me, but was heavily sedated, so I left him to rest.

Early in the morning, around 8AM, the vet phoned to tell me Boss had survived the night, but refused to eat. He felt positive though with how he was doing. Several hours later as I was getting ready to return to the hospital to see the patient, I got a call from a different vet. Boss was bleeding out and he needed ANOTHER SURGERY. I could barely hear the rest of the conversation. There was concern that he was bleeding internally, and if that was the case, it wasn't a good sign. I let out a wail...and began to sob. I was so scared that he wasn't going to make it...and then there was the fear that there would be additional fees for the second surgery, on top of the already exorbitant bill. The vet told me Boss's stomach had torqued 360 degrees...usually it only torques 180! It was the worst case he had seen!!!! I was allowed to visit Boss for an hour before his surgery, and he was grateful to see me, but it was evident he was in some pain. The idea of him undergoing another surgery was weighing heavily on my heart...he's an older fellow, probably 10.5. He has a grade 5 heart murmur...would he make it through?? The surgery lasted over 1.5 hours. I kept asking the tech's how he was doing, and the surgeon sent up several messages on how he was doing...finally I got the thumbs up that he was out of surgery. Once he was in recovery, I could visit him. When I finally saw him, he laid in his steel cage, crying. My heart fell through the floor. I immediately began to question whether I should have agreed to the surgery...he was so miserable. the tech assured me that it was from all of the drugs he was on, and that he was actually hallucinating, and not aware of the pain. I had a hard time believing that...I had never seen him so unhappy before. : ( The next day he was still whimpering, but not as much. An older vet came in and told me his response to seeing me was very good. He had done well in both surgeries, and outside of not wanting to eat, all of his vitals were stable. He even allowed me to take him outside in the back of the hospital for a little walk. Boss moved slowly, but he was happy to be outside with his foster mommy! He came home the next night, and the first few days were a bit rough. Initially he wasn't on enough pain meds and he was miserable...it was so hard to see him so unhappy. His entire belly from the top of his ribs down to the bottom of his penis was covered in staples. He continued to refuse food for several more days, but eventually he began to eat some chicken and rice. The vet wanted to see him the day after he left, because his incision continued to drain out, and there was concern that it could become a major problem. The good news is that once Boss was out of the hospital and home, the bleeding slowed down and finally stopped. He's getting stronger each day. We were back at the hospital over this past weekend, since the lower portion of his incision was extremely red, and I was worried about infection. The vet felt it was from the bloody discharge that he had wrestled with, and the area was just overly irritated as a result. Boss is still refusing dog food, but his appetite has returned and he now gladly eats his chicken and rice. Each meal, I add a little bit of his regular dog food with some canned, in an effort to get him back onto regular dog food soon. Hopefully, this upcoming weekend he'll be able to get the staples out. I

know it's the holiday season and money is tight, but without rescues like OBR, Boss would have died on December 4th. We're still trying to pay for the surgery, and we need your donations. Even five or ten dollars will make a difference. Please, help OBR continue to help hounds like Boss. Thank you so much, and best wishes for a great howliday season!!

Jacquelyn Baker Foster mom to Boss the Basset

412-561-2039
jacquelynbaker@comcast.net