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My Weimy Girl, Shelby...


JaCaMa
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My absolutely beautiful 10mth old Weimaraner was snatched away to run over the rainbow bridge on Wednesday morning. I am absolutely crushed by the pain of losing her. She was a perfectly healthy, spirited girl who was adored by all her knew her. She started vomiting on Tuesday afternoon around 5pm, and by 9pm it had progressed from bits of grass to bile and a milky fluid. Her gums had gone pale, and her lips & nose were clammy so I raced her to the emergency vets. They queried whether she had eaten something (rocks/twigs) as she loved to chew anything she could, but quickly ruled out that as well as poisoning from a toad etc. She had tachycardia HR200 at times & they said they would stabilise her, offer supportive treatment i.e. fluids/analgesia, run some tests: bloods, x-ray & U/S and keep me updated. I left around 10:30pm. At 3am they phoned to say she had deteriorated, they hadn't worked out a cause as yet & were doing more tests, her lactic acid levels were steadily rising despite their treatment. At 6:30am I phoned and they asked me to be there by 8am to have her transferred to the specialist vet service, which I did.

When I got there they let me see her, she was incapable of lifting her head or opening her eyes as she was on morph & methadone, but her giant whip of a tail beat gently again the wall when I hugged & kissed her. I told her they were going to make her all better & I would see her soon. They said they would do a more intensive U/S, stabilise her BP & then commence exploratory abdominal surgery as there HAD to be a cause for her condition. They would phone me when they'd opened her up & advise me of what was going on. I left around 9am. At 11:30am they phoned me to advise me Shelby had died shortly after being anaesthetised, and despite their efforts, she could not be resuscitated. They requested an autopsy as they were so stunned by what happened. I consented & they phoned me that afternoon with the results. They said they were even more stunned by them and couldn't believe what had caused her eventual death.

There was a tear in her diaphragm and the top lobe of her liver had slipped into the tear & been caught there, so the liver tissue was trapped, and had become necrosed - they estimated this had occurred approx 2 weeks ago due to the level of necrosis. When they anaesthetised her, they rolled her onto her back to commence the surgery, her trapped liver landed on her vena cava, which in turn cut off the blood supply to her heart, causing a cardiac arrest!

I asked the vet how she could have possible sustained a tear to the diaphragm and she told me its can happen via birth defect, surgically or due to trauma such a a car accident. I had Shelby desexed 2.5weeks prior at her usual vet, and this was the only significant recent event - certainly no trauma - though she was an active, rowdy pup & keeping her quiet with the elizabethian collar on whilst she recovered from the desexing was a challenge - she managed to destroy 3 of them! I also took her her back 6 days post surgery as I was concerned about the suture line as it was inflamed, red & very lumpy. They told me it was fine, no infection & to keep her quieter as she was obviously being to physically active. Then I took her back on day 10 to have the sutures out & again questioned the state of the suture line, as it still looked the same. They advised me it was fine, and as long as there was no discharge, and she wasn't vomiting or lethargic it wasn't infected, so I took her home on analgesia. I only mention all this, as the autopsy also showed the whole surgical area inside was infected and septic, and whilst the treating vet didn't feel it cause her actual death, it would have not been helping the situation at all. She also said its possible that the tear occurred during the desexing surgery, though it could not be proved :(

Words cannot convey how horrified I am at this series of tragedies that led to her death. I feel like it wasn't just a tragic accident. I know nothing can bring her back, but it's so unfair, and she didn't get a great full life, filled with love & memories, and I'm left with a gaping wound of my own, which feels like it will never heal. I feel like I failed her, I'm her mum & should have protected my girl :( sorry for the novel, but I know you fellow dog lovers will understand my pain. Thanks for reading.

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Oh my, what a tragic end to such a short life :cry:

I am truly sorry for the pain you are going through :hug: , you were the best mum for your precious girl and yes you did everything you could have.

Your photos are beautiful, goodbye sweet Shelby :rainbowbridge:

Take care

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Oh I'm so sorry to read that you have lost your beautiful dog. Please don't blame yourself for this - you did everything you possibly could for her and while her life was short, I am sure that it was very happy. Run free gorgeous girl.

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How incredibly dreadful to lose her at such a young and vibrant age, and in such a way. You must feel knocked flat. I am so sorry :(

It's absolutely not your fault though. You did exactly the right things - seeking vet advice and attention at all the right times. You did not let your girl down.

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I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful Shelby. You must be absolutely devastated to have lost her so suddenly and tragically, especially when she was so young. :cry:

My heart goes out to you at this terribly sad time. Run free Shelby! :rainbowbridge:

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How heartbreaking and awful. :( Please don't blame yourself for this, you did everything you could for her.

Shelby looks so beautiful in those photos, and very much loved.

My heart goes out to you. RIP gorgeous Shelby.

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