Over the years, you can become fairly proficient at caring for a dog’s typical injuries with common human FAKs. But there are some conditions that require quick response and immediate transportation to a veterinarian hospital. I lost Baron, a German Shepard Dog, to Gastric Dilatation Volvulus, GDV, aka, bloat. Up until that time I had dogs for over thirty years without encountering this problem. I had read about it and took precautions and was very careful on what, how, and when I feed and exercise my dogs, since I had large breeds with deep chests, which are susceptible to this condition. One Sunday after his supper, he barked in his special manner that let me know that something was wrong. He was standing motionless and with his stomach distended and hard. I knew he was in pain. My neighbor, who was also my veterinarian’s assistant, arranged for an emergency surgery at a veterinarian hospital. However being the weekend, it took a number of hours for the surgeon to arrive. Even though the surgery was preformed it was to late and within two days Baron had to be put down.

This was a tremendous loss to my wife and I and to the hospital, veterans home, and senior care facilities that Baron was certified to visit and was a part of the his routine. My other GSD was also heart broken without her constant companion and life long playmate.

Since that time I have researched and consulted with a number of veterinarians as to what I could have done differently. The consensus being that GDV is a nasty condition that can’t always be prevented or cured. But one thing I did learn is that once GDV is diagnosed or suspected, immediate doses of Simethicone, in the form of Gas X, or similar, to relieve gas pressure and to keep the intestines from twisting prior to emergency surgery is very successful.

I now carry a specialized K9 FAK for my dogs at all times. I would hate to in the outback without medication to enable me to get one of my dogs to a veterinarian or to see them in pain