Clinic Case of the Month

Buddy is a 3 year old lab who present to us because he wasn’t eating. Anyone who owns a lab knows that this is an extremely concerning symptom! At home, he’s known for his food motivation and destruction of toys. His owner was worried that he may have eaten part of a towel before the weekend. He had vomited some towel up on Thursday night, and she had found more towel in his faeces over the weekend.

Considering his symptoms and his penchant for destruction, Buddy was admitted for ultrasound and x-ray. On ultrasound, it was noted that his small intestine seemed hypomobile (slow to move) and bunched. On x-rays, there was a very clear gas pattern indicating a blockage somewhere in the gastro-intestinal system. It was quickly decided that whatever was in Buddy was unlikely to pass on its own and needed to be surgically removed via an exploratory laparotomy (aka ex-lap).

Buddy was prepared surgery and, sure enough, sections of large green towel was found throughout his small intestine and stomach. Thankfully, all of his intestines were healthy and there was no need to perform a gastrointestinal resection, which can be a common complication in foreign body blockages. Resections are done by removing a diseased or damaged portion of intestine and reconnecting the healthy ends.

Buddy was sent home the following day when he started eating small amounts of roast chicken. Unfortunately, as can happen with major abdominal surgeries, his recovery was bumpy. He developed a high fever the following day that required even stronger antibiotics. A couple of days later, the fever returned and Buddy was re-admitted into hospital for fluids and IV antibiotics for the day.

After his second short hospital stint and several post-surgery checks with Dr. Madie, Buddy was finally cleared to slowly return to normal activity 3 weeks after his initial surgery! He recently came in for his vaccination and has returned to full giant puppy mode at home!

While dogs tend to recover faster than us, it is difficult to remember that recovery can oftentimes be non-linear and is a journey. With the support of his very loving and attentive owner, Buddy is back to living his best life – hopefully with a bit less destruction.