Help Support Gemma’s Life Saving Surgery

On July 12, 2024, what was supposed to be a quick Veterinary visit for some vomiting and lethargy turned into life saving emergency surgery for our 3-year-old pup, Gemma.

Early in the week, our girl had shown signs of an upset stomach. We kept an eye on her and hoped it was something that would make its way out naturally. By Thursday, she had gone days without eating and stopped drinking water. She was taken to an emergency vet Friday morning where they ran blood tests and preformed an ultrasound.

Her blood test showed that her liver values were too high to read and sodium levels were dangerously low. Once the X-ray was preformed, it was identified that she had a foreign object that she had eaten stuck between her stomach and intestines. It was blocking her bile duct which created risk of lifelong problems. As well as had potential to be damaging her upper intestines. Her veterinarian at this point was so worried about the risk of the surgery that we were referred to a specialist and had to be transferred immediately into surgery.

Once transferred, she continued to receive IV fluids to get her sodium back up enough to eliminate risk of anesthesia complications. Around 10PM, as soon as her levels were acceptable, she was rushed to the operating room.

The foreign object unfortunately had destroyed a section of her bowel. The surgeon had to remove about half of it and reattach it to her stomach. She made it through surgery successfully but will remain at the vet for 24/7 recovery care for the next few days. She will be monitored for risk of infection and given antibiotics for the next week. This will create lifelong changes for Gemma. She will need to be on a special diet as well as supplements to support her gut.

Gemma was adopted when I was pregnant with her human brother after we tragically lost our previous dog to cancer at 4 months pregnant. She has been our toddler’s best friend for his whole life and we could not fathom them not getting to grow up together. Thank you for reading.