No grizzly tale as Waterford 'bear' story has happy ending

It was a case of a very happy ending for one County Waterford 'bear' recently thanks to City Vets.

The 'bear in question is a beautiful family pet dog and in an online post City Vets outlined the seriousness of the condition that prompted his loving and very responsible owners to contact them.

In the post, the vet team said: 'A few weeks back poor Bear had a very dangerous condition called a GDV, Gastric Dilation-Volvulus.'

They explained that the condition is such that the stomach fills with air and twists on its axis cutting off the blood supply.

'It is a life threatening emergency,' they noted in their post.

'The owners knew Bear wasn’t right and spoke to Vet Emma who immediately told them to come straight in,' they added.

Time is very much of the essence in such situations and Bear was examined and immediately taken for X-rays which confirmed the vets' suspicions. 

'As Bear was close to 76kg, Vet Annmarie and Nurse Barbara came in to assist,' they said.

They highlighted how surgery was undertaken through the night and Bear’s stomach was untwisted and sutured to the abdomen wall to prevent it happening again. 

'It was very difficult physically because of Bear’s size but thankfully the surgery went very well, due to the phenomenal efforts of both vets Emma and Annmarie,' noted the City Vets team.

'Bear recovered very well and went home to his fantastic owners,' they added.

GDV is a life threatening condition that needs immediate attention and it’s much more likely in larger, deep-chested breed dogs.

Symptoms include: dry heaving; swollen hard drum like abdomen; excessive drooling; very restless.

If you have a large breed dog, there are tips to try avoid GDV: small meals little and often; using puzzle feeders or slow feeding bowls to slow down eating; rest after eating a meal for an hour or two; avoid stress at meal times to reduce air swallowing; restrict car travel before and after meals for an hour or two; feed from the floor (previous advice was to use raised feed bowls) but new advice is to feed from the floor.

Anyone who is concerned their dog has a GDV is advised to call their vet immediately.