Newfoundland Bloats During the Holidays

"It was Christmas Eve. We came back from church and I went to let everybody out about 9:30 or 10 at night. I said to my wife, "There's something wrong with Mariner, I think she ate something.' She came down and said, "No, she's bloating!' We got her to the Emergency Vet within about 15 to 20 minutes, my wife called ahead, and by midnight she was under the knife."

Bruce K. and his wife have had 21 Newfoundlands over 25 years and, thankfully, have only experienced gastric dilatation volvulus syndrome (more commonly known as bloat) this one time. Bruce's wife knew what to look out for and her quick reaction saved Mariner's life. They take precautions to avoid this from happening, but sometimes it can't be prevented. "We moisten all of their food and let it sit for awhile so they eat slower. We use a high-quality food so it doesn't swell up. But sometimes it can just be a weakness." Mariner had a litter of 11 puppies about two years prior to the bloating incident that could have contributed to some of the stomach weakness.

When a dog's stomach twists about 270 degrees, death can occur. Mariner's stomach was twisted about 200 degrees when they got her to the emergency vet. It's a good thing the church service they attended ended when it did. Mariner's veterinarian was able to enter her abdomen to release the air that had built up, sedate her for surgery, and put her stomach back where it should have been. They also performed a gastropexy to prevent it from happening in the future.

Working with Embrace was easy. Bruce recommends Embrace to many people now, even his daughter has recently made a switch to Embrace from another pet insurance company. He says that Mariner is perfectly fine now.

*Mariner's deductible is $1,000, but thanks to Embrace's Healthy Pet Deductible, it went down by $150 because he did not receive a claim reimbursement in the three prior policy years.