Vibes for Riff's surprise surgery please.

Riff started vomiting late this morning which I attributed to a change in food, but this afternoon he became lethargic and whiny when he's usually very quiet. Took him to the vet, did an xray, and found what looked like a blockage in his intestines. He's in surgery now. Vibes for an uneventful surgery and easy recovery, please I'm worried about my little Riffers.

Oh no. Sending vibes your way. Had a couple dogs go through similar surgery within the past year or so myself. Both of mine came out of surgery and bounced back very quickly, hoping the same for Riff!

Vibes for a speedy recovery and an uneventful surgery!

Oh no! Easy surgery and fast recovery vibes headed your way.

Vibes for a smooth surgery and fast recovery!

Jack had a pair of underwear removed from his intestines a few years ago. it was a scary experience but he came through with flying colors and I'm sure Riff will too!

He came through it and is staying overnight to recover. If he can eat in the morning, he can come home tomorrow. Otherwise he'll stay an extra day.

Turns out there was no physical blockage. He had a partial mesenteric torsion. Thank god it didn't have time to progress further!

I'm glad surgery went well, I hope he eats and is able to go home tomorrow!

How is he this morning? Do they know what caused the torsion?

Hope he's doing better and can come home today.

Thanks, everyone! He ate this morning and is with me at work now, sleeping and recovering on a bed behind the desk. As far as what caused it, it sounds like it was a chain of events. Something irritated his belly (I'm guessing it was his introduction to raw, from kibble) which caused an excess of gas build up and inflammation in his gut. The build up of gas was so great that his intestines actually rose higher than they should've been, leading to the torsion.

One thing I don't understand us the prescription food I was given. The vet had told me we'd have him on a bland rice-and-protein diet for a while (of course) but didn't mention a prescription diet after that. When I picked him up today, the receptionist (who seemed distracted or, really, like she just didn't care) gave me a bag of Urinary Royal Canin and said he'd be on it the rest of his life. I asked why a Urinary formula and she said "for the stones." I said that the doctor hadn't mentioned ANYTHING about stones and she just said "Oh... well, I guess they want to prevent stones." ??? The ingredients are awful - brewers rice, corn, chicken fat and chicken meal are the first 4, in that order - and I really think she had me confused with someone else, although we got the right meds. So I'm going to call when they're open again in Monday and ask about it. If he has to be on an rX food then fine, but it was never mentioned to me and there was no urinary issue...

I'd toss the food and look up making your own Rx food if it comes to that. And I'm fairly certain she had you confused with someone else.

Glad he came through fine and is one the mend though!!!

Yeah, at the very least I was going to go to a holistic vet to talk about my options. It's so bad, and he already has a dry/flaky coat, gas, etc... I don't want to think what he'd be like on the RC.

Glad to hear that he's on the mend! Even for just minor surgeries, I get so worried. Hopefully you can get his coat issues sorted out as well.

And to the person who mentioned something about their dog getting underwear removed from their intestine, my mom came downstairs last night and said Moses puked up something that looked ridiculously like underwear but said, "Moses hasn't chewed underwear since he was a puppy!" Needless to say, I've caught him peeping in the laundry basket lately and even had to take a pair away from him. So luckily, his little snack hasn't caused any problems so far.

Thank goodness he seems to have gotten it all up! Jack has an issues with eating unedibles. He's also eaten (but passed or vomited up) four socks.

How is Riff doing?

She probably had you confused with someone else. Normally I'd think that perhaps they accidentally wrote/typed in the wrong letter combo, but Royal Canin doesn't usually have letter combos for their prescription diets like Hills does. They have Urinary SO, but most of their gastrointestinal diets are just named things like Gastrointestinal puppy or something, lol. Usually the bland diet is just given for a few weeks after surgery, he shouldn't have to remain on it.

I probably would have asked to speak to someone else upon pickup..sending the wrong bag of food home is pretty harmless, but what if she sends someone else the incorrect meds, etc.

Glad all is better. I would definitely talk to another vet about what to do in terms of food. Do you think you could also call your vet back again and speak to him/her about the food that was suggested and why they suggested that food. Maybe the receptionist did make a mistake.

Ugh, that receptionist needs a firm talking to. Obviously she either confused you with another client or someone punched in the wrong code to your chart -- either way, when the client says "but the doctor didn't say anything about stones?" when picking up a dog after GI surgery, that is the time for her to say "Oh, let me go double check this!" not to speculate. No excuse for that.

I would have liked to talk to someone else immediately but they were busier tha expected (it's a new-ish clinic for us, have only been a couple times before) and I was cutting it close on getting to work on time. I did call and speak with the vet, who was very confused about how the Urinary SO ended up on his file and confirmed that he does not need to be on it.

Riff is doing great. Too good, almost - he's back to his normal bouncy, excitable, wired self, and I don't know how I'm going to keep him resting while he heals! That's fine, we'll find a way. I'm just so happy to see him happy and goofy again. He was so sore and drugged up when he came home that he wouldn't even wag his tail, which normally never stops moving.

It took me a long time to bond with him, which I felt really guilty about. With Rowan it was pretty much instant; he was exactly the dog I wanted and had waited so long for. Riff was NOT the dog I was looking for and I think that made it hard for me, for a while. I was finally seeing and loving him for what he is a few weeks before this happened, and this whole ordeal has really sealed the deal. I love that goofy, dumb dog, and I would've been crushed if I lost him.

Yesterday was his 2nd birthday. Here's to many more