Heat Stroke Rambles, begging for your constant awareness

[jenzaar]

Winslow is FINE, just want to start off with that.
This is about my neighbor's bull mastiff.

I'm having a really hard time with this.
On Thursday, my neighbor called me to borrow a hose to wash off King, who they found covered in his own vomit and feces. They carried him down in a sheet, he couldn't even walk. His lethargy was enough for me to urge them to take him to the vet, but they insisted he was sick because of a sudden food change. His breathing and his gum colors really got to me, and even though they were coming around to seeing that he needed a doctor, they were dragging their feet. I asked my husband to get my car, he and the owner got him in, and I took them to Red Bank Veterinary Hospital.

King had heat stroke. It was serious, it was advanced. Had I KNOWN that he had been on such a long walk earlier that day (which of course I have feelings about, I'm sure you do all do too), and was left all afternoon in their apartment like that, I would have brought him the second he came outside.
Of course they wanted to keep him overnight, but it was more than they could afford. He was given some fluids and meds, and had to be sent home with us. I wanted so badly to make the deposit to keep him, but for so many reasons, it just wasn't right.
We got him back into the car and his owner had to run back inside. I stayed with him, wanting to give him some space and rest though. I sat beside his head for a few moments, just talking to him and petting him. He lifted his head, sniffed my face (something he's never done to me before), and gave me one of those looks.... those looks that go so far past your eyes, that go way deep down, and say something to you. He put his head back down after that, I gave him a few more pets, and a few moments later his owner came back. We took him home.

In the morning I saw him just as they were bringing King back to the same vet. Of course I was sad that he hadn't improved tenfold, but was relieved to see that they were taking action.
Few hours later I was walking out the door, and the owner called me over. He had just returned. Told me there wasn't anything they could do for King, and that he had to be put to sleep. He was just a puppy.

and my heart's so broken.

I spent a lot of time yesterday crying and blaming myself. I know that I'm last in line of who should bare any blame, but now I'm here wishing that I had held on just a little longer. Sat beside him a little earlier, talked to him just a little more, stroked that wonderful part of his forehead a few more times. Wishing that it had been MY place to hold him as he left the earth, because his owner didn't have it in him to stay. I would have stayed, I would have known he didn't feel abandoned, he would have gone knowing somebody tried. But I don't know if that is the case and it's tearing me apart.


My sob story aside, PLEASE, I'm sure you are all aware of the signs of heat stroke, but look for it everywhere!
I did not ask if he had been out in the heat, and maybe that could have made a difference for King. I hope none of you will ever have to go through or witness this.

 

[Texas Carol]

Oh Honey...please do not beat yourself up over this tragedy!

Instead, focus on all that you did for King and you were there
with him (and for him).

I think you were so upset at his condition you went into shock.
It's hard to see anyone or anything dying right in front of you.
You had so many emotions coursing thru your brain & body to
deal with AND you weren't the one calling the shots, his owner
was...you were trying to save King's life. Forgive yourself of any
guilt, be kind to yourself, you are grieving!

I send LOVE and am so grateful you were there for King.

King is with Jesus now and running free & joyfully in Heaven.

Sometimes (in these days on earth) I wish I were there too ;(

God bless you & Hubby for doing all you could to save King.

I am sincerely sorry, what a magnificent & beautiful boy.

 

[Sheba]

I am very sorry to hear about your situation and my heart and prayers go out to you. Me and my fiancé are currently going through the same situation. Our Old English Bulldog is very active and wanted to be outside a lot yesterday. Every time we put her back in she would sneak out through the screen door. She began to get overheated and had trouble breathing. We took her to the vet and she was in Respiratory Distress. We got there just in time. She also now has ammonia from vomiting while trying to breath. They sedated her and put her on a ventilator to stabilize her breathing. They kept her overnight and preformed surgery this morning to trim her soft pallet and remove some tissue in her nasal passage. The surgery went well but they are going to keep monitoring her throughout the day to make sure she is stable before they pull the ventilator. I pray that everyone reads your post along with ours to shed light on how serious this situation is to keep bulldogs out of the heat and keep them well hydrated and calm during the hot and humid months. Please keep "Sheba" in your prayers and feel free to check out our post. Please pass the word along if you can. The more prayers the better. Again I am very sorry for your loss and we will continue to pray for you.

-Adam and Michael Beth

 

[jenzaar]

Oh Honey...please do not beat yourself up over this tragedy!

Instead, focus on all that you did for King and you were there
with him (and for him).

I think you were so upset at his condition you went into shock.
It's hard to see anyone or anything dying right in front of you.
You had so many emotions coursing thru your brain & body to
deal with AND you weren't the one calling the shots, his owner
was...you were trying to save King's life. Forgive yourself of any
guilt, be kind to yourself, you are grieving!

I send LOVE and am so grateful you were there for King.

King is with Jesus now and running free & joyfully in Heaven.

Sometimes (in these days on earth) I wish I were there too ;(

God bless you & Hubby for doing all you could to save King.

I am sincerely sorry, what a magnificent & beautiful boy.

Carol, thank you so much. I'm sure you know by now what a comfort you are to so many of us here.

He was something magnificent, it's been a joy to watch him grow.

[emoji813] Thank you again, i wish i had a fuller, more eloquent response but if i even tried i know I'll start crying again!

 

[jenzaar]

[MENTION=15947]Sheba[/MENTION] I'll be thinking of you and your girl. I'm glad you got her to the vet in time, it seems like they have things under control. I hope she bounces back soon. *hugs*

 

[ddnene]

This story is absolutely heartbreaking…

First of all I'm SO sorry, and I completely understand your feelings… but YOU did everything possible for King and sometimes dogs DO bounce back from advanced heat stroke. It's almost impossible to tell whether a dog will make it or not… we almost lost our Bella to heat stroke, but she was fine by the next day. People MEAN well by taking their dogs outside w/them, but sometimes they are just complete idiots… for example TODAY we went to the farmer's market and I saw several dogs there that were panting heavily. The area doesn't have a lot of shade, and I didn't see them getting water for their pets.

King KNOWS that you tried your best for him… even above and beyond his owners who seemed to not take the situation seriously. Some people just don't know, and that is why it's SO important for us to spread the word about heat stroke. Please don't blame yourself, my heart hurts for you because all of us here just LOVE dogs… and we care deeply

 

[jenzaar]

This story is absolutely heartbreaking…

First of all I'm SO sorry, and I completely understand your feelings… but YOU did everything possible for King and sometimes dogs DO bounce back from advanced heat stroke. It's almost impossible to tell whether a dog will make it or not… we almost lost our Bella to heat stroke, but she was fine by the next day. People MEAN well by taking their dogs outside w/them, but sometimes they are just complete idiots… for example TODAY we went to the farmer's market and I saw several dogs there that were panting heavily. The area doesn't have a lot of shade, and I didn't see them getting water for their pets.

King KNOWS that you tried your best for him… even above and beyond his owners who seemed to not take the situation seriously. Some people just don't know, and that is why it's SO important for us to spread the word about heat stroke. Please don't blame yourself, my heart hurts for you because all of us here just LOVE dogs… and we care deeply

ah, thank you so much.
and thank you for not judging the owners, easy as it is to do. They truly did not mean him any harm, just the unfortunate consequence of not knowing about the breed/lack of any sense. He just didn't know.

Everybody can love dogs, but here it's a different story. I knew you guys would get it. I don't want to keep bothering my husband until my wounds have healed and this grieving stops - he knows I take these things differently and with more difficulty than most people, but still. Posting it here has helped a lot already.

This has made me want to carry cooling packs and buckets of water with me everywhere I go. shoot I'd even carry around the heat stroke help sheet that's been shared on here (and I lifted and spread to facebook).

 

[harveyspecter]

Sorry for King. Things though unfortunate are inevitably bound to happen. God has a way of reminding us to reaffirm our faith. King is now travelling through the rainbow bridge free from pain.

 

[Sheba]

Thank you so much for your support. She is so strong and will continue to fight through this.

 

[Pumba]

I'm tearing up reading this right now. Sorry for king. And it's not your fault so don't blame it on yourself. I'm pretty new to become bully mom. Thank you for sharing and I am right now go study this heat stroke so I can protect my babies.


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[jenzaar]

I'm tearing up reading this right now. Sorry for king. And it's not your fault so don't blame it on yourself. I'm pretty new to become bully mom. Thank you for sharing and I am right now go study this heat stroke so I can protect my babies.


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Thankyou. That is all i want, for anyone to keep it in their minds, whether it's their dog or not, and whether or not they know if the dog has been out in the heat.

You will find a lot of info, and sadly a few stories about it here on EBN.

 

[ddnene]

ah, thank you so much.
and thank you for not judging the owners, easy as it is to do. They truly did not mean him any harm, just the unfortunate consequence of not knowing about the breed/lack of any sense. He just didn't know.

Everybody can love dogs, but here it's a different story. I knew you guys would get it. I don't want to keep bothering my husband until my wounds have healed and this grieving stops - he knows I take these things differently and with more difficulty than most people, but still. Posting it here has helped a lot already.

This has made me want to carry cooling packs and buckets of water with me everywhere I go. shoot I'd even carry around the heat stroke help sheet that's been shared on here (and I lifted and spread to facebook).

When Bella had her heat stroke incident we had taken a short trip to the park, 20 min in 70 degrees and we went to PetSmart. We get home and she's lethargic and vomiting… it literally came out of nowhere, she wasn't even panting that hard in the car. Luckily a good friend is a vet tech, and she told me to take her temp, put her in a cool bath (NOT cold) and give her ice chips. She was fine in a couple of hours, but BOY were we scared. I could never judge anyone about this type of thing… EXCEPT for the morons that leave their dogs in the cars, or try to take a dog hiking in 100 degree weather!!!

Some of us grieve harder than others, and that's okay… believe ME everyone on here understands!!!

 

[jenzaar]

[MENTION=9157]ddnene[/MENTION] i believe it, sometimes it's out of nowhere! A friend of mine (and he and his partner know bulldogs and bulldog people) lost one just like that too. He was still pretty young, and they took him on the beach. Same temp, around 70, and all of a sudden, he was just gone.

I don't think i knew about Bella before this. Must have been an awful scare.

 

[Petra]

So sad Rest in Peace King<3

 

[ddnene]

@ddnene i believe it, sometimes it's out of nowhere! A friend of mine (and he and his partner know bulldogs and bulldog people) lost one just like that too. He was still pretty young, and they took him on the beach. Same temp, around 70, and all of a sudden, he was just gone.

I don't think i knew about Bella before this. Must have been an awful scare.

I honestly don't take my dogs anywhere unless it's the vets, or some air conditioned place… I'm too nervous about it. It's only MAY here and we are already having mid 80 degrees weather, and I have to walk them SO early in the mornings. I hate it...