Dog-Sense: For All Dog Owners

GREAT DANE’S AGONIZING DEATH IN HSUS CARE

Gastric torsion, commonly called bloat, is a horridly slow, torturous death caused by twisting of the intestinal tract which shuts off blood supply…

January 2018

Stella Starr, Pet Perspectives

The veterinary term for bloat is Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus or GDV. When the stomach enlarges and turns-twists, the dog is in unbearable pain and distress. Bloat results in “low blood pressure … ischemia^{1} (loss of blood supply) of the stomach, and shock. … If not quickly treated, bloat can lead to blood poisoning, peritonitis and death by toxic shock.” ~ Wikipedia.

TheDogPress learned of this tragic news after our coverage of the Wolfeboro Great Danes “rescue” in Wolfeboro, NH^{2}. This is the THIRD Great Dane “rescued” from the mansion that has died while in the care of the Humane Society Of The United States.

Read that again. The 3rd healthy Great Dane to die in HSUS care since TheDogPlace.org covered their story.

HSUS’s response, as reported by Humane Watch:

“The Great Dane who passed away on Sept. 20, named Bonnie by her caregivers, left our veterinarians, staff and volunteers heartbroken, but we are also grateful she was under loving care and passed in a clean and enriched living environment. Two days before she died, Bonnie was seen by two veterinarians and showed no outward signs of illness. On the morning of her death, staff checked on Bonnie twice, and again she showed no signs of illness.”

HSUS should have known of the risk for gastric torsion, monitored and fed the Great Danes accordingly.

The HSUS response clearly shows how little they know about caring for large breed dogs. Because they are prone to gulp down food, drink a lot of water, and other factors, giant breeds are at higher risk for bloat. Large and giant breed owners know that overfeeding of dry food is a major precipitator of canine gastric torsion. Veterinary and boarding kennels take routine bloat precautions with large breeds.

We won’t ask WHY the Great Dane needed to be seen by two veterinarians 2 days prior. Perhaps it was a routine visit. The point is that gastric torsion is a sudden onset problem which would not be evident “two days before she died” when the vets visited.

It would appear that there were no kennel workers present and that the lovingly bred and cared for Great Dane went from overindulgent care to neglect resulting in a horrid death.

Dr. Samantha Moffitt testified that the dog “would be in a lot of pain and eventually go into shock and die. She said the dog would make its discomfort clear by being restless, moving around, and trying to vomit or vomiting.”

Humane Watch observed “The woman on trial may or may not be found guilty, but based on the evidence for this dog, should HSUS be charged as well?”

Reference and Related Article Information

{1} Ischemia     ~     {2} Puppy Mill Crime

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