traveling with pets IMPORTANT

16 years ago

Hi room, it's been a while since I posted. I had a lot going on and was on vacation. While I was on vacation my dog bloated. Thankfully he pulled through it and is mending quite well.

I am sharing this with you all because without my planning on knowing exactly where an ER vet clinic was in the closest proximity to where I would be staying I clearly would have lost my dog to this terrible acute condition. For those of you that do not know what bloat is here is a link http://vetsurgerycentral.com/gdv.htm

I can not stress enough how fast this occurs and how limited ones time frame is to save your dogs life.

whether it be bloat or another life saving emergency if you're on the road it's pretty difficult to be near a vet in a small time frame, but there are books you can get about where certain ER Vets are while traveling. Here's a link to one of those books..

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-E-R-Guide-After-Hour-Veterinary/dp/0934798893

Another very important thing to do is to google a nearby veterinary day and evening service that will be close to wherever you are staying. Call before you leave to see if they except non patients, most do but some don't so you want to make sure the one you choose will be of service to you if god forbid you need it.

Secondly as soon as you get settled (the sooner the better) drive to where the place is so you get a good feel for how close or how bad the traffic is to actually get to the place. Check hours..make sure the place will be operating at the time you may need it.

This all may seem extreme and even though I prepared for the possibility of accidents with all my animals while traveling I never actually needed it until last week. I honestly had no time to look up phone numbers in a town I wasn't familiar with, there simply wasn't enough time. In fact the ER vet commended me for my actions and by planning ahead for it was that action that kept my dog from completely going into torsion which has a lot of repercussions, and worse dying.

Anyway I just thought if I posted this and shared our experience it may help others plan ahead.

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Comments (13)

mazer415
16 years ago
Im glad your dog pulled through. I dont know if the vets told you, but you need to be extremely careful with feeding and play time from now on. Since dogs who have experienced bloat are more likely than not to re-experience it. Smaller meals more often and play time, running or any activities need to be before a meal or two hours after....good luck
cindyxeus
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi Mazer, I should have mentioned my dog has his stomach tacked now which means he most likely won't torsion but still can bloat. The tacking saves me more time to get to the vet. Funny thing is My dog is older and has been slow going these days and already eats 3-4 small meals a day. Now stress is going to be a big concern as we are pretty sure stress of a series of major thunder storms is what started this.
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User
16 years ago
I hate to sound like such a dummy, but by saying "bloat" do you mean your dog just kept eating and eating? And what is torsion?
cindyxeus
Original Author
16 years ago
Viki, check out the link I put in my first post, it explains exactly what it is.
sunshinetm
16 years ago
I am glad everything got taken care of in time for your dog. It definately paid off for you to be prepared as it would any of us in an emergency. Thanks for the reminder. Terri
mazer415
16 years ago
Rescue Remedy can be a life saver for dogs suffering with stress, good luck
melindalord
16 years ago
Hello All!
And, THANK YOU cindyxeus!
I am the author of the book you mention, Pet E.R. Guide (A Directory of 24-Hour and After-Hour Veterinary Facilities in the United States). I wrote it because we were stuck in our travels without veterinary care with our 'angel' and it was very, very difficult. (The first chapter of the book describes our experiences.) But, I wrote it to carry ourselves after our SECOND occasion to need a vet in our travels.
It was a book that was a labor of love and hope so thank you 'cindyxeus'!
And, for all who are pet parents, may you have ........
Happy Trails and Happy Tails!
Melinda Lord
Terrapots
16 years ago
Thanks for the heads up on this. I know of a vet in our destination town but on the road do not. I'll check the destinations in my magellan gps, to see if vets are in it, it has been very helpful to find stores, etc in strange towns.
cindyxeus
Original Author
16 years ago
I am the author of the book you mention, Pet E.R. Guide

Wow talk about coincidental! Nice to meet you Melinda! And congradulations on such a helpful guide for all pet owners.
Ironically I didn't know about your book till a friend of mine told me about it when I got back from our trip. The only advice I had than was to stop at Hotels and or gas stations on the way if an Vet ER situation occurred and ask for a phonebook! HELLO, I probably would have had a heart attack myself under that kind of stress. Here I was thinking I was doing such a good job by screening ahead for Vets in my final destination ( and luckily it did pay off big time) but didn't prepare for the road trip itself except for my first aid and bloat kits.
Let's just say your book is on my list for Christmas gifts for all my friends and family that travel with their animals.
joepyeweed
16 years ago
I didn't know until recently, that people can get bloat and torsion also.

It is a good tip to know where the ER vet is, though I probably would rely on the yellow pages.

I know if you call my Vet after hours, their answering machine includes information on how to contact the 24 hour emergency vet service. I just assumed that most Vet's did that.
cindyxeus
Original Author
16 years ago
It is a good tip to know where the ER vet is, though I probably would rely on the yellow pages.

hopefully this post will make people see that's not exactly the wiser move.
For one the call takes time, than you have to get directions, than you have to know the area in order to find the directions given, all = wasted time. If it's daytime now you have another issue and that is not all Vets have enough surgeons on hand to be available to a non patient. So a call might have to be made in which a surgeon is called in, or send you to another vet somewhere, again, more wasted time. With Bloat one doesn't have that kind of time to waste, truly they don't.
Meghane
16 years ago
Thank you for the book recommendation. Right now I usually leave my dogs with a petsitter (a fellow vet student), but I have taken them to MD to visit my mom. Luckily she is also a dog owner, so she knows the vets very well in her area. But I hope that since vet school is almost over I can start traveling more with the whole family, and I think this information will be incredibly helpful. Especially since I am a worry-wart, if anything at least having the info will ease my mind, even if (hopefully) I never need to use it.

You definitely saved your dog's life getting him to the ER quickly. I'm glad he's doing well.
cindyxeus
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Meghane, and congrats on almost getting done with Vet School! I bet you're getting excited about that!

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