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March, 2004 Harper - Santa Ana, CA ESRA # 2003-526CA Age: 8 years Gender: Male Color: Liver/White Weight: 50 lb. Variety: Bench/Show-Bred

Harper starting crying with a muted and pitiful sound. When I rushed out to see what was going on, his stomach was bloated so hard that when I touched it he groaned in pain. He was rushed to the hospital and after x-ray they discovered his stomach had twisted. In the process of twisting, it tore blood vessels and he started to bleed internally. The stomach couldn't release the build-up of gases. So as his stomach swelled it started to cut off the blood flow to the heart. Also, other organs including the heart and spleen had tremendous pressure put upon them. His pulse became week and he was in shock. They first had to stabilize his condition and relieve the stomach pressure. They did this by forcing a tube into his stomach and hooking up two IV's to get fluids into him. They had to knock him out for this procedure which is dangerous considering he was in shock at the time. Most dogs don't make it through this process. Harper survived this, but since his twisted stomach didn't return to normal they then had to perform surgery to repair the damage caused by the bloat and twisting of his stomach. Luckily Harper's spleen was still OK, so it wasn't removed. Then they realigned his stomach. They also stitched his stomach to his abdominal wall to prevent torsion from reoccurring, as once this happens, there is a 90% chance of it happening again.

Survival rate is dependent on how fast the dog gets treatment. Harper made it through this procedure. Now he has to be monitored because infection can cause new complications. Since Harper had a severe skin infection when coming into ESRA's care, it was reasonable to conclude his immune system is weakened. Harper has survived and his prognosis is good, but he will still need monitoring and vet care. This whole process was very expensive for ESRA. But more importantly is was very painful for Harper.

This poor boy has not seen the good side of life till he came into ESRA's care. He was just starting to let his guard down and relax prior to this happening to him. He is a wonderful boy who deserves to live out his days with people who love him.

Contact: Don Osborne ozbow@sbcglobal.net

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HARPER'S GENEROUS SPONSORS:
Anne Fleetwood	From Anne and Mr. Wigglesworth
Palma Friery	Get well, Harper, sweet boy
Cathryne Slaughter	From Maggie Mae - Get Well Soon!!!
Andrea Pell	In memory of Doc, who I miss on a daily basis
Martha Mogren	Gift from Bettie Lou, in memory of Chettie Boy
Lisa Collins	In memory of Harry, Samantha, & Maggie
Kathleen Engberg	In memory of Toby
Suzanne & Kent Chamberlain
Rosemary Elden	Gift from Zeke,Teri, and Inky
Dianne Shanley	Sending a big Woo-Woo to Harper from Murphy Brown
Holly Perrucci	In memory of Captain, my buddy, my love
Marsha Johnson	In memory of Duke
George & Diane	In memory of Redd, who brought lots of love into our house
Diane & Kenneth Ariosto
John & Sandy Danielson	In memory of Kelsey, our 15 year old Springer
Louise and Charles Reichman	A gift from Phiona, our very special Springer
Katrin E. Owen
Yvonne Molnar	A Christmas present from Spots-A-Lot, another special Springer
Shelley Dearmin	In memory of my best friend Lacy, who I continue to miss deeply each and every day