I'll miss you buddy :( My Bender passed away.

[taylorRichie]

My 8 year old Doberman passed away on Thanksgiving night/ Friday morning.

Read about it here

I know there are a few Doberman owners on the site, and I highly highly recommend you research bloat. It's rare, but serious. Knowing the symptoms could very well save your dog's life. I wish I had even heard of it

A completely healthy dog can die within an hour. And it's widely debated what causes it. No one really knows.

[VCrossfan]

WOW. Sorry about your loss.. And so quick..

[kodiak]

Sorry to hear that man, he was a cool dog and will be missed.

[Scott Harness]

So sorry for your loss.Dogs are the Best

[don moore]

dont know what to say...........they are mans best friend.

[tomdietrying]

I remember you talking about your dog in Moab. You really loved him. Sorry to hear about your loss.
Peace.
Tom
012009

[VXIRONwoMAN]

I am so sorry about your loss. I know what it's like. You know you can always come here to chat if need be. He will truly be missed. I just replaced one lizard with two more... maybe you should do the same with your Dobie. You are in our thoughts tonight.

[Chopper]

I am so sorry for your loss. For some of us, it's no different than losing a child or sibling. Two years ago, my six year old Wiemaranar (Cooper) bloated. This is very similar to a horse getting colic...a section of intestine twists, causing the blood flow to be cut off, and the gut begins to die. After some very expensive surgery, Cooper lived another miserable year and a half. He had a very hard time keeping food down, he was always starving....and lost quite a bit of weight. Ultimately, he had a stroke/seizure and passed. I don't think I would ever put anyone else thru the last 18 months of his life again. Large, deep chested dogs seem most suceptable. My other two Wiemies are getting very old now. No telling what caused Coop to bloat. Chopper is twice his size, and never had a problem. It's a really crappy way to go. My heart breaks for you man. But, you'll never forget him. At least you got to know him, and share some time together.

[tom4bren]

I'm sorry for your loss. I had a Dobie years ago. Her name was Sonnet (so graceful, watching her run was like reading poetry - hence her name). She was the best dog I ever had.

Tom

[crager34]

Richie;

Sorry for your loss and thanks for the information. My dog is 6 now and is part Doberman (see gallery if, interested) and I will be looking into bloat.

Take care

[Ldub]

I remember you talking about your dog in Moab. You really loved him. Sorry to hear about your loss.
Peace.
Tom
012009

I am so sorry about your loss. I know what it's like. You know you can always come here to chat if need be. He will truly be missed. I just replaced one lizard with two more... maybe you should do the same with your Dobie. You are in our thoughts tonight.

I am so sorry for your loss. For some of us, it's no different than losing a child or sibling. My heart breaks for you man. But, you'll never forget him. At least you got to know him, and share some time together.

I can't say it any better...

Very sorry to hear of your loss Richie & Brittany.

[taylorRichie]

Thanks for the support...

Can't say it's getting any easier yet... but at least I've stopped crying.

Chopper, I'm sorry you've experienced this as well. Most of my research has shown that if the bloat has progressed enough that surgery is required the dog has a slim chance of living a normal fulfilling life. I guess the best thing is to have a "Bloat Kit" on hand and at the first sign of bloat, act but I don't know how you'd be able to make the assumption.

Just sucks!

I've just been trying to spend as much time at my new Shop as possible, It's really coming along, I've put in the second level, and transferred all my tools. I'll edit my original post soon with images.

Thanks again everyone... It really does mean a lot.

[WormGod]

So sorry for your loss. As another Dobie owner, I feel your loss to heart. Sadly, Bloat is one of those things that has a way of sneaking up on a dog. I guess, in a way, it loosely relates to us with appendicitis in that shrouded kind of way. Unknown, stealthy health issues are always !@#$ing scary.

BTW, I had some neighbors years ago who had their German Shepherd/Timberwolf mix (that's right, no joke.... thing was HUGE) diagnosed with bloat. The corrective surgery destroyed the poor dog. He actually only lived for about 1 year after the surgery due to a countless number of post operative issues. Mostly, he simply did not want to eat, ever again. It was like, once they cut him open and messed with his digestive system, he refused to use them again. Very sad really, but dogs have that strange intuition where they do NOT like to be fixed by unnatural means.

[VehiGAZ]

I'm so sorry for your loss. We lost two German Shepherds to bloat. It's a "terrible and swift sword" alright - one minute your dog is acting fine, the next there is clearly something wrong, and an hour or two later you're at the vet's saying goodbye. Devastating. May your sorrow be short-lived...

[nfpgasmask]

Oh man, Richie, that sucks. I'm very sorry. I've been dealing with sick pets for the past week. I can't handle loosing another baby this year. We already lost our 9 year old cat last April and our other cat and dog were sick last week. Anyway, sorry to hear about this. I will be reading up on this "bloat" asap.

Bart