I am glad you have stopped by again. It is a pain that is hard to describe, isn't it? Some people who don't have pets think there is something wrong with those of us who grieve like a member of the family has just died. Well they are a member of the family. When my Whitney died I dragged myself into work the next day because I knew that no one would understand if I took a day off just to have some down time to cry. It was so hard.

Quote Originally Posted by lovemylabs
in addition to the tremedous grief, i still am having a difficult time understanding WHY this bloat happened. i never could get a comprehensive explanation from any vet. Josephine went 9+ years w/o any bloating problems. and then it came out of nowhere.
At the time that I lost Whitney and, years later, when my daughter lost Dale I searched for information on bloat. There is a wealth of it out there on the internet, so when you feel up to it you might want to read a little. No one can predict which dog will succumb to bloat although certain breeds are more at risk. One of the breeders where I bought one of my dogs (not the one who died) said that there may be a hereditary component to it although who really knows. My Whitney was 8 years old and Dale was 2 so I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about age, although I have read that as a dog grows older they are more at risk. Some breeders of dogs at risk prefer that prospective buyers of their dogs feed a raw diet while some don't. Please don't feel guilty. It was Josephine's time. She knew you loved her and you were there at the very end. She felt that love. Whitney and Dale have surely met up with her at the Bridge.