Sad news

I hate this, but I've got to let people know, so here goes. If you aren't in a mood to take some sad news then you should stop reading now. Yesterday morning we got up and everything seemed normal, just as it had been the day before. Dozer was out for the night like he always is. He usually stays out until Jennifer gets up and moving. She called him for breakfast but he didn't come, which occasionally happens so we didn't think much of it. At 8 am she was getting ready to milk the goats and found poor dozer in an awful state laying in the yard. His abdomen was bloated and hard, and he was awake but listless. He had bloat, which is called GDV or gastric dilitation volvulus. It's more common in large dogs, males, and especially dogs with deep thin chests, exactly like Dozer's. Basically if the stomach gets too big from gas or eating too much it can twist which cuts off the blood supply. It's a surgical emergency, and can be treated, but only if treated very quickly. He was fine the night before at 10PM when we put him out, but we have no idea when it twisted. We rushed him straight to the vet, and they tried to save him taking him immediately to surgery, but he died on the operating table. Jennifer and I are crushed, as we've never had anything like this happen with one of our dogs before, and he wasn't even 3 years old yet. We feel awful for both him and poor buttercup. Sorry to be a downer on your day but I felt I needed to start letting folks know.