Coping With Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus Syndrome

Our beloved Bear (half chow and half German Shepard) passed away this Sunday morning from a twisted stomach. Something we knew nothing about. I thought I would share this story as it may help prevent fatalities to other dogs and save a family from a lot of sorrow.
Bear started what they call “retching” (vomiting with nothing coming up) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. We weren’t concerned as he’s done this before. However at 11:30 p.m. we found him outside and when we called him in we noticed his stomach was a little bloated but he was acting normal. He then laid on my mom’s bed and at about 3:30 in the morning jumped off and walked towards the hallway where he collapsed. He gathered himself and stumbled around but he had no saliva and his breathing was very very poor. At this point his stomach was very bloated so we called a Vet and they told us what it was and to bring him in ASAP. We were getting the car ready with blankets and when we came in to get him he had already passed away. Since he was acting so normal up until the last 20 minutes of his life we didn’t think it was necessary to take him to a Vet right away. Unfortunately we lost him. He was 8 1/2 years old and a male dog. The risk factors I read online did not pertain to his daily behavior or routines except for one. STRESS! He would get very very stressed every fourth of July during the fireworks. He could barely stand them. I really feel this was the cause of his condition. This condition is caused by an excessive amount of air taken in and trapped in the stomach. We have just found out that this condition is the number 2 killer in dogs. PLEASE BE AWARE and pay special attention to the possible symptoms. If we knew what it was, at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, we could have saved his life.