[Gpdd] HEALTH: Winston didn't make it

[Cuttlefish Arts]

Thanks to everyone for their help on and off the list. Poor Winston was just
too sick, and the efforts of the veterinarian and our efforts weren't
enough. Whatever intestinal bug hit him was swift and he just couldn't
bounce back. He died about 36 hours after he started to be sick.

I did learn some things that I thought I'd share, although they may be
repetitions of things that have been discussed before.

Diarrhea in GPs, which I already knew, is usually a result of the intestinal
flora dying or not functioning properly; the new info I learned this time
from my vet was about gut motility. When people get diarrhea, their
intestines are moving a lot, spasms and cramps. In this case, the gut was
NOT moving almost at all. GP intestines are usually moving a lot, and the
fact that the vet couldn't hear any sounds was very ominous. This is the
condition that usually leads to bloat because the food is fermenting by just
sitting there and forms gas. Therefore, they give a drug to encourage their
gut to move. I actually did the opposite of this giving a gp recommended
dose of Imodium. I gave one and when it didn't help, I didn't repeat it. The
vet says it wasn't enough to do any harm, but it didn't help.

Also, I learned about one of the worse signs in a GP is a drop in body temp,
moreso than a fever, because it shows that the animal is "shocky".

Anyway, I wanted to pass on everything I learned, because it could help
someone else. 

Vic