Colorado Snip - Taylor’s Neuter / Gastropexy

Almost any vet can do a spay or neuter operation. A little anesthesia, a small incision, some interior cutting and removal, stitches, and presto! No more breeding.

Bernese Mountain Dog Taylor camping at Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Leash in the Stomach

But sometimes it isn't so simple. When our Bernese Mountain Dog Daisy chewed and swallowed a leash handle in 2012, it lodged between her stomach and large intestine, blocking her GI tract. It had to come out.

Our regular vet referred us to a veterinary surgeon for that one. Since they had to go in there anyway, we treated it like a one-stop shop: we had her spayed and a gastropexy performed along with the leash handle removal. It was a little early to spay a Berner - Daisy was just 9 months old. You usually wait at least a year or preferably 18 months to 2 years to let a large dog's skeleton grow fully and develop properly. At the time, we figured we'd waited enough. But I did notice she was always a bit leggy and thin for the rest of her life. (Vets disagree on the best time to spay/neuter. You can find almost as many recommendations as there are vets.)

Prevent Bloat with a Gastropexy

Stomach torsion or bloat can be a life-threatening problem with large, deep-chested dogs. In severe cases, the stomach twists and cuts off blood flow, causing tissue death, stomach swelling, pressure on the heart, and potentially death. A gastropexy tacks the stomach to the abdominal wall, preventing any twisting and greatly decreasing the possibility. Bernese Mountain Dogs are one of the breeds at high risk, so we had Daisy gastropexied.

It's Neuter Time

Fast-forward to September 2020. Our male Berner Taylor is 17 months old, and close to as big as he's going to get, so it's probably ok to have him neutered (and a gastropexy done). But the other factor is our 5-month old female Sheltie pup Jessie. Shelties can have their first heat as early as 6 months. Having an intact male in the house at that time isn't an option - Taylor's hormones will make him go nuts around any female in heat. We'd prefer to spay Jessie before her first heat to reduce the chance of cancer and other health problems, but we don't want to worry about it if we miss.

And we have issues with local vets.

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Anesthesia Risks

A neighbor's dog went to a local Albuquerque vet for what should have been a routine spay operation. Instead, she died - at just 8 months old. Turns out they used too much anesthesia, and didn't closely monitor the dog during the brief time she was waiting for surgery.

Albuquerque isn't known for leading edge veterinary care. But there's a world class veterinary school and hospital a few hours north, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Most Colorado vets (and some from neighboring states like New Mexico) get their training at Colorado State University (CSU), and it's an ongoing knowledge resource for vets.

Colorado Dreamin’

After asking around and talking with nine different veterinary surgeons in New Mexico and Colorado, we decided on the Animal Care Center in Castle Pines, Colorado. A major deciding factor was their experience with spay/neuters - 3-4 per week - and with large-breed gastropexies in Berner-crazed Colorado. They also seemed very competent answering questions on the phone and with answer followup a couple days later.

Of course everything's been complicated by the Coronavirus risk. When we picked up Sheltie Jessie from her Fort Collins breeder in June, we stayed at RV campgrounds and didn't use any public showers or restroom facilities. We only ate out one night, and were one of just three small parties in an entire restaurant. Otherwise it was takeout all the way up there and back.

This time we were still mostly RV camping. But because of Taylor's surgery and thorough sanitation procedures, we were staying three days in the Castle Rock La Quinta Inn. When I inquired, we were told they use an atmospheric sanitizer (air purifier) in every room between guests. This was not the time to go bargain basement on a hotel that might not sanitize as well.

Our Coronavirus Hiking Plan

Since mid-March, we've hiked 2-4 miles every day on our local trails. We figure it's much better than just staying home or going to the dog park. That becomes more challenging when we travel to new places by RV, but a little advance research usually turns up some good trails. This was pretty easy in Colorado - there are some excellent hikes at the base of the Front Range.

Hiking in the Rat

But first, Raton. Raton, New Mexico is the last major stop off I-25 before you cross Raton Pass into Colorado. For years it was nothing but the name of a USGS topo quad for me. But it's become a convenient place to stop on our various trips to Colorado. We arrived early enough to hike a good chunk of the Climax Canyon Nature Trail east of town. We enjoyed the leafy forest on the canyon's slopes, and the views back into town. And it was Sheltie Jessie's first time on this trail.

Socially-distanced dinner at Mulligan's was a great way to recover burned calories afterwards. But the pups had to wait for us in the RV, the only downside.

We stayed at Willow Springs RV campground in Raton. I got a site assignment and paid over the phone, the practice at most RV campgrounds today. We'd booked ahead for every other stop on the trip. Because of COVID-19, many more people are travelling by RV so it's common for campgrounds to book up quickly, even mid-week.

Into Colorado

Trinidad is just over the border in Colorado. Its fine old downtown buildings make it feel like a slice out of the last century. We grabbed a cinnamon roll and a chocolate mousse éclair at Colie's Cakes and Pastries. Then we headed for the local dog park, where we discovered Sheltie pup Jessie was just short enough for the small dog area.

Jessie is just small enough… but Taylor’s a little big.

Our next overnight stop was Cheyenne Mountain State Park, just outside Colorado Springs. Every campsite has Cheyenne Mountain as a background, and all sites are spaced reasonably far apart. We walked the part of the short trail system where dogs are allowed, through a broadleaf forest and meadows with endpoints on the park's road network. Smoke in the skies made everything seem dirty gray. There were three or four wildfires burning in the Front Range to the west of us. Poor air quality would be a constant wherever we went.

We got excellent German carryout from Colorado Springs' Edelweiss restaurant. After dark, I had some fun with headlight / taillight streaks and the starless night sky. Stars were another casualty of the extreme smokiness, completely smudged out.

Headlight streaks and sunstars in Colorado Springs

After the previous day's trail disappointment, we hiked trails in North Cheyenne Canyon Park in the foothills west of town. We walked a 4 mile mostly-loop of trails in green slopes, with some nice mountain views. Our dogs loved it.

We detoured up to Fort Collins and Loveland to look at neighborhoods. I had a job offer from Fort Collins IC maker Comlinear in 1990 I didn't take, and I'd always liked the area. We found a nice dog park up there too.

Castle Rock / Castle Pines - Hiking and Dog Surgery

It was finally time to drive down to Castle Rock / Castle Pines for Taylor's preop appointment and surgery at the Animal Care Center. Both were at 7-ish am - and I'm not a morning person. But we did have a ground-floor room in the La Quinta Inn.

On the other hand, there were some dramatic sunrises from the parking lot. And the staff at the Animal Care Center couldn't have been nicer. Taylor was in at the scheduled 7:20 am time and out in less than forty minutes. Doctor Ana Carbon came out to go over what she was going to do the next day - anesthesia choices (slow- vs fast-acting), tucking after testicle removal, gastropexy - tacking the stomach to the abdominal wall, stitches, post-op recovery. After the pre-op appointment, a tech was waiting outside with Taylor as we were walking back from Starbuck's. Taylor was pretty calm - unusual for a dog very bonded to my wife and wary of anyone else. That spoke very well of the folks we were entrusting our dog to.

As a reward for everyone, we decided to hike at Douglas County's Spruce Mountain Trail. I hadn't been thinking much about Fall colors, but there they were - brilliant yellows and oranges flicked like paint drops among the evergreens. Berner Taylor and Sheltie Jessie probably enjoyed the different smells more, but we appreciated the relatively clear mountain views. (The winds must have been blowing a different direction or maybe fire crews had contained more of the wildfires, since the smoke wasn't as thick.)

View from the Spruce Mountain Trail, Larkspur

We walked out and back around 4 miles, with the highest point near 7500 feet. This was high enough for a good workout, but not so high we were short of breath. At this point in my life, I'm not up for 60 pound backpacks above 10,000 feet in the Sierras anymore.

Pat and Taylor on the Spruce Mountain Trail

Like all our travels, food played an important part. We had dinner at Castle Rock's Trestles Coastal Cuisine. The dining room featured masked waitstaff and repurposed shower curtains hung between widely-spaced tables. The food was good enough, but we're spoiled from many years living and eating in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Main event - Taylor's Surgery

The next morning gave us another excellent sunrise - and Taylor's surgery. There was another great sunrise while we waited a little while, and then the tech took Taylor in.

We needed distraction at that point, so we took Jessie to the dog park at Glendale Farm Open Space. Colorado dog parks outside major cities and towns offer much more than a small enclosed area for your dog. Glendale Farm had 1.6 miles of trails in sloped terrain. Both you and your dog can get a bit of a workout there, and there are more than a few dogs to play with.

Playing with Jessie at Glendale Farm Open Space

We got the call just after lunch - Taylor was done with his surgery and could be picked up. He'd come through OK!

Post-Op

Taylor was still a bit woozy when we picked him up. The tech left us with anti-inflamatory Carprofen and sedative Trazedone, and post-op instructions to keep Taylor calm and relatively inactive for 10 days. Tay also got one of the nicest keep-away cones we've ever seen, in padded plaid cloth with Velcro fasteners. He was to wear that for ten days except during meals to keep him from messing with his stitches.

We stayed one more night at the La Quinta, then headed for home. We had another stay at Willow Springs RV park. I wanted to show a different view of the lit-up Raton sign and star with highway motion, so I did some long-exposure night photography to capture light streaks from cars. This close to town and with wildfire smoke, few stars were visible.

We packed up the next morning and headed for ALbuquerque and home. The best part was that Taylor had come through the surgery OK.

Shot Notes

My EOS R camera was at Canon Professional Services for repair, so I used my beater Leica SL instead - missing eyecup rubber and scratched-up body, but still very functional. I used Sigma's new 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens for action shots and to eliminate extra stuff - what I call urban exclusion mode. When I needed more coverage, I mounted a manual-focus 24mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH, a lens designed for Leica rangefinder cameras but very usable (and sharp) on the SL.

The only catch with both lenses is that neither focuses particularly closely (33" for the 85mm and 27" for the 24mm), so the extreme closeups I sometimes like were limited with those lenses. But their f/1.4 apertures allowed me to isolate with narrow depth of field. For closeups with a narrower field of view, I brought a 1959-vintage 50mm f/2 Dual-Range Summicron, capable of getting me down to 19". More recent 50mm lenses will go closer, but none of them have the Summicron's crisp but not too crisp rendering. And that's what I use for food shots and restaurant interiors.

More Information

American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation (9/26/2011), Preventing Torsion When Bloating with Prophylactic Gastropexy. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y4xggocw

animalcarectr.com (nd), Colorado's best veterinary experience - Animal Care Center. Retrieved from https://animalcarectr.com/

bmdinfo.org (2-10-2019), Consideration of Spay | Neuter of Bernese Mountain Dogs. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y43pjpee

Colie's Cakes and Pastries (nd). Retrieved from https://www.coliesbakery.com/

Colorado Parks & Wildlife (nd), Cheyenne Mountain. Retrieved from https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/Parks/cheyennemountain

Edelweiss German Restaurant (nd). Retrieved from https://edelweissrest.com/

Glendale Farm Open Space, Dog Park and Trail (nd). Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y38ugw2d

Katherine Tolford (June 21, 2016), 5 Anesthesia Risks for Pets You Should Know. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y2nkc2dw

Mary Guiden (12 March 2019), Colorado State University veterinary program ranks third in nation. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y3a6nag4

North Cheyenne Cañon Park (nd). Retrieved from https://coloradosprings.gov/page/north-cheyenne-canon

Raton Your Pass (May 4, 2019), Climb Climax Canyon. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y34y7mq9

Spruce Mountain Open Space and Trail (nd). Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/yybsdm4p

Trestles Coastal Cuisine (nd). Retrieved from https://trestlescastlerock.com/

Willow Springs RV Park (nd). Retrieved from http://www.willowspringsrvpark-raton.com