22/09/2026
🐾 A very special patient: Meet Finni 🐾
Every now and then, a patient comes through our doors who captures the hearts of the entire team — and Finni is certainly one we won’t forget. ❤️
Finni, a beautiful Great Dane x Wolfhound, arrived at our clinic as an after-hours emergency on a Sunday night. His owners had noticed him repeatedly trying to vomit without bringing anything up, and his abdomen had become very large and bloated. Having previously owned a dog who suffered a GDV, they knew these signs could mean something was seriously wrong and brought him straight in.
Finni managed to walk into the clinic, but shortly after arriving, he collapsed.
Our team immediately sprang into action. An abdominal X-ray confirmed what we feared — Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV), commonly known as bloat. Finni was critically unwell and in shock. His stomach was decompressed, IV access was established, fluids, pain relief and active warming were commenced, and our after-hours team began preparing him for emergency surgery. We called in some extra team members along with a local mobile surgeon who we are incredibly lucky to have access to in our area.
During surgery, we discovered that Finni’s stomach had completely twisted, cutting off its blood supply. His spleen had also become involved in the torsion and unfortunately could not be saved. Through the surgery his stomach was carefully returned to its normal position, his spleen was removed, and a gastropexy was performed to permanently secure his stomach to the abdominal wall and reduce the risk of another GDV occurring.
Thankfully, despite areas being significantly affected by the loss of blood supply, Finni’s stomach could be saved. ❤️
But his fight wasn’t over when surgery finished.
GDV places an enormous strain on the entire body, and the following days brought multiple complications for Finni, including abnormal heart rhythms and significant protein loss through his gut. By day three, he became extremely unwell and began showing concerning signs of systemic infection.
There were late nights, early mornings and plenty of extra trips into the clinic to give medications, perform checks and make sure our boy had everything he needed. Our vets and nurses monitored him closely around the clock, and somewhere along the way, Finni stopped feeling like just another hospital patient and became part of the family. 🥹
And through absolutely everything, he was the BEST boy.
On Tuesday, he got himself up.
On Wednesday, he went for his first little walk.
By Thursday, he managed a walk around the block.
And then on Friday afternoon came something we’d all been desperately waiting for…
Finni started eating. 🎉
After a full week in hospital, Finni was finally able to continue his recovery at home. He still had a long way to go, and getting enough food into him to help replace the protein he had lost became one of our biggest goals.
Luckily, his incredible family took that assignment VERY seriously. 😂❤️
With multiple family members checking on him every day and an apparently endless supply of Angus beef patties and just about anything else they could convince him to eat, Finni continued getting stronger.
Then came one of our favourite moments of this entire case.
When Finni returned for his recheck, the critically ill dog we had spent a week nursing walked back through our doors happy, bright and wagging his tail. 🥹
Cases like Finni’s are why we do what we do.
We are incredibly proud of our entire team, from the after-hours response and emergency surgery through to the intensive nursing care that followed. Finni required an enormous team effort, and everyone involved gave him so much care, time and love.
We also can’t say enough about Finni’s wonderful family. Recognising the signs early, seeking emergency veterinary care immediately and their dedication throughout his recovery all played an important part in giving this beautiful boy his chance to come home.
And of course, the biggest credit goes to Finni himself. What an absolute fighter. ❤️🐾
