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Dog Died Suddenly with No Signs of Anything Particularly Wrong to Cause Death.
My family and I just lost our dog out of the blue around 6pm on August 22nd.
He was 8 years of age, approximately 80lbs, and showed no signs of being sick before he passed.
The night before he played like he always had and ate his dog food as usual. On the morning of his passing he was with me in my room most of the morning. He slept most of the time (which was normal for him) and I gave him crust from a sandwich I was eating. Before that my mother had put him outside before she went to work and he came in after a short time and ate some dog food then proceeded to my room. Around 1pm my father put him out and he urinated and came back in. My father saw him the whole time and he didn't do anything but his "business." My mother came home from work around 4pm. She cooked dinner approximately 30 minutes later and our dog was fine walking around the house observing everybody as he had always done. While my parents were eating in the living room around 5pm, my dog laid down on the floor as usual and went to sleep. This was a normal routine for him and nothing was out of the ordinary all day. After dinner around 5:30pm, I asked my mother to help me in my room.
We didn't notice anything wrong with our dog and stepped over him like we normally do when he's sleeping. There were no signs of death at the time.
We were in my room for 5 or 10 minutes. Mom left to go into the kitchen to get some water and noticed our dog was laying oddly with his back legs sprawled out like his front paws which was pretty unusual. My father looked at him and told my mother our dog was dead after noticing feces and vomit on the floor. My mother didn't believe it because our dog was absolutely fine all day and showed no symptoms/signs at any point. She thought my father was joking which was not a normal joke for him to say. He repeated our dog's passing after touching him. Our dog was still warm and felt life-like but he was limp with no breathing. My father believes it was a heart-attack.
The only thing we know was a week or less prior to his passing, our dog was having smelly gas which he's had many times before with no problems. He's had a benign tumor removed from between his toes on a front paw about a year or two years ago. The doctors told us we had nothing to worry about after that and our dog acted completely fine so we don't think that had anything to do with his passing. But the vomit was dark green with a long blade of grass in it but that's all we know.
It was so out of the blue and sudden that it's hit our family really hard because he wasn't just a family pet; he WAS family.
We just would like to know exactly what could of happened. Thank you.
He was 8 years of age, approximately 80lbs, and showed no signs of being sick before he passed.
The night before he played like he always had and ate his dog food as usual. On the morning of his passing he was with me in my room most of the morning. He slept most of the time (which was normal for him) and I gave him crust from a sandwich I was eating. Before that my mother had put him outside before she went to work and he came in after a short time and ate some dog food then proceeded to my room. Around 1pm my father put him out and he urinated and came back in. My father saw him the whole time and he didn't do anything but his "business." My mother came home from work around 4pm. She cooked dinner approximately 30 minutes later and our dog was fine walking around the house observing everybody as he had always done. While my parents were eating in the living room around 5pm, my dog laid down on the floor as usual and went to sleep. This was a normal routine for him and nothing was out of the ordinary all day. After dinner around 5:30pm, I asked my mother to help me in my room.
We didn't notice anything wrong with our dog and stepped over him like we normally do when he's sleeping. There were no signs of death at the time.
We were in my room for 5 or 10 minutes. Mom left to go into the kitchen to get some water and noticed our dog was laying oddly with his back legs sprawled out like his front paws which was pretty unusual. My father looked at him and told my mother our dog was dead after noticing feces and vomit on the floor. My mother didn't believe it because our dog was absolutely fine all day and showed no symptoms/signs at any point. She thought my father was joking which was not a normal joke for him to say. He repeated our dog's passing after touching him. Our dog was still warm and felt life-like but he was limp with no breathing. My father believes it was a heart-attack.
The only thing we know was a week or less prior to his passing, our dog was having smelly gas which he's had many times before with no problems. He's had a benign tumor removed from between his toes on a front paw about a year or two years ago. The doctors told us we had nothing to worry about after that and our dog acted completely fine so we don't think that had anything to do with his passing. But the vomit was dark green with a long blade of grass in it but that's all we know.
It was so out of the blue and sudden that it's hit our family really hard because he wasn't just a family pet; he WAS family.
We just would like to know exactly what could of happened. Thank you.
I am heartsick....just lost my 6 yr. old golden doodle yesterday. I cannot accept how she just dropped and died. She was healthy, active, played ball with my husband a few times a day. She was barking at the window looking at a dog that passed our way everyday. She barked a few times, dropped to the wood window sill and was gone......My husband and I can barely make it thru the day
I am so happy I found this support group! I, too was looking for answers. My 10 year old female Maltese was happy and playing. I took her to the groomer for just a haircut, as I had bathed her earlier at home. She was only there for an hour. She came home around 2 in the afternoon and at 8:00 she just collapsed! No warning signs, no prior history. She had been to the vet 2 weeks ago for her annual physical and everything looked really good according to the vet. We rushed her to the emergency vet , but she died . They theorize it might have been an underlying heart condition. She had an EKG less than a year ago before surgery to repair a broken leg.
I lost my dog Nibbles today at 4am. I got home around 2 and he came upstairs and saw me and my mom woke up and came and watched tv with me. He sat with us and was licking my face and being normal and then he got his ball and wanted to go outside as usual. He laid down by my moms feet and fell asleep. I kept telling her a story and I noticed that he began to urinate in his sleep and I have never seen him do that before so I tried to wake him up, but he didn't wake and he wasnt breathing. He tried to gasp for air one or two last times in my arms and he passed. He was 12 years old and my best friend. Last week when my dad was walking him he said that he fell over when he was walking but got right back up. I think he may have had an aneurysm. RIP my boy nibs
I hear you , I feel so guilty not being there when my girl passed , only gone couple of hours to find her on my bedroom floor on my return , the loss is leaving a terrible void ,I just can't believe my girl is gone although she was 11 I just assumed she had few good years left as she was so playful n seemed so healthy. I have come home from work twice to no beautiful greeting and can't imagine how long it takes to feel even slightly normal without my best friend. Condolences to you both. I just pray there is some kind of doggy heaven :-(
I too am lost , My darling lily (tenterfield terrier) died so suddenly yesterday on Mothers Day fine in the morning , came onto the bed for morning cuddle then treat , parked herself on a dog bed inside the house next to a sunny window (9 degrees) so warm in sun. I wen to visit my mother on my return not even two hours later she was lying on my bedroom floor unconscious two spasms then she was gone. It's such a heartbreaking thing it's a blessing that it seemed quick but sadly we can never accept it at the time , I can't even imagine life without our precious gentle happy little girl ... Vet said probably clot or heart failure but when they're so healthy in the morning then gone it's so hard to believe everything just feels so surreal . RIP our darling
To backwoodsrocker and all that have lost their family members. I am sorry for your loss and I join you in the rollercoaster that follows. We just lost Jack, our 7.5 year old cocker/retriever mix. We adopted him at the 1.5 year old mark. He was beautiful, intelligent, and the most loving dog I have ever met. He would lay on my cloths and warm them for me before I dressed in the morning. Always there, patient, gentle, and loving. He was ready to go for a run, play catch, or just cuddle anytime. Sometimes I would be working in the garage and he would just lay his head on his paws and watch me like a human, trying to learn what I was doing, for hours! I feel guilty for not playing with him more. He was so smart! He learned to drop the ball at the top of the driveway and let it roll down and catch it at the bottom. We didn't take him to the vet for the last few years, but always appeared healthy, and he ate Taste of the Wild dog food as long as we have had him.
Sunday morning my wife was playing with him in the yard and he and the cat were running around. Later on around 1 pm she left for work and said he seemed happy and normal. Then, around 830 pm I got home and found him on his side, just inside the door. He was barely warm and stiff already. The only sign was a pool of mostly clear fluid around his head and some blood in the middle. I have talked to two vet doctors that both said it sounds like heart failure, most likely from a blood clot. I guess the fluid drained out of his nose. They assured me it was sudden which brings some relief. I still feel guilty for not playing with him more, taking him in for checkups and for being gone while he was in his final moments. I feel for the rest of you and your family members that have passed on. He may have been a dog but on April 19th 2015 I lost my son.
Sunday morning my wife was playing with him in the yard and he and the cat were running around. Later on around 1 pm she left for work and said he seemed happy and normal. Then, around 830 pm I got home and found him on his side, just inside the door. He was barely warm and stiff already. The only sign was a pool of mostly clear fluid around his head and some blood in the middle. I have talked to two vet doctors that both said it sounds like heart failure, most likely from a blood clot. I guess the fluid drained out of his nose. They assured me it was sudden which brings some relief. I still feel guilty for not playing with him more, taking him in for checkups and for being gone while he was in his final moments. I feel for the rest of you and your family members that have passed on. He may have been a dog but on April 19th 2015 I lost my son.
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From your description of what happened, it does sound like it could have been either a cardiac or cerebral event, but the only way to tell for sure what it was would be to have your vet perform a necropsy (autopsy). Many people don't want to put their pet through this, after all it won't bring them back and it does cost money to have done. If you feel it would give you closure, however, contact your vet and arrange to have it done.
Again, my most sincere sympathies to you on your loss.
Ghilly