Aa
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.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I am very sorry about what happened with your girl. My Misty passed away from Hemangiosarcoma too. In her case we did get some warning. But it is true that sometimes Hemangiosarcoma can take them very suddenly indeed, and can often be the cause of many inexplicable deaths.
With this cancer they sometimes show no signs of being ill before total collapse.
With this cancer they sometimes show no signs of being ill before total collapse.
Dear backwoods rocker, I am so very sorry for your loss. We lost our precious girl suddenly in 3/2014. I immediately called the vet as I was afraid she had been poisoned as she died in the backyard. The vet thought a sudden death in our 8 year old might be hemangiosarcoma of the spleen or heart. Necroscopy found it was exactly that in her heart. This was a cancer of the blood vessels, and nothing could have been done. Sudden loss is so very hard. (((HUGS)))
Dear backwoods rocker, I am so very sorry for your loss. We lost our precious girl suddenly in 3/2014. I immediately called the vet as I was afraid she had been poisoned as she died in the backyard. The vet thought a sudden death in our 8 year old might be hemangiosarcoma of the spleen or heart. Necroscopy found it was exactly that in her heart. This was a cancer of the blood vessels, and nothing could have been done. Sudden loss is so very hard. (((HUGS)))
This must be a common occurrence and common for people to look up the sudden death of their dog from feelings of guilt like me. Our Border Collie Maddie died suddenly today at exactly 4pm Central time. She was eating, drinking water and enjoying treats like always. She had laid down below our TV as usual to take her after dinner nap. My husband was 4 feet away from her and I was cooking when I heard a weird whimper like she does when she is dreaming heavy. Except this whiney whistling whimper sounded different and high pitched than the dreaming type. I ran into the den to see what was happening and my husband asked me if the dog was dying!!! I yelled her name loudly over and over, Maddie! Maddie! and she never lifted her head made another sound. She took two gasping death breaths and was gone. She never acted sick other than licking a lot for the last 4 days like she had maybe a urinary infection. I checked to see why she was licking so much and noticed that she was doing it due to urine leakage so we were heading to the vet on Monday. We have had her for 10 years and we are not sure if she was 3 or 7 when we rescued her from a kill shelter in 2005 so she was old and was diagnosed with heartworms when we got her. Even though she was getting old it is none less shocking and heartbreaking when your dog suddenly dies like this when they are otherwise acting "normal". We had to put her in the deep freezer until we can get to the animal crematory on Monday. She dies 2 hours after they closed today. We live in the Texas Hill Country and cannot dig a hole to bury her in. We have limestone rock in every spot we tried to start digging. It has been a really bad day, my lovely cousin Donna also died this morning, we were dealing with those feelings and then our dog died. A very, very odd day. Maybe my cousin needed a pup in heaven!
This sudden death is all so horrible for us humans. At least our beloved pets didn't suffer much. My fiance' and I just lost our 8 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback pup this past Monday evening, and we are devastated. Her death was like a lightning strike out of the blue. She was a beautiful, happy and apparently healthy pup. Before we knew what was happening, she was gone. The vet suggested undiagnosed heart failure, but her puppy check ups had all passed fine. He said the necropsy would cost us "almost as much as the pup purchase price", which was $1800 in our case, so we declined. It wouldn't bring our Bella back, and we can't go further in debt for something like this. My fiance' and I almost feel the little girl had a stroke or aneurysm since she went almost instantly and her heart had checked good. While this is not supposed to happen, it does... take nothing for granted, and take lots of pictures!
My scottish terrier, who was 7 years old, 8 months, 2 weeks, died suddently 12/29/14. He was not ill, showed no signs of injury, no vomit, no bowel movement...he was found lying still on the grass in our backyard. He was let out of the house to get some sun and to continue his barking at the UPS man who was ringing our doorbell. Our daughter found him lying there with his eyes opened and mouth partially open. We just don't know what could have happened. He goes to the vet, takes his monthly meds for ticks/fleas, eats regularly. He was a great dog; had him as a puppy...very smart, energetic, special to us. He is sorely missed! I haven't been able to eat for 3 days now. Today we had a UPS delivery and no barking; it hurts a lot but I know he is at a much better place. I'm trying to focus on being thankful for the good times we had together and the time we had. He did not suffer but went peacefully; his time was up. :(
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Dogs Community
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
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