My Bulldog died suddenly. Was fine and then within a minute, dead.

[adam2101]

Of course, a million things run through your mind when something like this happens.  For me, it helps to understand what may have happened.  I hope someone has the answers but, understand that they can only be speculation.  

My 6 year old Bulldog Francis, was in excellent condition.  I've always feared him growing over weight as bulldogs often do so, kept him on a very healthy diet.  He has always been in the best health.  He was not subjected to any trauma that I'm aware of.  

After a night of sleeping he was laying on the floor near the couch doing more of what bulldogs do, sleeping, when he got up took a few steps lost his balance and fell.  He appeared to still be groggy from waking up.  He then peed on the floor (which he never did).  This was certainly a loss of function.  My girlfriend then ran to see that he was having some labored breething and fading fast.  She held him did a few finger sweeps thinking maybe he had something lodged in his throat.  His tongue turn VERY PALE and WHITE.  He kept looking at her like he was scared and kept fading out then would come to for a second then fade out again.  He then defficated and took his last breath, or vice versa.  

Of course my girlfriend did everything she could think of at that point including CPR and RB.  His tongue then turned very blue.  The tongue streched far out hanging to the floor was the only indication (or biggest noticeable indication) that he was no longer with us.

I know bulldogs often die young but, he really was in great shape and well taken care of.  He gave no prior signs of anything wrong.  Very sudden and unexpected.

Current theories:  Heart Attack (didn't seem in pain)-----  Aneurysm (could this account for the white tounge?)-----  Pulmonary Embolism ( mayabe why he stood up and quickly lost his balance in a dizzy-like fashion)

Could any of these be correct and why?  Is there another theory that fits better?

Please Help me find the answers.  Thank you so very much!

[LF3241]

I just lost Gwen, my 11 year old English Bulldog...the love of my life..in the same way. She was acting normal all morning...went out- pottied, and came in, ate a little...she then slept for a bit until we were scheduled to go for a routine vet well visit. We walked out to the car, slowly...but that was normal- I lifted her to get her in the truck and within seconds she collapsed, soiled herself, looked at me with her beautiful brown eyes, took 3 agonal breaths and died in my arms. It was seconds. Come from nowhere. She was incredibly healthy leading up to this...her bloodwork was picture perfect and she was energetic and silly.
I was beating myself up- thinking it was something that I did. Was it the mosquito spray my neighbor used?(It wasnt)  Was it something in the water? (it wasnt)  Was it tooo hot? (66 degrees and breezy).
You guys are helping me alot. I cant believe that she is gone. But at least it was quick and painless and on her terms. These Bullys will break your heart...

[Missums]

I found this page on a google search as I too just lost my English bulldog Opie very suddenly at the age of 9. It’s been 5 days. I can see the thread started a few years back and reading these stories did help so I thought I would share mine. The morning of, he was fine. Ate breakfast, we let him out to do his business. We had went out to breakfast and came back and noticed Opie did not greet us like he usually did. I noticed his belly seemed swollen as he was lying on his side. He got up and walked over to my husband for snuggles. He loved on him for a minute and Opie laid down. I then noticed not a minute later that he started panting really hard and his tongue was sticking way out. I checked his gums and they were white. His belly was very swollen at this point and hardened. I jumped in the car and drove him to the ER which was all but 5 minutes from my house. They took him right away. Because of covid we couldn’t go inside so the vet called me and said he was stable. I thought it was bloat but the vet didn’t seem to think so. He was stable at that point and did an ultrasound and found no fluid in his belly so they did bloodwork and said they would call with results. Not even 20 minutes later they called and said he stopped breathing and started CPR. They worked on him for about 10 minutes with no response and asked if i wanted to continue even though they said at this point he was most likely brain dead. I agreed and they called another 10 minutes after that and said he’s not responding at which I told them to stop CPR. He was gone. My heart is shattered. Much like everyone else, he was fine one minute and the next he was gone. Seems to be common with this breed. Hoping my story can help someone else. i miss my Opie with every thread of my soul. It’s so unfair. I picked up his ashes 2 days ago so he is home with me now. He leaves behind his 13 year old bulldog brother Winston. Everyone is heartbroken.

[charm_grace1]

I had just lost my english bulldog, Teddy, yesterday. He had just turned 5 this month. My friend and I took him on a walk on a sunny but windy and cold day. Whenever he walks he usually gets worked up but quickly recovers once he had time to rest. Yesterday, my friend and I was walking with him slowly and not even far from my apartment. We had only been walking for a less that a quarter of a mile. I realized that he was getting tired so we turned back to my apartment. We took all the time my dog needs to walk. We never rushed him and we let him rest whenever he wanted. I bathe him in an ice cold water so he can cool off but as time goes by his breathing becomes more and more compromised. He wasn’t able to recover as he normally would. I noticed that his tongue was turning purple so we rushed him to the ER. He passed in my car on the way to the vet but I had my friend do CPR on him until we got to the ER. When we arrived the Vet started CPR as well and hooked him up with some IV and intubated him. They were never able to bring him back. He was already gone by the time he passed in my car. I feel guilty that I shouldn’t have let him walk that far. But I’m also questioning how did this happen when he always gets worked up like that but quickly bounces back. He was in good health. I fed him good dog food with occasional bones from human food. The only issue that he had was his chronic itchy skin.  

[Miloismusic89_]

I just lost my bulldog a week and go he was fine and happy one day then the next day he was acting drunk like he couldn't walk then he fell down so we took him to the er and the said he had vestibular disease so we took him home with some meds and he was still acting the same and then he fell and let out a big yelp so we rush him to the er and had 2 seizures there so we had to put him down he died right in my face i'm so traumatized he was gonna be 6 aug 5. i guess this is normal in bull dogs but its sucks!! Sorry about your loss

[jcrance1]

Our bulldog was 8 years old when he passed. It started with his back legs just suddenly stopped working.  He was tired and despondent.  He was healthy and always happy.  He died in my lap. His stool at his passing was tar black which indicated liver failure. We still aren't sure what started all of that.

[danimath]

We lost our eight year old Otis to hemangiosarcoma.  Very common in bulldogs.  But he succumbed to a heart attack.

[mcenz]

We lost our Charley girl a few days ago. She was only 6 years old almost to the day. I came home from work and found she had passed.  It was and still is so shocking as she seemed healthy and happy. I am thankful to hear the stories of others here. I thought maybe we missed something and could have prevented it somehow?

[JessieFarrell]

my condolences
rest in peace