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My BC died!! What happened????

charlestonchick
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charlestonchick Newbie

charlestonchick

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My one year old BC Pappy died last night and we are at a loss as to what happened, as well as heart-broken, of course. He was perfectly fine at 4:30, he had been out playing with my son, running around like a mad-dog as is his usual. Nothing whatsoever the matter with him. My husband & son put him in his kennel at 4:30, at 5:40 I went to get him out to take him for a walk and he was dead. I'm so, so sad & my son is devastated as well. He wasn't poisened, he wasn't acting sick or anything, he didn't vomit or have blood coming from his mouth/nose. He seemed perfectly fine. My DH checked his throat and his airway is clear. Does anyone have an idea what could have happened to him?? He had plenty of water & shade, it wasn't even very warm yesterday, 74 I think. I've read a little about epilepsy in BC, do you think this could be it? My DH is taking him to the vet this a.m. to see if thay can find the cause of death. Has anyone else experienced this? We got him on May 5 one year ago, and he was born in March of 2005. He wasn't with us very long but he was very loved.

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AK dog doc Newbie

AK dog doc

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I'm so sorry for your loss. It's maybe a bit harder, being so unexpected, and you have my sympathies.

 

As far as epilepsy, no, probably not; seizures are rarely fatal, even very severe ones, and the ones that DO result in fatality are ususally intense, prolonged seizures (like more than an hour - and I should point out that those ones usually result in death because we can't control them and we euthanise rather than letting it go on and on). You would have heard paddling or flailing in the crate, possibly also have heard vocalizations, and I'd expect that you'd see evidence of a seizure - the bedding diarranged, urine and/or feces in the crate, pooling saliva +/- foaming in the mouth +/- blood in the mouth from biting the tongue, etc, and his body would have been unusually warm from the extreme muscular activity. (I'm sorry if the descriptions are graphic - not trying to be indelicate, just to impart information.)

 

If it were me, I'd wait and see what the postmortem shows. I can't do much but speculate, but the most usual cause of an abrupt and unexpected death would be cardiac, in my experience. There are some cardiac and cardiovascular situations which can lead to sudden death in otherwise normal animals. Some (such as anyeurisms and certain cardiac abnormalities) will show no prior signs and will not show up on a routine pysical. (Some won't even show up on a postmortem, such as abrnormalities of cardiac neurology). You'd have to have done a special cardiac workup to detect them, and in a dog with no murmur and no apparent health disorders, no one would normally think to do a cardiac workup. There's no indication that one is needed.

 

At any rate, I'm very sorry to hear about this and I hope that the postmortem will give you some information. It won't stop your grief, but sometimes grieving is easier if you have some answers. I hope some are forthcoming.

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Beth G Newbie

Beth G

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You have my condolences. If you choose to have an autopsy done, please let us know what happened. You are in our thoughts.

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charlestonchick Newbie

charlestonchick

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Thanks so much for all of your kind words! Well, my initial call to the vet, the receptionist could only tell me that there was hemoraging in the intestines and asked if he could have gotten into anything. We checked all over & can't find anything that would have hurt him. I'm more confused than ever. What else besides poison would cause this?

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BustopherJones Newbie

BustopherJones

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I am so sorry for your loss. I hope the following poem may be of some comfort:

 

My little friend passed away, no more to breathe a sound.

I held him for the last time, then entombed him in the ground.

Day and night I wept so much, in tears I thought I'd drown.

I searched my soul for comfort, but no peace therein was found.

 

In great despair, I hit my knees and then began to pray.

"Father will I ever see, my dog again someday?"

I raised my eyes and saw an angel standing near a gate.

I sensed an inner peace I'd never felt before that day.

 

The angel smiled and said to me, "Oh ye of little faith!

God sees every bird that falls; He knows your puppy's fate.

I have met your little dog, I saw him pass my way.

Your precious dog is still alive; he just walked through this gate.

 

Paradise is lovelier than you can comprehend.

No pain or grief, no tears or fears, and life will have no end.

God gave to man His only Son, to cover all his sins.

So why would God withhold from you, your pure and loving friend??

 

The angel took me by the hand and said, "Now come with me.

A glimpse of paradise I'll give, to you so you can see."

Through the gate and o'er the Rainbow Bridge we did proceed.

Through green valleys filled with flowers, rolling hills and trees.

 

?Wow, so this is paradise!? The place was filled with joy.

I saw my puppy playing there, with dogs and cats and toys.

He also had some doggie treats, and food that he enjoyed.

He'd made a lot of new friends there, including girls and boys.

 

Then I saw a child come near, and hug my little mate.

She said to him, "I love you so," and kissed him on the face.

The angel said, "The child just crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.

Now she needs a little friend, to love and help her play.

 

God?s love for her would be enough, in that make no mistake.

But in His love, He knew full well, the child would want a mate.

This is why God called your dog unto this splendid place.

God?s entrusted her with him, ?til you pass through the gate."

 

I pleaded, ?May I hug them both?!? The angel answered, ?No!

You?d violate a sacred site, and now it?s time to go.?

He led me back across the Bridge and through the gate to home.

He left me there with new-found hope and peace within my soul.

 

If someone ever asks what happens to a dog that dies,

Just give a gentle smile of joy and look them in the eye.

Take their hand and comfort them and tell them not to cry.

For dogs don?t die, they simply cross a bridge to paradise.

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bc friend Newbie

bc friend

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Please accept my sympathies on your loss. My first thought was a cardiac problem but the comment from the vet's office doesn't seem to support that. I hope you can find out what the problem was - like with people there can be so many unusual conditions which seeem to appear out of nowhere.

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Beth G Newbie

Beth G

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Beautiful poem Bustopher! Reading it, made me cry. I had to have my old dog Reilly put down last May. I had her for almost 11 years.

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AK dog doc Newbie

AK dog doc

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Actually, you can have hemmorage as a consequence of an infarct (a clot which blocks all circulation). Blood clots can occur as a result of cardiac abnormalities. The infarct causes tissue death and as the vessels lose integrety blood starts leaking into the tissues. However, that's not by any means the only possibility. Toxins that lead to clotting disorders (D-con being by no means the only, but probably the most common one) can do it, as can spontaneously occuring clotting disroders. Certain infectious and inflammatory diseases can also lead to GI hemorage. Too many possibilities to speculate on til the rest of the post is done. I'll be curious to see what else (if anything) is found.

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Kyrasmom Newbie

Kyrasmom

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I'm so sorry for your loss. The sudden ones like yours are truly some of the hardest to get over and understand and I can only send you my most heartfelt condolences and a big hug to you and your family.

 

Internal hemmorage sends up a big rat bait type red flag...though it would seem a bit quick. Antoher thing to consider is mushrooms, some can be quickly fatal.

 

I do hope you can narrow down the cause...it really will help.

 

Big hug

Maria

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donna frankland (uk) Newbie

donna frankland (uk)

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my thoughts are with you honey.

last year about this time i lost my beloved molly dog. she had a very scary and strange thing happen to her, she collapsed and nearly died the vets worked round the clock to save her and she pulled through. 2 weeks later she had her stitches out and was allowed to start playing in the garden again, a week later i found her dead in her basket. the vets still to this day dont know exactly what happened, all they know is that is was her heart. the only reason she survived the first time is because it happened in front of me, the second time it didnt :rolleyes:

the theory is that it was some kind of congenital heart defect that could have gone at any time, if that is correct molly was a walking time bomb.

if you need a chat, please feel free to get in touch, and please know this- it does get easier, even if you dont get all the answers.

i hope your pain passes soon and you can remember you pappy with a smile instead of tears. xx

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