Saturday, June 23, 2012

One Reason Young Dogs Die Suddenly

Dear Readers,

Many of you are writing and asking about my dog Jake who died recently.

I didn't write a single article about losing Jake, instead I wrote about losing him in a RANDOM SHOTS blog. Like a few other things that I've wrote on here, it was more for me than for you my readers.

I can't tell you how much losing him meant to me. I was in absolute shock for days, and honestly I really think I still may be in a sort of state of disbelief that it actually took place.

Maybe it was because it was too simple, too sudden, too easy, too oh well Jake's dead. I can't tell you how much it means to me that my readers are writing and asking why, what happened, and what have I found out?

Like you, I can really only guess. My wife and I don't have a lot of money. We live on my retirement. Contrary to what some might think, this blog does not bring in a dime yet. I run advertisements for things that I like or admire, like say the Wounded Warriors Program or the different Cattle Breeds or the American Quarter Horse Association, but they are not paying a dime for those ads. It's just my choice to put them on here for free.

Bottom line, we don't have a lot of money to be spending on things we simply can't afford -- a trait that I would wish our state and federal government officials would learn -- so subsequently, I didn't want to spend money on a Vet to come out here on a ranch visit or take Jake in for an autopsy called a necropsy to find out why he died.

It is about the worst thing that can happen to any dog owner. And honestly, I would not wish it on anyone!

When I came home and was told that Jake was dead, especially when he was source an athlete, completely healthy dog, is something I never thought would happen.

After seeing him, I immediately went out to start digging him a grave. The whole time, I was in complete shock. And yes, I have seen men die and not shed a tear - but I cried like a baby that day.

What could have done it? A heart attack? A stroke? He was so young, only a little over 4 years old, how could this happen?

Since then, like I said before, I've gotten a lot of e-mail from you my readers suggesting all sorts of things from choking to snake bites to just exhaustion, and more.

Since then, I've talked to many people about it. I've asked a number of folks who I know know animals - and they can only wonder as much as I do. And yes, I've talked to my Vet about it.

Some of you have sent me articles on dogs dying suddenly, and all I can only say is thank you for your concern. Your concern has meant a lot to me.

I did get a few articles relating to "stomach torsion" that comes about from "bloat". This wasn't the first time that I heard of torsion in dogs. Years ago, an old friend who was a professional dog trainer told me about torsion. I didn't really understand it. I really didn't know how bad it could be.


Since Jake's death, I've read a lot about it lately. Come to find out, this is a serious issue in the dog world. So serious that its the second leading cause of death for large dogs. And yes, Jake was a large dog at over 70 pounds.

In one article send to me, it talked about torsion as a result of "bloat" being basically a condition where a lot of gas or fluid gets trapped in the dogs stomach. This really isn't all that different from what might happen to you and I when we drank too much on a full stomach.

But in dogs, especially large dogs in particular, this is a serious problem. The reason is that their stomach isn't as well set in the body cavity as ours is. Up until reading that article, I really didn't know that a dogs stomach is kind of just hanging loose - and when it becomes over-engorged with fluid or gas -  it can twist around.

It's called torsion

For you horse type folks who are reading this right now, yes, this is very similar to the kind of torsion that takes place in severe cases of colic when various parts of the horse's gastrointestinal tract twist. And as you already know, when colic goes from a slight case of colic to the twisting of either the horse's small intestine or part of the colon - then the result is blockage of the blood supply. That means that it is a painful condition causing rapid deterioration and requiring emergency surgery if you can afford it. Either way, it is a real medical emergency.

When torsion occurs in dogs, like in horses, the result is a medical emergency. The blood supply to many vital organs gets cut off when this happens, and the dog goes into shock.

Death will result if surgery is not performed. A symptom that this is happening is that the dog will be throwing up clear liquid or attempting to throw up. Next to Jake, there was evidence that he had thrown up just before dying.

According to the article sent to me, "one tragic aspect of this condition is that onset can happen rapidly, and so you may become aware of it when its too late."

Since becoming educated on this issue could mean the difference between death and several extra years of life for your dog, and since we can't be with our dogs 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there are a few things that we can do to reduce the risk of it happening?  .

It appears that almost everything we have to do to help our dogs has to do with how we feed our dogs. Here are a few things we can do:

•Break up your dogs feedings. The less food a dog takes in when it eats the lower the risk. A dog that eats just once a day has a higher risk than a dog that has its meals split into two or three portions a day.

•Watch out for dry food. Dogs that eat all dry food have a higher risk. Consider feeding canned food, or mixing dry and canned together. When you do this substitute a can of moist dog food for a cup of dry food. This helps because dry food tends to expand when liquefied in the stomach adding stress to the stomach.

Many years ago, that friend who was a professional dog trainer and had her own kennel. She used to feed all of the dogs in her care wet food. She would fill their feed pans with dry food and add water. She would then allow the dry food to soak up the water before feeding them.

•Feed using raised bowls. There is a bit of controversy about this one, but feeding using raised bowls may help reduce the risk. This is because some dogs gulp down air when they eat, and its believed by some that bowls raised off the floor cut down on the amount of air gulped in. This in turn cuts the risk of bloat happening. Raised pet bowls are available for sale on the Internet.

In Jake's case, my wife had him set up with raised bowls but he was a slow eater.

•Watch out for diarrhea. If a dog has chronic diarrhea, it may increase the risk. Make sure to get diarrhea treated.

•Never exercise right after feeding. Let the dogs stomach "settle" for an hour or two before going out for exercise.

•Avoid feeding immediately after exercise. After a long walk, a dog probably wants to drink lots of water. Doing that and then eating can be a fatal recipe.

I don't know if this is why Jake died. I can only wonder. But before he died, I had no idea what a serious problem torsion is in dogs, especially big dogs.

I was shocked to learn that this more often happens to dogs in their prime. And yes, Jake was in his prime. He was only a little over 4 years old.

Although dogs of any age can get it, I found out that most victims of torsion are aged between 4 and 7 years of age. I also found out that males have a higher risk than female dogs do.

All in all, again I want to say that I don't know why my boy Jake died. It could have been an aneurysm. I know that dog have aneurysms, just like people do. And yes, It could have been a stroke, or it could have been a heart attack. I do know he wasn't snake bit - because I've seen snake bit dogs before and he had no sign of being bit.

Last year, I lost my horse Murphy when he twisted his guts because he had coliced. I don't know if I lost my dog for the same reason. And yes, like you, I know real well that we can't prevent every bad event from happening to our animals - but after reading a little, I really believe that we can at least take a few small responsible steps to help them beat the risk of torsion.

Besides, I really believe that most of the readers of this blog are good folks who like me will feel a little better knowing that we did the right thing to our animals.

And by the way, thanks again for the emails.

Tom Correa

42 comments:

  1. Sorry for your loss and thanks for sharing your story and information

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  2. Thanks for sharing your story! I just lost my 5yr old Black Lab unexpectadly 3wks ago. I know how you feel, I am devastated. My baby died while I was holding her in my arms. I have also done alot of reasearch and am pretty certain my dog died from a cardiac condition. She acted strange an hr before her passing but other than that she was a very healthy active dog. It is so hard loosing a pet. I felt like someone ripped a piece of my heart out that day. I hope yourselves are able to give another dog a great home like you did your dear Jake. God Bless you!

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  3. I just lost my dog about an hour ago and have been trying to figure out why. I think he was about 7 years old and I rescued him almost 5 years ago. It really hurts not knowing why or what happened to him. Thank you for sharing. There are a lot of animal lovers out there. Its going to be a rough day... take care - joe

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  4. My dog, an 8 year old retriever passed away suddenly yesterday. She has never been ill or had any problems, she was a pedegree dog and all was normal the day before, in the evening she ate her food and went into the garden, I left her to sleep at 10pm and my son got.in at 1am and saw her sleeping but looked up at him as ever to see if he had anything for her to eat. The next morning at 6.30 I went into the kitchen to find poo, wee and sick on the floor and she was laying on the back doormat in a sleeping position, but she wasn't asleep she had passed away. Me and my sons are absolutely shocked this has happened, she was one of the family and was such a good girl always willing to please and very obedient and wouldn't harm a fly! I've read loads on the internet and it all seems to point to a heart attack. I know all about that as I Sat by my dads bedside at 18 whilst he had a sudden fatal heart attack. Life is cruel at times and takes from us the ones we love. Me and my sons have made the decision to have our dog cremated with her favourite toy and her ashes put in an urn, we are lucky in the UK as by reading blogs from the USA it looks very expensive to do there ...that's if you can call it lucky... Thank you for reading this blog written through tears, gone but not forgotten x x

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  5. I lost my cute lovely shihtzu two days ago. I came home from working but she didn't greet me as usual. I believed something bad had happened. I found her lying dead on the floor in her usual sleeping position. I still can't accept that she's gone. I still remember how happy she was when I hugged her before I left in the morning. I can't hold my tears back everytime she came across to my mind. She had been a part of my life.
    Thanks for sharing your story.

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  6. I lost my boxer pup Lola this morning. She was throwing up last night and my husband found her this morning. Our hearts are completely broken. She was healthy, playful.Just the sweetest dog anyone could ask for. It just seems so unfair.

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  7. Thank you for sharing your story. So sorry for your loss . I lost my 9 1/2 Pomeranian to sudden death. She was found in her usual sleeping position as well. I am devastated . She was my world. Life is unfair.

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  8. Im so sorry to hear about everyones loss. We just lost Layla our 3 yr old female Lab. She passed two and a half hours ago.

    Like most I found this site trying to find answers. It happen so fast. She was completely normal last night, very playful and full of life. She slept in our room last night and at 5 am she woke up then threw up. I woke up when I heard her and walked with her to get her some water. She then laid down and about an hour later she started to whimper so I went to check on her. The wife and I decided to take her to the emergency Vet. I got dressed and called the Vet. When I went to pick her up she was breathing, she stopped breathing on the way to the truck. I attempted CPR for a couple minutes with no luck.

    Its tough to lose a family member so suddenly and when theyre so young. I cant stop playing the scenario in my head trying to figure out if I would of done something different she would still be here.

    I think that the bloat thing might of been her cause of death, the vet tech guessed that also. We are going to cremate her to keep her with us.

    The best of luck to you all and let us not forget our wonderful furry family members that have gone to a better place. Let us remember the good times and be thankful to have shared those moments with them.

    God bless.

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  9. I wanted to update my above post to not only shed some light but also help others with our findings.

    We decided to get a necropsy done on Layla. The Doctor's findings came out to be Hemangiosarcoma cancer. Layla had it in the inside of her skin also on every major organ.

    This is a scary agressive type of cancer in dogs which normally is not found until after death. We had her comprehensive exam done this prior tuesday and all her blood work and red blood cells were normal. This cancer can lay in dorment and when the tumor ruptures can cause fatal internal bleeding.

    Layla bled internally into her lungs which is why she passed so quickly. I hope to be able to send her organs and blood sample to a labratory that studies Hemangiosarcoma cancer to try and find a cure.

    This is the first I have heard of this tyoe of cancer in dogs. Please if you have time read on this type of cancer and share. We can all do our part in providing knowledge to others and hopefully save lives by knowledge.

    Thank you for taking the time to read this and I wish everyone the best.

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  10. I just lost my dog Toby last night. Have no idea what happened to him, he was a big healthy dog. Only 4 years old

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  11. We lost our blue heeler, Ash, yesterday. She was 7 yrs old. It was sudden and unexpected. We are about to pick up her ashes. It's still surreal. She was energetic and happy yesterday morning and then we gave her a raw hide that she was excited about. She then threw it up and pooped on the tile. She threw up one more time maybe an hour later. About 2 hrs later when she seemed to be done vomiting, we left for a few hours and put her with her bed in her normal spot. When we returned she had passed. There was no blood, vomit or any for of liquid around her. She had those same rawhides for years. We just don't understand what happened. She has eaten dry food all her life. So has our mini schnauzer. This post has given us some insight however and we will be watching what we feed our mini closely. She was just so young, gentle, and loving. Gone too soon.

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  12. I appreciate everyone's posting here. 2 days ago we lost the love of our life at age 9 (9 to 10 yo as he was a rescue and we are guessing). We had him for 8 years and were blessed to have that time with him. We are struggling with the death so much as similar to others above, he was perfectly healthy and even had recent blood work showing everything normal. He woke up at 4:30 a.m. and vomited after which we picked it up, brought a bowl of water into the bedroom so he could drink and then he was 'mopey' all morning. 12:30 pm I found him dead on the floor in an area that he loved to lay in. I work from home and didn't hear a thing -- not a whimper or cry. I was shocked. We are trying to determine if a necropsy will help ease our minds or if we let his body rest and make an assumption it was heart, aneurism, or something of the sort. He always ate premium food/treats and was well taken care of. He was a German Shepard/Pit mix and was the light of our lives. We all want more time.... and we all want answers..... I am struggling in my grief to know if the answers will ease my mind. I do appreciate the post above about the necropsy results. Makes me think that having an answer may help the grieving process.

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  13. My dog is a heathy male and he 7 years old , he just suddenly passed away today . My family is so sad, specially my kids ..... Rest in peace Lucky !!!! We miss you a lot .!!!

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  14. We lost our dachshund Honey a couple of hours ago. She was six years old, and seemingly very healthy. SHE vomited twice around four o'clock then just wanted to sleep. MY son got up at midnight to go to the bathroom, and found her in her normal spot dead. We haven't stopped crying, it's do hard to understand how this could happen.

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  15. I lost my 4 year old dog last Thursday, while he was at Doggie Daycare. The owner told me that he had been running around and then came to sit beside her. He did not sit though; he emptied his bowels and bladder, and DIED. Just five minutes before I left work to pick up my dog, I get the call that my dog had passed. I thought that it was a sick joke, but she insisted that he was dead. Ten minutes later, I arrive at the center to find that my dog was still warm, and not breathing. His eyes were partially open, and I could not shut his eyelids. So tragic and sudden. The shock is numbing. What the hell happened?

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  16. My bullmastiff passed away yesterday morning walking home from running and playing at a field in our neighborhood. He was only 6 years old and beautiful grey mastiff. He was in great shape all muscle. I just can't believe it he was beautiful and such a great family dog. He slowed down on his walk just before we got home and lost his balance, then fell he was a 120lbs, so crashed hard on his side and looked at me and my pug i reached out to hold him and his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he was gone. it seemed like 5 seconds our beautiful healthy Mastiff was gone. Heart attack/anuerysm/blot clot not sure, but we are devastated. I'm sorry this has happened to y'all as well. i guess i will have to move on, but right now it sure hurts!!!

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  17. We lost our beautiful golden lab on remembrance day 2014 only 2 and a half years old had walk in the morning along with chc lab and cocker spaniel, had breakfast said goodbye after they were all given their treat as I went off to work. I came home 4 hours later the other two where happy to see me and I thought she was still asleep or had,nt heard come in as she was always the first to greet with a toy but she was on her bed and had passed away,there was no mess anywhere tried to give her mouth to mouth but she had gone the other two was not distressed which made us both thik she fell asleep, we brought her ashes home to be with us, has totally devasted us, her loss is on the same level as when my dad suddenly died I don't think I will ever get how suddenly she went we all miss her so much she was such a beautifully girl and we love her very,uh it's so hard even now.

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  18. We just lost our 1 year old Lab Pit mix Coco.. My husband is in Florida and I am in Rochester, yesterday morning, my husband said Coco you want to go home! Lets get in the car! He pranced around the front yard and half yelped and was GONE! We are devastated! My husband took him to the emergency vet with in 5 minutes of him going down.. They worked on him for 40 minutes! Now , my husband is in Florida and I am in Rochester and we both feel so alone. He couldn't get in the car yesterday to come home.. we lost our baby..

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    Replies
    1. We lost our dog Romy 10 days back. She was big , beautiful and gentle . Her sudden demise left us shocked, confused and wondering . She just passed away after coming back from a walk. There was no vomiting, no diarrhea - she lay down ,gave a soft whimper and was gone. I have been scouring the net to find out what could have happened! Reading all these sad posts has helped in bringing some sort of closure. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

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  19. We lost our 10 year old little Shitzu mix this morning. Like so many of the other posters our little guy Rico was prancing around when we got up and at around 7:20 he collapsed between our chairs. He vomited clear vomit and emptied his bladder. Within the hour he was up and walking around but obviously distressed. We live in a rural area and our vet wasn't open yet so I kept calling until I reached them. By then Rico had been walking around, gone outside, moved to his favorite spot but was still looking bad. I took him right in and he died within a few minutes. The vet was starting an IV and oxygen but halted everything to start cpr. The vet extracted fluid from Rico's tummy and it was filled with blood. A tumor had burst and the toxins had killed him. Our little guy had not displayed any signs that there was anything wrong. He was a happy go lucky guy and loved everyone. I still can't even believe that he's gone. There was no warning, no signs, no time to seek help. I'm so sorry for all your lost loved ones.

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  20. We lost our 9 year old lab- our darling all of a sudden... Don't know what happened to him ..He was fine in the morning when we left home . He ate his food and was very happy.. in the evening when we came back , he refused to have his dinner .. we took him out for walk . He was lazy but was allright... Then he went to sleep around 11.30pm without eating anything. We tried giving him food but he denied.. He was ok till 1pm when my dad asked him to go to his bed and sleep.. He went to his bed at 1 and after an hour when my dad woke up he was no more... God knows what went wrong .. why this happened... He was all ok... We buried him n are very sad... Why it happened ... What went wrong ... Really very sad and upset to loose Harry... Will miss you darling...

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  21. My 1 year old chihuahua passed away this past tuesday 1/19. That morning he got up as usual and I took him and my Pomeranian outside to potty. We then got in the car and drove to my job as usual. He followed me around the office as always and then drank some water. He was a bit hyper that morning. My mother came into the office and she was surpised at how giddy he was as well. He let me know that he had to potty again so I took him outside. Surpised that he went so fast as he usually takes forever to move his bowels as he always has the need to explore first. We went back in and I took off his leash.. Intold him to go to the back and lay in his bed and he took off running fast around the corner. About l-2 minutss later we walked around the corner and he was laid out on his side. Because he was in such a goofy silly mood we thought that he was playing but when I got close to him, his eyes were open and tongue was hanging out and purple. By the time I rushed him to the vet he was gone. I believe he had already died before I even got to him. He literally died in 1 minute! Just gone. He was not sick but full of energy the minute before he passed. So devastated.. I loved that little guy so much!

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  22. My dog,nine years healthy spits very energetic, showed no sign of illness.
    I came back from the market, unleashed him, locked my hand, half an hour later I saw lying doen, not responding to my calls which he usually did instantly. He ate some biscuits one hour earlier.
    My wife and I were devastated as he was royal and good company to us.
    It had been a few days and I still could accept looking him so sudden

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  23. I too, just lost my dog today. Just a couple months from her 4th birthday. Minnie had no signs of not feeling well. She was her normal self when I let her outside to go play and run and it wasn't 2 hours later that my 7 year old looked out the window and said daddy, I think Minnie is dead. Of course, I thought she must've been sleeping since it was a beautiful cool day and she didn't show any signs or symptoms of being sick in any way. Her appetite was normal. As a matter of fact she ate before she went out. It wasn't until we stepped out the door and my son yelled, "Minnie" that I knew it was bad news because normally should would jump up and run to us immediately. The closer I got to her, I realized I didn't see any movement of her rib cage. When we got up to her I saw her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth with her jaw slightly opened and eyes wide open. I immediately thought someone must have poisoned her so I made a phone call to the vet to get an autopsy but it didn't show any conclusive evidence. He said she had a firm, dense liver and discolored small intestine. He said that may be from a toxin but it could also be from the way she was laying on the ground when she passed. He mentioned sending samples of the tissues to the state lab to see if they can determine the cause of death and I agreed to do it. I'm the last person you ever would've thought would spend money on something like this but I honestly want to find out why she died. I pray that she went peacefully and didn't suffer but I don't know that for sure so I have to find out if she had been poisoned to ease my mind of losing such a young dog. She's a german shepherd and had beautiful markings. When we first got her a few years ago, the vet said she had a heart murmur so I asked if that could've been the cause of death and he didn't think so. He said if that were the case, I'd expect the liver to be soft and squishy. I looked in her mouth to see if she had choked on anything and it didn't appear as though she did. Her mouth and tongue were completely clean too. I'm very sad and looking for answers online and I came across this blog. I'm sorry for you loss. I'm very lost tonight without Minnie. I keep walking to the door to let her in but she's not there. She was such a good dog. I hope and pray she went peacefully. So sad.

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  24. As i type this i have tears in my eyes.
    I have just lost my silly little lad yesterday,7 year old Joe,a beautiful gentle Rottweiler who was like my shadow,he slept on my bed and was my best friend,my heart is breaking and "i am a big strong man" He was big and healthy and hes gone and i dont know what to do,i can smell him everywhere and keep expecting to hear his nails tapping on the floor,i knew it would be hard,but not like this.
    Ive lost my silly little lad Joe,hes left me and its hurting so bad right now,im crying just writing this,I dont know what happened and am trying to make sense of it?Now i wonder if the pain of losing your dog is too much to bare,just typing his name is breaking me up,loved him so much.
    Thank you to Tom Correa and all my fellow dog lovers here,we all know how precious they are.
    I called him many silly nicknames Snips,Popsy,Joseph,Snaps,and he would stand or sit under my legs anywhere..Right now its so bad without him on my bed,i have to leave it now its hurting so much writing,thank all of us for sharing our beautiful dogs lives and memories,my heart is breaking for my mate,man its hurting so much

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  25. Thank you for sharing this knowledge. Hemangiosarcoma in dogs is a prevalent type of cancer, which affects them more than any other species. The dog breeds which are more prone to develop tumors from this category are: Boxers, English Setters, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Great Danes, and Pointers. See more http://dogsaholic.com/care/hemangiosarcoma-in-dogs.html

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  26. Thanks so much for sharing this. Our sweet puppy passed away last night and similar to Jake, he was a strong healthy dog in our eyes. We are still in disbelief and are just trying to figure out what went wrong. He ate his food last night but this morning we found he had thrown it up. It's so crazy to think that we were playing with him yesterday and today he's gone. He was such a little baby and would never leave our side. <3

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  27. thanks all - i lost my golden doodle Augie yesterday - same thing as so many others on here, ate dinner at 5pm, threw up at 7pm gone by morning at the vet. - he was 10 and still full of life. i dont really care why - i just miss him

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  28. I lost my beautiful golden on 7/25/16. He was shy of 7years old. Healthy, normal, eating and playing. He got really tired the night before. Didn't want to get up. Lost some control over his bowels by squatting suddenly outside before walking. Then he went to bed and took his treat. 0610 the next morning. Didn't get up. Looked at me once and one breath came out. Just died. He did not come a repritable breeder. From reaserch I can only determine it was an aneurysm, tumor rupture on his spleen or subaortic stenosis. It's been so sad because it was so sudden. Reading everyone's post shows me this is all to common. Absolute nightmare. Next time, I will do my homework on where I buy my dogs. That's all I have learned from this.

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  29. Lost my beautiful, sweet, 9 1/2 year old black lab Thursday evening, 9/15/16. I came home from work and she didn't get up from the porch to greet me like she usually did. Her arthritis had been bothering her, so no worries. As I got closer, she looked "sheepish" so I sat down next to her and she was very timid. I noticed her stomach was bloated and she was contracting it about every 5 seconds. I could not get her up. Finally she got up on her own - went to the yard, vomited, (no blood) walked into the woods, stood and looked up, made a couple of turns in the grass and laid down. I could not make her get up. I finally told her we were going swimming and she got up and I got her into the house, then into the car and off to the emergency vet. I was told she had hemangiosarcoma, a type of cancer, and that a tumor on her spleen had burst and she was bleeding internally. If she made it through surgery, (very unlikely), the cancer had probably spread throughout her body. She was struggling so I made the very painful decision to euthanize her. This is a horrible, very deadly disease that rears it's ugly head very suddenly. Google it. It was a real shock to me and I don't know if I will ever get over this. She was the best dog and I miss her so much. I just hope she knows I loved her so much and that I did the best I could.

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  30. At 7:00 am on the morning of October 6, 2016 I discovered my beloved dog, Gracie, unconscious in her crate. After a call to the vet and a struggle to get her to and into the car we arrived at the vet's office which seemed to take forever. It was only a very short time until I was told that she was gone. Somehow I knew that would be the answer. Finding her that morning put me in total shock but at that point I broke down into heart breaking grief. My wonderful friend was gone. Gracie was a lab/pit bull mix with the best of both breeds. She was beautifully marked, brindle and white with the Labrador face, strong and playful. She came to us as a stray and we soon became part of the family. She thanked us with her show of affection and her ever ready supply of dogie kisses. She was the smartest dog I have ever known and a joy to train as she became a loyal and true companion. I loved her dearly and will miss her so much. We don't know what took her life so suddenly at 8 years of age. After reading the other comments, which have been so comforting, I feel that it was torsion. She had an enthusiastic appetite and never turned down a bite of anything, sometimes having it taken away. She surfed the kitchen counter frequently. That appetite declined a few days before she passed and she seemed listless. A visit to the vet 3 days previous did not reveal any problem, but torsion seems like it could have been the culprit. Many thanks to all of you who have shared your stories. It helps to know that others have had to walk this path also. Our dear ones will always be in our hearts.

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  31. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. Its by reading your article that I learned about stomach torsion in dogs and how seriously fatal it could get. I just lost my 4-year old pomeranian today and she showed no signs that somethings wrong and we were just stunned to see her lying dead. Although we don't know the definite cause of death, we suspect stomach torsion could be one cause...

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  32. I just lost my beagle, Samantha, at almost 9 years old. She was so full of life. Energetic, hyper, loved everyone. Loved food...all food..shevwas obese. My husband and I had just went away for a weekend getaway leaving her in my brothers care. He said shevwas fine acting like herself. Put her to bed. The next morning she declined wayer and food acted a little mopey. Went back to her crate and laid down and just passed away. No warning. No symptoms. Nothing. It wasn't unusual for her to act mopey for a day and be back to herself the next. We even took her to the vet during one of these episodes and we were told we had a depressed dog. I am devasted. What could it have been? I have been raking my hrain, googling, everything. Did I do something? I feel like a horrible pet owner! I told my kids to give extra love to my 16 year old lab because any day coukd be her last, and it was Samantha.. :(

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  33. The same thing happened to my beautiful 2 year old lab yesterday I'm in total shock I've lost a massive part of me rip my baby bobby and all these beautiful gentle creatures hope they are forever with us x

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  34. My baby girl Bear a 5 year old Cattle Dog died what I believe was just before I got home from work on Monday 17th of April. We had a great weekend and did our normal long walks. Even on Monday morning before work we get a short walk in followed by breakfast, I lay with her on the sofa in my arms. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Came home and she was near the front door. Rushed her to the vet 2minutes down the road but they couldn't save her. Like everyone else I'm heartbroken and my soul is empty. I miss her so much and hope that some of the hurt will go away. My biggest fear is she suffered and I wasn't there. Miss you and love you Bear!

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  35. Learn how to treat skin fold dermatitis in dogs with Wrinkle Balm, all natural healing balm recommended by vets. skin fold dermatitis

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  36. i just ran across this sight for some reassurance and i read most of the comments.We just lost our precious barbie on the 27th of december three days after christmas.She was our very first shelter adoption almost three years ago.We lost her to a bladder stone the size of a nail file that has ben browsing in side of her way before we adopted.We knew about this problem 5 months ago and never thought it would take her life,we had her checked out at the vet and they did the xrays and there it was,no payment plan was given and 2,000 up front.How do you tell a dog that we have to watch you die because we tried like hell to get the money.This was the closest to hell i have ever ben but,she went out like a warrior with the family that loves her.

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  38. This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It is the old what goes around comes around routine. her explanation about the Mastiff

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  39. I stumbled across your site this morning. My sweet baby "Diamond passed away for no reason that we know of this morning at 3:45 am She was a 2yr old Chihuaha. We have another Chihuaha, Diva who is 7 months old.Her and Diamomd were playing all day yesterday as normal. Happy and crazy. We are seniors too, living on a fixed income. So, we can't afford a necropsy either. She was laying on the couch with my wife and daughter, sound asleep when all of a sudden she started screaming her head off and died. There's just no damn reason for it. So unfair. I'm going to go bury her now

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  40. We lost our 22 month old Goldendoodle yesterday, not torsion, he declined steadily for 6 weeks. We took him to UF and to our hometown vet and we did every test and took x-rays and we couldn't figure it out. We are beyond devastated, and like you said we just can't seem to grasp that our previously vibrant 65 pound ball of fluff and love is gone. He could outrun every dog on my farm, it's just truly unbelievable. I previously lost a Great Pyrenees 11 month old. Necropsy uncovered cancer that was probably growing from the day he was born. I don't understand these challenges. We didn't order a necropsy on jackson, but I wish we had. The not knowing is making me crazy. Just seemed like his body had suffered enough. Thank you for your article, I guess it helps a little to know we are not alone. Didn't ask to be a member of this club though.

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  41. This happened to our 7 year old goldendoodle this past March. He was very healthy, went on walks every single day, was very energetic and full of life. He never had any signs of illness/distress whatsoever. One morning, my dad went downstairs to say good morning to him and he was in his usual sleeping position, but never woke up :( We are all still completely devastated. It's hard not knowing the cause of his death, but that wouldn't bring him back anyway. The thing that breaks my heart the most is our other goldendoodle is lost without him. They were the best of friends, and after he passed away he constantly searched for him :( We miss you so much Dodger <3

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