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9 weeks old puppy sudden death...

25K views 67 replies 51 participants last post by  Missing Bingo 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum and I need your help trying to find some answers...

We got Lexi from a reputable breeder a week ago, she was born on May 12th 2016 and we have been waiting for this moment for over 6 months.

Yesterday, she seemed a little bit more tired than usual but we thought it was normal as she needs a lot of rest at her young age. When it was time for dinner she still seemed ok and happily waiting for her Kong (i filled it with her dry kibbles only). At one point, she stopped eating, barked once and started to throw up. She didn't chew on the kibbles as they were still intact so we thought she puked because she ate too fast... But a minute later, she was still trying to puke but nothing came out, she had uncontrolled bowel movements and collapsed on the spot. We knew something was wrong and took her right away to the vet... On the way there, she began throwing up blood (more like a pinkish fluid) and as soon as we got to the vet he said she has already passed.

Everything happened so quickly, she threw up, collapsed and died within 5 minutes. At first we thought she choked on her food or on a toy but she did not cough or anything... and she threw up a lot of blood.

Does anyone know what could have caused this? It way too sudden...
We are still in shock. She was the most beautiful, smart and playful baby... Always so full of energy :frown2: All of our friends and family were looking forward to meet her :(

Now we are just trying to find out what happened. We are devastated over her loss and keep thinking that maybe we could have done something more to save her. Thank you all for reading this

RIP Lexi - xoxo
 

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#25 ·
We live in Montréal, Québec. I'm not really aware of any special diseases common here... She got her first shots around 7 weeks with the breeder.


I agree, I would do a necropsy to be certain of what happened. Have you spoken with your breeder? Did they have any guesses?
Yes I think we will call back the vet to ask him to send her body to a facility that does this kind of procedure.
We called the breeder and he think she might have been too excited while playing with the Kong and choked on her kibble.. But we feed her inside her crate so she wasn't running around chasing it either.
He also suggested us to get another puppy asap so we can move on faster... I'm not sure if we are ready for this yet.

I am so so sorry for your loss. It is clear how amazingly much you loved her.

I'm sorry I don't know what caused her death but it is very very very unlikely (impossible) that it is anything that you could have prevented. Did the Vet have any idea?

Thinking of you xxxxxxxx
Thank you for your kind words. The vet said he couldn't know for sure unless we send her body for a necropsy and that's what we are going to do next I think.

So sorry for your loss, I am speechless. The bowel movement wants me to say seizure, but who knows.

Any possible way she got into rat poison?

Was she recently given any heartworm or flea prevention?
No contact with rat poison.. the day it happened, she spent most of it sleeping in her crate and we went downstairs at her usual spot for potty.
She received worm prevention treatment along with her first shots at 7 weeks with the breeder.
 
#4 ·
I am so so sorry for your loss. It is clear how amazingly much you loved her.

I'm sorry I don't know what caused her death but it is very very very unlikely (impossible) that it is anything that you could have prevented. Did the Vet have any idea?

Thinking of you xxxxxxxx
 
#6 ·
I don't have any answers but just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that this terrible thing happened. I can't imagine what you must be going through. The worst is that it was all so sudden and she showed no signs of illness prior to the collapse. I hope you get answers. A post mortem seems like the route to take.
 
#7 ·
I am so very sorry for your heartbreaking loss! I can only imagine how you must be feeling at the moment.

As a vet, here is my advice -- if you can afford it, have a necropsy performed. Your vet can surely do at least a basic one, and may or may not charge you, but if you can get access to a pathologist, that would be much preferable.

Based on your description, the obvious thing to think is that it was related to her eating. Was she still breathing after she collapsed or was that why she collapsed? You say she did not cough, but if her airway was blocked you won't necessarily see a classic cough, but more of a vomiting motion. There are also elements of your description which make me wonder about other possibilities. First, I wonder about a heart problem (she seemed tired, and you describe pink fluid which, rather than being vomitus could have been heart failure fluid). Also, sudden collapse and death always makes me think a cardiac source. Alternatively, although less likely, perhaps a seizure?

Nothing that you find out will bring her back, but if, as you say, you want to find out what happened, this is the best way to do that. I do not, however, want you to think that you could have done something more. It sounds as if you were right there and it progressed unbelievably quickly. Even if she choked, I not sure that even I, with my training but no specialized equipment at home, could have done anything.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss.
 
#8 ·
I am so sorry for your loss. When our late Rottie passed at 11 years old, something similar happened. She was a little more tired than usual, then out of nowhere threw up, collapsed. She hung on to get to the emergency vet and we found out she had developed a pretty severe arrhythmia and would not survive. I know how heartbroken you must feel. I am so sorry you had to experience this, and with a young, beautiful puppy. Lexi was gorgeous!

You're in my thoughts and prayers!
 
#10 ·
The first thing that comes to mind for me is choking on a piece of kibble. I know a puppy whose owner couldn't even make it to vet's in time. She too threw up light pink vomit, but her vomiting was as they were driving to the vet and they did not think she was conscious. The vet did a table necropsy and said it was kibble, but they knew they were tossing it at her while showing off her sitting skills in the hallway, so they suspected that was what had happened from the beginning.

A cardiac condition like (at 9 weeks) severe SAS can cause a sudden death, but of the ones I have heard of, none of them vomited- it was just fall over dead with no warning.
I'm sure your vet could do a gross necropsy at least to check the heart and lungs. I hope you can find a way to recover from the trauma this has caused you and your family, and I am so sorry for you. It's awful to lose them after many years- and so unfair feeling to lose them with no real time under your belt. Try to find some peace- information will help with that I know.
 
#15 ·
My deepest condolences on your sudden and unexpected loss. I can't imagine the devastation you are feeling.
 
#19 ·
Please don't think you had anything to do with it, sometimes horrible things just happen. I am praying for you and your family to be at peace. RIP Lexi -


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#20 ·
So sorry for your loss, I am speechless. The bowel movement wants me to say seizure, but who knows.

Any possible way she got into rat poison?

Was she recently given any heartworm or flea prevention?
 
#23 ·
I am so very sorry. I know how heart breaking this is for you. A necropsy would help with a diagnosis of what happened to your beautiful little girl.
 
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#26 ·
Thank you all for your care and suggestions! It's comforting to know that there are people out there who truly understand what we are going through right now.
Our breeder suggests us to get another puppy asap.. I'm not sure if it's a good idea right now. It just feels wrong and weird to be thinking about replacing her already. What do you guys think?

She was my very first dog... I only spent 5 days with her but it meant the world to me :frown2:
 
#27 ·
What an awful thing. I'm so, so sorry. Poor little thing. Even though it wouldn't bring her back, I would probably opt for the necropsy, just to try to get some answers. I just can't imagine seeing that happen.

Thank you all for your care and suggestions! It's comforting to know that there are people out there who truly understand what we are going through right now.
Our breeder suggests us to get another puppy asap.. I'm not sure if it's a good idea right now. It just feels wrong and weird to be thinking about replacing her already. What do you guys think?

She was my very first dog... I only spent 5 days with her but it meant the world to me :frown2:
Only you will know when you are ready. Everyone is different. Take your time. Get the answers you need about Lexi, let yourself grieve. She was only with you a week, but she was still yours and you loved her. Don't let anyone pressure you to do something you don't want to do. You'll know when it's right. Again, I'm so sorry.
 
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