My German shepard/golden retriever mix was nearly 9 years old when she passed rather quickly 4 days ago. Other than a benign tumor on her back 2 years ago she was perfectly healthy as far as we knew.

Misty lived at my parents house, I saw her 3-4 times a week as she was my dog. Feb 7th was the last time I saw her normal self. Went to visit her on the 10th and found her somewhat lethargic and she wouldnt eat her dinner, She has done this before, so I didnt think too much of it. (There was also a decent stove fire in parents house on the 8th which may have gave her smoke inhalation or something, but my 8 yr old black lab was acting perfectly fine.) My younger brother was to be home soon so I told him to keep an eye on her.

The next morning (Feb 11th) my brother gets home from school around 11am and finds misty nearly unconsious and laying in her own feces, brother brings her to the vet and is told she has a "mass" in her abdomen that goes into her chest and throughout her body. She rapidly deteriorates and dies approx. 1 hour later.

According to my brother, the vet said the masses were either Congestive heart failure (?????) or cancer.

I think I would really like to go to the vet and ask to see the chart or speak to the vet concerning the cause of death. I work in healthcare and I am very curious at the cause of death. Mainly Im hoping to get some closure out of figuring out how she died because she seemed to be so healthy, and her death is ripping me apart.

I really dont know if I should pursue this or just leave it how it is since nothing is going to bring her back. In my opinion knowing what killed her could make the grieving alot easier (long term cancer) or it could tear me apart even more if I was to find out it was smoke inhalation that contributed to it, and she could have been saved if I brought her in the night before.

Thoughts/comments???

Thanks.

Wes

Hi,
Please read Mister Goose. I had a very similiar situation happen to me on friday and is devestating me. I tried research, and even contemplated an autopsy. But really, do I want to know. Do I want to think that I could have done something or place blame on the vet? Kind of, but does that take me any closer to getting better and remembering Mister for the great things that we shared. I am dying over my loss too. You aren't alone. Stay strong.
Jason

Oh how sad! She is bueatiful. I do not know what it could have been but there will be many people on here that have dealth with the things you are speaking about.
I lost Moose suddenly by a care accident, so I do not know much about symptons.
I am sorry she is gone.
You've come to a good site to get information and just vent. Pamela

Hi Wes,
I am so sorry for the loss of your Misty. She was a beautiful dog and I know you will miss her for a long time. Maybe she had masive cancer running through her body.

My Snookie had all kinds of things wrong with her and she passed away here at home. Our son's chihuahua Chili Bean was being treated for asthma and other things. She was fine until one night her nose twisted her nose holes were closing up and she couldn't breathe.

I took her to the vet the next day and unknown to us she had cancer of the upper mouth that hit a couple of nerves and she had to be put to sleep. Sometimes our babies are sick and we don't even know it until they just can't go on. I would talk to the vet just to see what he thought may have caused her death.
Ann

Dear Wescom, I am so sorry for your loss.Misty certainly looked like a cutie patutie.Thank you for sharing her picture.

It is too bad that the animals cannot talk so we can truly know what is going on.

I'm not a vet but the fact that your dog was found almost unconcious lying in its own feces seems like it had a major convulsion.I suggest this because I witnessed my dog having one and it is not pretty. Perhaps your dogs lethargy was due to minor convulsions which my dog also had.
My dog had convulsions because she had a brain tumour...And I never would have known had she not had convulsions.

The way I look at things is do what you have to do. It will not bring Misty back but you will have learned something and this experience will help you with your next pet.

I learned alot from Bijou being ill.The most important thing I learned is that noone knows our pets like we do - even the vets.They cannot look for things when nothing seems wrong.

The fact is our animals don't speak words and never complain because they are just happy being loved by us....just like Misty was.

Dear Wes,

I am SO sorry that you lost your precious Misty!
What a beautiful girl!!!! I understand your shock and pain!!!

Since you mention a tumor, I am suspicious of cancer. Even though it was benign 2 years ago, it could have quickly changed, or another one may have come that was internal. I lost my Rachael to cancer and had a similar experience as you. She had been fine and appeared healthy to us. She had a tumor under her arm that was also benign. They wouldn't even consider surgery because of the location (I tried to get them to remove it in case it changed). One day we came home from work and she seemed extremely weak! She didn't want to eat her dinner, which was very unusual. We took her to the vet and were horrified to discover through blood tests that she been bleeding internally for quite some time. They tried to treat her for an ulcer, but after a few days, with her getting worse, we realized it must be cancer. It was only a matter of another day before she was SO weak that she couldn't stand up, she wouldn't eat, and developed labored breathing. We knew we had to end her suffering at that point.

I have been AMAZED at the amount of furbabies that have been taken from us through cancer! I didn't realize how often until I came here and started reading other stories. Cancer is not prejudice and it strikes all

It is really up to you if you need to know the exact cause. I would advise to let it go. Like you said it won't bring Misty back. I think because of her age and the fact that she was susceptible to tumors were lead me to think cancer. Like you, I used to be involved in the medical field. I was a veterinarian technician. I understand your curiosity, but since this involves a patient that was so close to you, I'm sure it won't take away any pain or offer any relief. I remember when I was a technician, I could assist in surgeries all day long and it didn't bother me. However, when I brought in my own dog, it made me deathly sick at my stomach. That's when I really learned how much a personal involvement with a patient can affect us. Of course that has nothing to do with what you asked, but I thought of it while writing this, and how a personal involvement can distort our feelings.

It will take time to heal your pain. Please tell us more about that beautiful little furgirl

Cheri