Dog Died - no clue why

[tm3308]

This morning around 5:30 our 12 year old Goldendoodle died. My wife heard her fall and got up to check on her. She had fallen beside the bed and breathed lightly for a couple minutes, but was out of it. Died shortly after. Any ideas? Dog seemed perfectly healthy. Her belly seemed swollen and hard right when this happened. Not sure if that's because of death or that was cause of death. I took her to local vet to get cremated as ground is frozen.

Kids aren't taking it well as she has been with them their entire lives. She traveled with us throughout my military career from Hawaii to Nebraska to Virginia and then back to Iowa.

That definitely sounds like a twisted stomach. I had a dog die from that when I was in high school. He didn't go quite so suddenly as your pup, but he was maybe five years younger at the time, so that might have something to do with it. He made it a few hours and died on the table after we got him to the vet to try to fix it surgically. It definitely comes out of nowhere.

 

[JVAR]

I am very sorry! Loosing a pet is very hard! Especially suddenly like that.

We had a 1/2 Golden retriever 1/2 yellow lab that came from an oops breeding that died the same way in the early 90s. She was an amazing dog. She let out a loud yelp in the middle of the night and was laying dead in her dog bed. I was home from college as it was summer. Was very traumatic as she was only 7. Our vet thought it was a cardiac issue. She was not overweight so it was very strange.

 

[isudoc03]

I’m very sorry for the sudden loss of your beloved golden doodle. A ruptured splenic tumor would be my primary suspicion.

That would be my suspicion as well.

 

[cdnlngld]

We had to put our beloved Chelsea (12 YO GSP mix) this summer. She was the most gentile and loving dog ever(except for her whippy tail). A tumor in the chest cavity around the heart is what took her. She went from seemingly healthy to a small occasional cough to almost a constant cough in just a couple of weeks. By the time the cough was bad enough to be a concern, it was too late. She made it one week after the vet visit and it was just too much to take, watching her suffer. We made the call and the vet came to our home and we all got to hold her while she crossed the rainbow bridge. I also have a 13YO parsons who is starting to suffer from doggy dementia. Some days he does nothing but bark at my wife all day long. He also has cataracts and arthritis. I would assume we have maybe a year or two until we will hav to say goodbye to him as well.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[CysDoc]

That would be my suspicion as well.

3 for 3 on vet responses. First thought is ruptured splenic tumor.