Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

George Cooper — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 00:07:02 GMT

What a BRILLIANT name for a black nutter! Ha - life won't be the same for you guys!

Vacancy - FILLED (and overflowing).

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Anthony Dennison — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 10:05:55 GMT

No black dogs though, me and my Dad had the only two!

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Anthony Dennison — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 10:05:30 GMT

[quote user="David Mills"]

Delicious. Has she got any left??

[/quote]

Potentially - she had 22 from 2 litters born a week apart! PM me if you're interested and I'll send you the breeder's details

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

David Mills — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 10:00:34 GMT

Delicious. Has she got any left??

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Julie Innes — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 08:41:59 GMT

He is gorgeous, and I love his name (and his namesake!) We have our first pup in 20-odd years (rescues in between) and I had forgotten how much fun they were! Hard work too!

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Wren — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 08:32:35 GMT

Excellent name - one of my absolute heroes!

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Virginia Campbell — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 23:02:49 GMT

My pup was a keen gardener at that age too :-) Wishing you lots of fun times with Doddie.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Iain Richards — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 21:40:36 GMT

How unpleasant Anthony. I was within a toucher of losing my young lab to heat stroke on Sunday. Local sports day, someone playing ball with her, me distracted with organising. Ataxic, unresponsive. A lot of water and a drive to the practice cured her, PCV 50% and Na high normal on arrival. Bit too close really.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 21:18:08 GMT

So pleased for you Anthony, that pup has won the lottery for labrador homes, he looks a real character. Have fun

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Bob Russell — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 18:04:50 GMT

I really don't think there is a better decision than to get the next generation of house filler! In this case hole digger.

I don't advise owners at the time of euthanasia but do tell them to go with their feelings without any guilt.

One generation follows another. It is the normal way of things.

Never a replacement, just the next chapter!!

I bet the house is full of laughter again!

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:57:00 GMT

House was really empty, and one of my receptionists had a couple of litters of labradors. We thought about it for a while, whether we wanted to get another lab, but they're such amazing dogs we decided to go for it.

This is Doddie (named after the Scottish rugby player Doddie Weir)

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

nikki — Sat, 19 May 2018 15:36:49 GMT

[quote user="GrooveJet"]

Oh how awful. I'd be shattered too, and my heart goes out to you.

For what it's worth I once had a horse collapse and die underneath me whilst I was schooling him. Not quite the same, but we asked the knakkerman to tell us afterwards if he found anything obvious and he called to say his chest cavity was full of blood - assumed an aortic aneurism ruptured.

It took me years to get over it, but I now feel he had the best life, and death, any horse could have wished for... and I'm OK with that.

[/quote]

We've had a couple go like that out hunting. Legs just go weak and buckle then go stiff. Both times hunt kennels said chest full of blood from ruptured aneurysm. Guess it's possible for the same to happen to a dog.

I sadly lost my dog a few years ago very suddenly, just woke up to find her cheyne stoking. Nothing I could do to save her. It hit very hard. So sorry for your loss Anthony.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Mike Dale — Thu, 17 May 2018 12:33:46 GMT

That was a truly dreadful experience. A good friend and client lost a four year old golden retriever in almost identical circumstances. The dog had been otherwise apparently extremely well with good exercise tolerance until he died. Post mortem revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There had been no clue; he'd taken the dog wild fowling regularly. I couldn't conceive performing a pm on my own pet and I guess you will never know but this does sound so similar. My thoughts are with you.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 16 May 2018 00:09:54 GMT

Sorry to hear this Anthony- from the owner of another fit young finder-of-tennis-balls-in-ditches. Must be so horrible to hit you out of the blue like that. Although I suppose in a way it was better that it was when you were there so you know that it could not have been forseen, prevented or fixed; and that you know any suffering was over for him so lightning fast. And that he was with one of his family, having fun (given that ditch-found tennis balls are apparently so enthralling), a proper dog doing what proper dogs do.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Lucy Fleming — Tue, 15 May 2018 18:38:55 GMT

I'm so sorry to hear this Anthony, what an absolutely awful thing to have had to go through. No doubt it feels f***ing unfair at this point so anger is absolutely understandable. It sounds like the years he had with you were the best possible, even if sadly short.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Julie Innes — Tue, 15 May 2018 08:41:42 GMT

Just saw this, Anthony, huge condolences. Nothing I can add to what has already been said, but whenever I've lost one I try to focus on the good times we had and the lovely memories, eventually those are the things that remain when the initial shock and grief fade. Take care

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Tue, 15 May 2018 08:12:52 GMT

((Anthony)) no wonder you still feel bad and angry at life for this kick in the teeth, it’s going to take a while , especially when you lose one so young. It’s so sad both you and he have been cheated of the prime of his life and he deserves your grief. Its good that you’ve got good friends around you, and do have faith that it will get better though he will always have that special place in your memories for those who leave too soon.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 14 May 2018 11:38:57 GMT

Thank you everyone for your messages, it does mean a lot. We've kept ourselves busy this weekend by being with friends but there's still little things that bring it jolting back. There was nothing that I could have done and he definitely didn't suffer.

Still having bouts of sadness and for some reason, anger. But we've got some excellent friends that have really been there for us. It will improve, but still feeling pretty crap at the moment.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

George Cooper — Mon, 14 May 2018 09:24:58 GMT

Anthony - commiserations. The shock of the unexpected is HUGE, and if we can alll learn from incidents like this, it is to understand exactly what our clients go through, not just the passing, but their 'imagined' death threats from the most trivial of issues.

One lesson imprinted upon this brain is that, in general, we all outlive our pets and therefore have to, somehow, cope with the loss. Often clients, faced with euthanasia will comment "No more pets for me, I cant go through this again.....". My reply to that is to ask if they would willingly give up the 4 years, 10 years, 16 years of the pure joy and comfort that owning a pet affords, just to avoid a (relatively) short period of intense, energy sapping grief.

Anthony - photos out, be glad you had those years together, and think of something to fill that Lab-sized hole in the Dennison family life - never to replace, but to assist the recovery. I am also amazed how many creatures needing a home will know that there is a vacancy in the recently bereaved household - and will find you.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

mariette asselbergs — Sun, 13 May 2018 23:19:43 GMT

Hi Anthony,

So sorry to hear your story.

And it is very weird, I had a case just like this last Sunday. I work in Emergency practice, and people arrived in shock from the beach where they were walking their two golden retrievers, both 9 year old and in perfect health. They had been thrashing about in and out of the surf, and ran up the dune back to the car, when the male just suddenly stopped, fell over backwards and was dead. When they arrived at our clinic his gums were bluish grey, not white. No PM so we will never know, but I supposed it was some sort of cardiac arrest or arhythmia. Cannot remember ever seen thast before like this. Older than yours, but same story: no health issues, everyday big walks, no warning signals. For what it is worth, you are not alone in this experience.

Take care

Mariette

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Andrew Kent — Sun, 13 May 2018 10:48:28 GMT

Hi Anthony,

So sorry to hear about your dog, I'm definitely one of those Vet's who becomes a neurotic wreck when something is wrong with one of my own pets and this sounds like a terrible situation to be in. As others have said at least it sounds like he didn't really know anything about it and had had a fantastic life with you if much shorter than you would have liked.

I think the suggestions above are all very reasonable - to be so acute a vascular event or a dysrhythmia would seem most likely. Labradors can be predisposed to certain tachycardias which may never be picked up in advance so could be possible but would likely be undiagnosable now.

I know its easier said than done but don't beat yourself up too much - it doesn't sound like this is something you could have detected in advance or have done anything about. I often think that all we can do as owners is give them the best life we can for as long as we can and it sounds like you did just that.

Andy

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Liz Barton — Sun, 13 May 2018 00:36:18 GMT

Just awful - I'm so sorry for you and your family.

I would think massive CNS episode to be so dramatic and per-acute. Biology can be so cruel.

Take care and wishing you happier times ahead...

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Martin Atkinson — Sat, 12 May 2018 17:37:34 GMT

[quote user="Judith Archbold"] Akin to seemingly healthy, athletically fit footballers suddenly collapsing in their early twenties.[/quote]Again sympathy, it's easy to be fatalistic when its our patients but not so easy when its our own pets, that said I do try to be.

The comment about healthy athletes dropping dead was the lines I was thinking. It is usually HCM and cats quite commonly drop dead from the same condition. Not sure if dogs suffer from it at the same rate of incidence but seems the most likely explanation.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 12 May 2018 14:50:59 GMT

I'm deeply sorry for your loss - what a horrible experience. Please accept my condolences.

RE: Sudden Death in a healthy 4 year old Labrador

Rob Davis — Sat, 12 May 2018 14:35:43 GMT

That's awful for you, Anthony, really tough for you and your wife, though from the dog's point of view it was probably a great way to go - no pain, illness or suffering, just suddenly blacking out while doing what you love.