Diagnosis?

[jherbert]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all, my dog died this morning and I was wondering if y'all could tell me what he died of.

He was a 10 yr old black lab mix, an outside dog, healthy weight, no record of heartworms or anything else.

Yesterday he began acting a bit strange... He didn't have much energy, he hung his head and wouldn't look up at us very much, wouldn't eat, would drink a bit.

He acted much better yesterday afternoon (he ate, he looked at us, etc) but still seemed a bit fatigued.

This morning he was bad again, and I went out to see him. He was just lying down, he wouldn't look up, and when I looked at him in the eyes, it was as if he didn't even see me. I got him some water, which he drank quite quickly. I noticed he had a limp in his rear right paw, but I couldn't see anything wrong with it when I looked at it. Then he turned and lay down facing the fence and wouldn't look at me. I came home about two hours later and found him lying in the middle of the yard, dead.

It has been hot (as it always is in Houston in summer). No autopsy was performed before we buried him.

So can any of you tell me what happened?

 

[HeartSong]

Okay, let me get this straight. You left an old black dog out in the middle of a hot summer day with no water? Then you noticed it being very lethargic and didn't take it to a vet?

Yeah, I could tell you what your dog died of. But first you must promise to never treat another animal like that again in your life. Also, admitting to being a troll would be nice too. Cause really, no one can be stupid enough to come in and describe that situation and actually be clueless as to what happened.

 

[frozen_canadian]

He was just lying down, he wouldn't look up, and when I looked at him in the eyes, it was as if he didn't even see me. I noticed he had a limp in his rear right paw

These sentences contradict. You noticed he had a limp yet he wouldn't even look up? I call troll on this one. Nice try.
However it is a good reminder to keep a watch on your animals during the summer heat and ensure they have adequate access to water.

 

[Bill59]

I'm sorry to hear about your buddy.

Unfortunately the answer is no, we can't tell you why he died. An autopsy (necropsy) would be the only way to know at this point.

 

[jherbert]

He HAD water outside, when I refilled it with new water he drank it down. Then I refilled it again and he wouldn't drink any more.

He got up when I brought him the water (and actually wagged his tail). This is when I noticed the limp. He kept looking at the ground, and when I got down on my hands and knees and looked him in the eye, it was as if I wasn't there at all.

Like I said, he HAD water in his water bowl. He has ALWAYS had water in his water bowl. He drank about 3/4 of the bowl almost immediately when I filled it with fresh, cool water. I refilled it and he didn't want any more.

I was going to call the vet when I got home and found him. Like I said in the original post, he seemed to be feeling a bit better yesterday afternoon. We were thinking that it was some kind of 24 hr virus or something, which is why we didn't take him to the vet immediately.

He was in the shade, he wasn't overheated.

I'm not trolling. I'm looking for answers. If I could answer this myself I wouldn't have posted here.

 

[CookieBear]

As Bill said, no one on here is going to be able to tell you why your dog died.

Speculation, sure, but I think to ask anyone here to speculate on why your dog died, i.e., a specific case - is probably against SDN terms of service.

A necropsy (autopsy), as Bill said, may've given you answers. A gross necropsy is where a veterinarian, or veterinary pathologist, etc., examines the body and major organs and looks - with the naked eye - for abnormality.

Sometimes a gross necropsy won't give you any answers. The organs may all appear normal, or you may not find anything that looks abnormal. The doctor may then take samples for histopathology - examine them microscopically, to see what cells are present, and again, look for normal vs. abnormal. Specific tests can be run, checking for toxins, but once you start doing all this, costs can get high pretty quickly.

A necropsy is always 'best' performed on a fresh body. The longer the animal has been dead, the more changes that occur. Not to be gross.. but refrigeration, versus freezing, is done if the necropsy cannot be performed right away. But, time is always of the essence.

I'm sorry about your dog. Heat stroke is very common - especially during the summer - and older animals may have a harder time dealing with that stress. Just like older people, older pets (and a 10 year old lab is a 'senior) can have heart problems, kidney problems, liver... as you said, there's a possibility of an infection. Neurologic problems can be caused by many things. I'm not a doctor, and unfortunately, not even a doctor online is going to be able to tell you what happened. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[aphistis]

Closing.