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My 11 year old chihuahua Maggie died suddenly Friday at the emergency vet. She would have turned 12 on Sunday. I still do not understand what happened and need closure, if anyone can help.
We came home from work around 6. I got her dinner ready and her meds. (She was on meds for degenerative disc disease in her spine which had just come back for a second time. She was at the vet a week prior because of her wobbly walking again, which we had dealt with in July when she was first diagnosed. They checked her heart, still had the murmer shes had for 8+ years, but everything looked fine. General health was fine. Went home with painkillers and a nerve blocker and instructed to come back in two weeks.)
Friday night, she wouldnt eat dinner. Then she began panting very very heavily and quickly. She kept her head high. I could tell she was struggling to breathe and told my husband we had to go to the ER immediately. She wouldnt let us touch her and she wasnt calming down. Her belly was swollen. I knew something was wrong. She was wheezing, we heard gurgling.
The car ride was oddly peaceful. She stood on my arms and looked out the window, as if taking everything in. As if she knew we were helping her but she also knew she was going to leave us.
The ER vet took her immediately and put her in an oxygen tank with IV to stabilize. They gave her lasik which went right through her and didnt seem to help. They took her out of tank to do xray and she nearly passed out. Dr came to us and said she couldnt for sure say it was CHF because the xray didnt show enlarged valves, even though that was her first thought. She said maybe cancer, as they saw on xray a large dark spot. Or it could be pneumonia. They offered to keep her there for a couple days but could not guarantee she'd even make it overnight. She was fading. The oxygen tank wasnt helping her. We knew it was time. We made the hard decision to let her go.
We were with her when she passed away. She couldnt stand up, she was gasping for air. She looked at us as if to say "its ok, I love you, let me go". Hardest thing we've ever done but I would never allow her to be in pain. We held her and cried and told her we loved her and it was OK to go.
The past couple days have been devastating. I want to know what happened! If she had CHF, why didnt we know? All signs point to CHF. The distended belly, the breathing, the not being able to lie down. Is it possible our vet wouldnt notice that the week prior? We've gone to the same vet for 10 years. Could we have done something more? How could she have been fine in the morning and dead by midnight? Can something like this happen so fast? I know she had back problems for 6 months, maybe it was all just too much for her? Her body just caught up with her and it was time?
Please someone help me understand what happened to my kid. I will never forgive myself if this was something we could have prevented or something we should have noticed.
There was Nothing you could have done. You had her to the Vet she was fine except for the pain meds. Surely IF it been anything wrong the Vet would have checked it. It was Sudden but some times that how it happens. My boss DDad was an Active man ... he walked to the mail box one day told her he was going to the park, but stopped going down the stairs an hour later. Sat on the steps... she walked out a few mins later found him dead. When she told me this Decades later she said he had the most peaceful smile on his face.
Ya know- there is nothing you can do and you did all you could. We took our lab in right before Christmas for a weird gagging cough, and at first they put him on antibiotics thinking it was respiratory. But they did mention an enlarged heart. The gag cough never seemed to clear off.
Flash forward to this weekend when he seemed like he couldn't get comfortable, and we took him to a specialty/emergency type place, and they said he had a VERY enlarged heart and was in heart failure. I was kind of all set to let him go, but I got re-routed by the doctor that they could get him out of failure and get him on some heart meds and we could have him around awhile more.
Well, the next day, another doctor said the treatment wasn't going well, and his heart was really enlarged, so the prognosis wasn't good anyways. He was starting to show something in his gastro whatever area (passing food). I was totally TICKED off that I spent essentially $2500 to just put him to sleep the next day. I felt horrible because he wasn't even 10 and when he came in that last time he still didn't seem that bad...... but I know if we kept treating him I'd be right there again in 6 months. I didn't want to torture him. And they said that dogs that are treated for this have a great chance of sudden failure.
I don't think there is any real way to catch this unless you X Ray your dogs heart every 6 months. Its totally genentic. I wonder why it happens to so many Chihuahuas? We probably did see some signs of him slowing down earlier than he should at 9, but we thought it was just normal age and arthritis.
And my big lesson learned- always get a second opinion, even if its just to hear the worst! This CHF thing from what I can tell- not much can be done, and even if you stretch it out, it won't end great.
Sorry for your loss. I know seeing your pup struggle like that was not easy. I lost my first dog to Acute CHF oddly enough it was on the day I had already decided to put her down as she was 14 and had lymphoma. That morning she did not want to eat and the look she gave me said she was ready. At that time there was no CHF going on. I called made a late afternoon appointment so I would have some time to say good bye. At noon I took her and my lunch to the park to have some quiet time with her as I also had a puppy and a cat. She looked fine and I started thinking maybe I will call the vet and put this off for a few days. It was like she could read my mind and wanted me to know that yes today was the right day that she was to leave me, do not change that, as suddenly she sat up and started gasping and gurgling . I work in the human health care field and know CHF when I see it so I scooped her up . On the way to the vet before she passed out on the front seat of the car she put her paw on my leg as if saying " really it is OK" She was moments from death when I reached the vet and with the injection she found the peace she was ready for.
I am telling you this as yes acute CHF can happen that fast. She did have a heart murmur and took meds for it but had never had an issue with CHF.
In the Human world that when someone comes in with sudden onset of shortness of breath , gasping gurgling even some(cardiac) wheezing the first thought is CHF as sudden onset is often the case and usually that is the correct guess. CHF also tends to come on at night as people lay down in bed which is another clue. When your vet last saw your dog there probably was no CHF going on as it can be like flipping on a switch that sudden. So do not beat yourself up there really was nothing you could have done and it sounds like the vet tried but that really is all they can do too.
It is possible there could have been more going on as yes there could have been a pneumonia but your dog would have been acting fatigued and sick unless it was an aspiration pneumonia . That could have occurred while you were gone she could have vomited and inhaled it or yes there could have been a tumor but it sounds like the major event was acute CHF even if either of the other issues was present.
I hope this can help give you closure. People tend to beat them selves up over a death when in reality death is a part of life and when it comes calling often there is nothing we can do it is life.
I hope you can find some peace as it is hard watching a loved one be it a human or a pet struggle as death takes them especially if you are not around death often. Know she will live on in your memories of her. I myself find that telling stories about my dead dogs helps as for those few minutes I tell a story they are there again at my side at first it might make me cry but soon the stories make me smile. ((( Hugs)))
I'm so sorry for your loss...I suddenly lost my French Bulldog last summer. Fine at noon on Thursday...dead at 8am the next morning. I, too was sad beyond measure. I feel your pain and the need to have all the questions answered.
It has taken me all these months to realize I am never going to have all the answers. So I am trying to find peace and be thankful for all the wonderful years I with him. And he with me.
Don't be so hard on yourself. You could not have changed this outcome. I couldn't either.
You did everything you could. She knew it was her time like you said.
On November 6, we had to put our beloved 14.5 year old labrador down. He had very advanced kidney disease, could not walk without help or even stand up. He held on just for us. Just like you, we did everything we could reasonably do, and we had to help him move on. He was there for us during the transition from working to retirement, and helped us through several difficult problems. It was the fifth dog in our marriage that we had to help move along. It has not gotten any easier.
I am empathetic for your loss, since its so close to me also and I cannot write this without tears in my eyes.
I'm so sorry, Maggie. Please don't blame yourself (or your vet). I've gone through stuff like this before, so I know how devastating it can be to "miss something." Just be grateful for the time you had together, and know that she was grateful that you were willing to make such an unselfish decision because of how much you loved her.
Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for your loss . The only problem with pets is that they don't live as long as we do . we wish they did . at least I do . There is nothing you could have done dear you took all the necessary means to take care of it all . God bless you and may you lil one rest peacefully .
The same thing happens with people. We call it a change for the worse. If there was a way to predict it in people you can be sure it would be taken advantage of. And the same is true for our four-legged family. We don't always see it coming. Glad you could help your little one ease her discomfort. And CHF does not have just one cause, it is really a combination of factors that add up to heart failure. So she could have had some of those factors and looked fine, but just one more event was one too many. Like the "straw that broke the camel's back" if you know that analogy.
We talked to our vet yesterday who was able to take a look at the paperwork from the Friday ER visit. She informed us that our little one most likely had lung cancer, and compounded with her heart murmer it was too much. She told us that having her on the pain meds for her back the last week and a half of her life probably eased a lot of pain for her, and we helped her without even knowing it. She said that if Maggie would have made it through the night, and she would have seen the xrays she would have probably told us to put her down as well. We did the right thing.
I find so much peace knowing she was really sick and knowing there was nothing we could do. She was such a fighter, and she fought until the end. I find peace knowing she wasnt in pain the last week and a half and she really did let us know she was ready to go.
For everyone out there whos been through this and is questioning everything, dont. I know the pain can be unbearable and the thoughts take over and we wonder what else we could have done. But for the most part the answer is we could have done nothing. We loved them and took care of them and it was their time.
Thanks again for everyones responses. I appreciate them all. Closure is a wonderful wonderful thing.
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