my puppy died today

[rmbinsb]

hello.

i had my dog cleo for only 3 months and i had to put her down today. she was suffering from pneumonia which came out of no where. i have had a lot of vet visits because she would cough kinda but i assumed cause she was healing from having kennel cough. been told she would be fine and all that.

this morning something was off about her. she started to act nervous and really wasn’t herself at all. she is a lil scaredy cat and so i assumed it was because she has some anxiety. she started having labored breathing, drooling and coughing up loads of phlegm n started to turn yellow. i took her to the er and they took her in and asked me about details. SHE WAS FINE BEFORE TODAY. i’ve been to four different vets before this to ask about her slight cough and they said she is healthy and ok. i got a phone call later basically saying she has gotten worse and has pneumonia. she was getting treated but her body was shutting down. i made the decision to put her to sleep because after seeing her in her condition, all i could do was cry. she was a happy dog and wanted to cuddle up all the time n jump all over me. she couldn’t do that. she was suffering. so i stayed by her side as the vet put her to sleep.

i thought of so many things like its my fault, i only had her for 3 months and i let her die. but i don’t know. i just feel so bad. she deserved to live.

one of my childhood dogs passed away last year in september and i got her in december. not knowing she would pass a couple months later. it’s so heartbreaking and i can’t even process any of this. i lost both my babies in the span of few months.

she was only 6 months. she was a baby who didn’t live her life yet. so it’s gutting me in the stomach. i imagined our life together. how it would pan out and everything. i really bonded with her. all i can say is i hope she isn’t suffering anymore and play with all the toys she can think of and have as many zoomies as she wants. she was the one thing i loved coming home to. and now she’s gone.

i love you cleo. i’m so sorry.

 

[caelesto]

@rmbinsb The words don’t exist in me right now. I’m sorry you had to go through this.

 

[qbanmom7070]

@caelesto Todays been a sad day for me and this was just the cherry on top So many emotions, so little words

 

[gavino]

@rmbinsb I’m so sorry for your loss. I got my first dog last April. It was a 12 week old puppy. He died exactly one week after bringing him home and it was devastating. It was a tragic accident and I was traumatized and emotionally broken and felt responsible- but it wasn’t my fault. I did everything humanly possible to puppy proof, prepare, and take the best care of him. Sometimes things just happen or illnesses happen. You took good care of Cleo and loved her. Hold on to the happy memories and give yourself time to grieve.

 

[kybub1]

@gavino Do you mind if I ask what happened? I'm starting to leave my boy home alone more often these days and if there's something I haven't considered it might help.

Really sorry for your loss

 

[gavino]

@kybub1 We don’t know for sure what happened. He choked on something, but when we did the X-ray there was nothing in the lungs or the airway. The initial pressure from the choking (which I never saw happen!) caused blood vessels to burst in his lungs and they filled with blood. It could have happened a day or two before he began to exhibit signs. I was brand new to dogs and maybe there was something I missed initially?

My house was fully puppy proofed. There was nothing loose except his toys on the floor. He was supervised like a hawk or shut safely in his pen or crated. We used a harness for the leash and never attached anything to a collar. He didn’t wear the collar in the crate for safety reasons. He only ever played in my fully fenced backyard which was only grass - no leaves, no sticks, nothing. I live in a new development and there is literally only grass, concrete, and a vinyl fence.

The only food he ate was puppy kibble and small pieces of treats for training.

I really don’t know what happened and the vet didn’t have any answers for me, other than the symptoms were consistent with a choking injury but there was no evidence of what caused the choking. The hard part was feeling responsible for it while not being able to point to anything I could have done differently.

This probably doesn’t help much since I don’t have any real answers. It was heartbreaking. One morning we were playing in the backyard when I noticed he tired more easily and was panting even though we hadn’t been playing very hard yet. I called him to me, but he collapsed halfway to me and began to bleed from the mouth. I rushed him to the emergency vet. I had been home alone with him and the drive to the vet was super traumatizing as I tried to comfort my puppy who was seriously struggling to breathe. They did the X-rays and put him into an oxygen chamber immediately, but in less than 24 hours his heart gave out and he passed on. It was awful.

I could not bring myself to get another puppy or a dog for a while. Finally, in July we adopted an older puppy who was 9 months old (almost 10 months old) because I knew I couldn’t handle the stress of a puppy who puts everything in their mouth still. I knew my trauma would make me too anxious and overprotective. It wouldn’t have been good for me or a puppy.

We still miss our puppy and have a few memorial items and pictures around the house. But we have been pretty happy with our new dog and it hurts a little less as time goes on.

 

[cla3114]

@gavino

 

[drlp]

@gavino The trauma of that morning you were playing, my heart hurts for that you had to go thru that. I’ve had dogs and puppies and foster dogs my whole life, and fwiw it didn’t sound like it had anything to do with you being new to dogs. It sounds like you’re healing, thankfully

 

[kybub1]

@gavino Sounds like you absolutely did nothing wrong. For all you know the puppy found a rock in the yard and tried to swallow it. That's not something you could've prevented or looked for. These things happen sometimes and it's heartbreaking, but it isn't your fault. I know puppy owners who don't even think of proofing the house and leave their puppy unsupervised for long stretches without consequence.

Glad you managed to get another dog/puppy. I'm sure you'll be a great owner and this experience has made you even better (just try not to be overly cautious, dogs need a little freedom too).

Sending love.

 

[sfanacogdoches]

@kybub1 I agree, not your fault. Could have been a small bit of kibble that broke down from moisture and that's why the X-ray didn't catch it in the lungs. It was already gone. I'm sorry this happened to you and what's happened to o.p. and their puppy devastating.

 

[chefjosh]

@kybub1 I'm not the person before you, but I have known some people who lost puppies or young dogs to unexpected accidents in the home. I'm horribly sorry for the prior person's loss and for my friend's who lost their young dogs as well, but I try to share as much as possible to potentially help someone else. With that said, here are common accidents that result in the loss of a pet dog within the home:

• Chip bags / plastic bags - Any bag, whether it's from potato chips or a bread bag, suction around the dog's head and can result in suffocation. They lack hands to pull the bag off. Make sure to cut the edge of all chip bags while they are in your cupboard, and cut up any bag before throwing it into the garbage.
• Car accident - A surprising number of dogs are hit by cars in their own driveways. Always secure your dog whenever passing through an area where cars drive, even if it's just a paved driveway, garage, or gravel road.
• Small objects - Puppies chew pieces off of everything. Just be mindful to keep small objects up and keep an eye on any puppy chewing on anything they could chew a piece off of to potentially choke (even dog toys). It might be good to know how to do the dog Heimlich maneuver as well.
• Pools / pool covers - There is something called a "cold shock response" where there are a variety of cardio-respiratory responses when suddenly submerged in cold water. You may be surprised to know this can cause heart attacks or stop your breathing in both animals and humans, which can cause drowning. This is especially important to know if you have a pool, because it occurs at a higher temperature than you may think. Additionally, pool covers can trap dogs underwater and lead to drowning. We chose not to get a pool cover due to this danger.
• Chewing plugged-in wires - This can lead to electrocution. Secure wires out of view / reach of puppies.
• Poison - Be aware of the various things that are poisonous to dogs, including the plants on your property (e.g. certain common yard shrubs can cause acute kidney failure), household cleaners (e.g. be mindful of leaving the toilet seat up if you use toilet cleaner or blue tablets), and foodstuff that is fine for humans but deadly for dogs (grapes, zylitol, etc).
• Fire - Change your smoke detector batteries, have smart alerts sent to your phone if the alarm goes off, and have a trusted neighbor's contact to call to help get your dogs out if you are not close to home. Even if a fire doesn't break out, smoke inhalation can lead to cardiac arrest and death.

I hope some of this is helpful to at least one person, and I welcome anyone else to share common household accidents and mitigations.

 

[poppystar7]

@chefjosh I have a fake owl in my bushes to ward off geese that get in there. I named him Ollie. One day I pulled into the driveway and saw “Ollie” was out in the middle of the yard. I went to pick him up and it turned out to be a cat that had somehow gotten a plastic shopping bag on his head and it was stuck. I pulled the bag off and he sat there stunned. I’m not sure how long he had sat there but I was so glad he was okay. So yes, plastic bags are especially dangerous.

 

[tongdtbds4]

@chefjosh My neighbor had her yorkie fall into their freezing cold pool two Christmases ago, it was just awful. I think he died from the shock like you mentioned, they did CPR and nothing worked. They were so upset they actually had to move because they couldn't handle looking at their pool anymore. It was just heartbreaking.

 

[brotherandronicus]

@chefjosh The chip bag is something I never would have thought of on my own. When I adopted my dog at 8 months old (he’s 8 years now, sob) the foster who had him at the time said she came home from work one day and he was walking around with a chip bag stuck on his head. It’s a miracle he didn’t suffocate. I’m glad I learned about that technically before even owning my first dog.

Also, he used to like laying on the vent and one day he went to get up and his collar got stuck. He completely panicked and the vent ended up coming loose and being “attached” to him. Luckily I was home and only a few feet away so I unattached it. From that day forth, I removed his collar when leaving the house.

I used to give him treats when I’d leave the house to distract him because he had bad separation anxiety. One day I gave him a treat while I was home; he choked and I had to give him the doggy Heimlich. The treat popped up his throat and out his mouth. From then on, I stopped giving him treats when leaving.

There are so many things that can happen, and a lot I didn’t realize until they happened - that luckily I was home for. I’m paranoid and my dog is my everything so I am just overly cautious about every little detail now

 

[chefjosh]

@brotherandronicus Oh gosh that's all so scary. Our puppy choked on a plastic squeaker and we had to heimlich him and it was so terrifying, too! We were standing right there monitoring him as he played and we didn't notice that he'd gotten the squeaker out until he couldn't breathe or make any noise. Up until that point, I'd never had a single dog, foster or resident, ever choke, so he was trying to make a name for himself I guess!

 

[brotherandronicus]

@chefjosh Oh my goddd just imagining that makes me panic inside it’s so scary and I’m so glad you were right there to administer aid! To be honest I’m even more paranoid now because at the time my dog choked, I was living with my ex. I have to admit I am not good in stressful situations surrounding my dog. I think I just love him so much that I completely lose it, because with other people’s animals or kids I am calm and can jump into action lol. Anyways, my ex is stronger than me and I was afraid of hurting my dog so they helped with the Heimlich. Now we live alone, just me and my dog, and I’m afraid that somehow I won’t be able to save him on my own if it happens again I want my dog to live inside a plastic bubble LOL

 

[rmbinsb]

@gavino i’m so sorry. it wasn’t your fault at all.

 

[nathanh83]

@rmbinsb I'm so so sorry. This is awful. But one thing I know for sure, even though you're enduring a broken heart she was so incredibly lucky to have you. The person who loved her endlessly, took her to four different vets to try to help her and who made sure she wouldn't suffer. Life is far from fair but thanks to you she knew true love and care and thats more than many dogs will get in a whole lifetime.

 

[darci]

@nathanh83 exactly you went above and beyond , you did far more than the average person would do and then you selflessly chose not to let her suffer.

I believe some animal souls choose a short life here on earth and she did choose you and had a blast! A pet psychic once told me after I was devastated losing two cats in succession at a young age, that pets often choose short lives when they are ready for the next upgrade and just come to enjoy with a loving Light family . In the afterlife 100000% she doesn't suffer.
Hope that helps.

 

[jesusownsmyheart]

@darci love this message and your name. keep spreading love.