Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 3/8/2010

Question
Last week my dog died. I need to run the circumstances by a vet pro (other than my vet) to see what you think about what happened.

My dog, Buddy, was a male golden retriever (possible mix) who was 7 years old and had a history of grand mal seizures starting at 3 years and 9 months old. We did a full work up and found no unusual body chemistry so the diagnosis was that he most likely had inherited epilepsy. He was a large dog but not fat – 107 lbs. Seizures started in March, 2004 and regularly occurred once every 2 or 3 months. His last seizure was January 4, 2010 – 2 months to the day of his death. The actual seizures were pretty classical; he would convulse, loose bladder control, after 1-2 minutes he would snap out of it and go through an hour or two of heightened activity (like he was extremely glad to see me), very thirsty. Then he would be fine for 2-3 months.  No drugs were prescribed since the severity and frequency did not change and he fully recovered from the seizures.

So … here is what happened: On 3/4/2010 we got up and did our normal morning routine. But when my wife and I were ready to leave for work, my wife said the dog looked “so sad” and he had not eaten the small treat we give him every morning before we leave at 7:45AM. This was not normal. He did eat his breakfast at 6:30 AM so something started changing his appetite that morning.

I came home from work several hours later and he was still lying down and his breathing was a little heavy and his tummy quivered upon inhalation. I thought for sure he was getting ready to seize. He had no other symptoms (puking, wining, etc.). He just looked wrong. So I took him to the vet and she did a brief exam (checked ears, eyes, mouth, etc.). He acted his normal agitated self at the vet. She prescribed 20mg of valium with the thought that we might be able to calm a growing seizure. So I gave him the Valium at 3PM and he acted like you would expect a drugged dog for the next couple of hours – he was a little loopy.

By 7 PM he was back lying down and breathing the way he was before but heavier. I thought it was a side effect of the valium. He was lethargic but no other symptoms. We watched him all evening and I last checked on him at 10 PM and he was now sitting up and looking better but quiet. My son saw him at 11PM and he had moved to another room (where he liked to sleep at night) on his own and he saw him again at 1AM and he had moved to another part of the room on his own.

At 6AM – he was dead in the spot my son last saw him alive at 1 AM and rigor had set in so he had been dead most likely several hours.

What the h### happened??? Any ideas what might have killed my dog? Did I screw up? Did the valium kill him? He probably did not seize again because he did not release his bladder and anal glands like a seizure always did and I am a light sleeper and I heard no thrashing which always wakes me. The oral dose of valium we gave him, I have learned, was normal for dogs that size and that the effects of valium should wear off after 2-3 hours anyway.

My wife says he died from the valium. That it suppressed his vitals and/or he had an allergic or bad reaction. My guess is he had something else wrong and that this had nothing to do with seizures – basically he was sick with something else and we misread his symptoms.

Any thoughts or insights you can lend would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Aaron,
I am so sorry for your loss. I am not a vet, so I can only give you some ideas of what might have happened.
Quivering is a sign of pain in a dog. You did right by taking him to the vet. You did NOT screw up Aaron. Don't beat yourself up over this. Grief is hard enough without you blaming yourself. You did NOT cause this.

In a situation like this it is very hard to pinpoint the exact cause of death without a necropsy on the dog. Even that might not tell you much.

The valium didn't kill your dog. If it had, he would have been dead right around the time he was loopy. So your wife can rest assured with that one. The fact that he was quivering tells me he was in pain of some sort. It could have been his heart, it could have been that his gut was twisting.

107 lbs is way too big for even a male retriever. His weight might have finally taken a toll on his lungs, his heart, his kidneys. Having a history of seizures can also pre-dispose a dog to having other problems with his brain, his central nervous system, all kinds of things. There is just so many variables here that it would be hard for the vet to even know unless she went inside of the dog and found something really obvious like a twisted intestine or ruptured kidney. He might even have had a type of cancer that affect Golden's more than other dogs- hemangiosacroma. This is a silent killer. It can form tumors that rupture inside and bleed out with almost no signs on the outside. It killed my Mom's guide dog at the age of 8 yrs old.

It is not uncommon (unfortunately) and usually the owner calls us in hysterics because the dog just drops dead. It is a very sad and there is no way to prevent it.

So please Aaron, know that you did nothing wrong here. If you do have a necropsy done, (I know they are not cheap but it will ease your mind for good) please let me know what you find out. And be kind to yourself. You did the best any owner and dog lover could have done. I know he will be missed terribly. My thoughts are with you all.