My dog has just suddenly died!

[ChooseAnotherUsername]

Regular poster but have NC for this as I don't want it tainting my usual username as I'm sure you can appreciate. As the title says, my beloved old Rottie, Kai, just died unexpecedly an hour ago and I just need to talk it through.

He was looking peaky yesterday morning, as though he was in pain, so I took him straight to the vet. He needed help walking and as expected his spondylosis in his spine was starting to affect him. The vets did some blood work, which showed he was a bit anaemic, and also did x-rays and a scan, which confirmed his spondylosis was now severe. They put him on a Aqupharm 11 Hartmans solution drip (I'm not sure why), gave him Comfortan and Metacam, and by 7pm he was OK to bring home. He was prescribed 100mg of Tramadol twice daily and 600mg of Gabapentin twice daily, the first doses he took at 11pm last night.

This morning he was groggy and uncoordinated but I was warned this would be a possible side effect of the drug so I wasn't overly concerned. But I had to coax him to eat his breakfast and that wasn't like him, and he didn't want anything to eat for the rest of the day which was a worry. He had a good drink of water though. He had his first doses at 8am and the 2nd at 7.30pm. He started to get even more sedated throughout the day so I phoned the emergency vet for advice. They said some dogs are really knocked out with the drugs so to try not to worry. But he got worse so I called them back a few hours later, by which time he was so sedated I couldn't get him to move at all. The vet put my mind at rest but suggested I see my vet tomorrow (they have a very brief Sunday surgery thankfully) to look at possibly adjusting the dose.

Then it all went downhill and at 10pm Kai started to make noises, like he was aggitated, but he stopped when I stroked him and talked to him. Then at 10.30pm he made half a dozen gasps and then stopped breathing. That's it. My beloved old dog just died in my arms for reasons I don't know and I'm completely shocked. Was it the drugs? I was looking online today at dosages and 1200mg of Gabapentin is high, but I have to trust my vet. Sorry, I'm rambling. Just had to offload.

[Orchidflower1]

Hi I don't know anything about the meds but so sorry for your loss and hand holding. can you phn vet Tom to discuss? X

[marmiteloversunite]

I am so sorry for your loss. At least you were there and holding him at the end. They really do make a special place in your heart.

[DiggersRest]

So sorry about your dog

[ChooseAnotherUsername]

Thanks. I'm just so shocked. I knew I'd have to deal with this probably within the next year but I've never had a dog suddenly die like this before. My others gave me a few days warning, which allowed me to mentally prepare, and I'd have to get them PTS.

Apparently the vets won't be taking calls tomorrow, it's a case of whoever turns up at 10am (very specific!) gets seen, so I'll just pop round there to let them know and talk it through. Then I will have to phone the pet crematorium on Monday! This is surreal

[lougle]

I'm so sorry about your boy dying. It does sound possible that the drugs caused some sedation and respiratory depression, but your vet would be best placed to make that judgement.

[LyndaNotLinda]

I'm really sorry. What a horrible shock. :(

Do you have someone with you!

[PickAChew]

It sounds like something neurological got to him. Sorry you've lost your DDog. The only compensation is that it wasn't a long, drawn out affair.

The Gabapentin dose does sound at least twice as high as it should have been, mind. That's double an initial human dose :/

[Decanter]

I'm so sorry to hear about your lovely dog I hope you're ok. How sad. Sorry I don't know anything about the meds or anything

[pommychic]

So sorry for your loss. Hugs xxx

[NoahVale]

so very sad to read this op.

[DailyMailPenisPieces]

so sorry

[Godotsarrived]

So sorry to hear this. Rotties are the best of dogs, awful thing to have happened

[Just5minswithDacre]

So sorry. I'm glad you were with him, though

[ChooseAnotherUsername]

Thanks everyone. I'm home alone although a friend did invite me to hers if I wanted company and I might go and spend time with her tomorrow rather than be stuck at home with him (he's on my living room rug and he'll have to stay there till Monday when the crematorium opens!). To be honest I need to grieve alone because I find company inhibiting. It's good to chat to you all though as you can't see the mess I'm in!

[ChooseAnotherUsername]

I agree Godot, Rotties are lovely. He's my 3rd from Rottweiler Welfare and was an absolute joy. He was friendly with other dogs, he loved people, and the vets loved him. Crap guard dog though, bless him, but then he made a lovely lap dog

[stonecircle]

I'm so sorry for your loss . Small consolation I know but good that you were able to calm and reassure him, and also that he died in familiar surroundings.

I bet he's had an absolutely splendid life with you looking after him.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

So sorry for your loss op.

A similar thing happened to a friends elderly Doberman a couple of years back. Big dogs seem to go very suddenly once there is an illness involved, I don't really understand why.

[bigreendumbell]

So sorry for your loss.
We don't realize how much they mean to us, until they're gone. (I know I didn't)
So sorry. It's a sad time.

[pleasethankyouthankyouplease]

Sorry x

[gettingtherequickly]

So sorry for your loss, you must be devastated.

[Babyroobs]

I'm sorry for your loss, it must be awful. The dose of Gabapentin does seem very high for a dog especially if he has only just been started on it. I am just comparing to the doses we give to humans ( I am a Nurse). I would imagine the dose would be a lot lower even for a large dog like a Rottie. Obviously all you can do is speak to the vets tomorrow and express your concerns, maybe they could do some toxicology test? I hope you get some answers.

[GinBunny]

I'm so sorry about your loss OP. Dogs enrich our lives in a way no human can. You're in shock, but at least Kai isn't suffering any more. He was with you at the end and not in a bleak surgery, that's some small comfort for you. Be kind to yourself

[MsKite]

Sorry to hear this. I'm another one who Rubin's the gabapentin dose sounds high, and possibly the tramadol too although I expect he was a big heavy lad? I only know about human dosing though. At least he didn't suffer long and you were with him.

[ChooseAnotherUsername]

I've been very aware of his mortality for the last couple of years because I've not had a dog live past 9 before and Kai was around 13. I'd watch him like a hawk for signs of something off.

The dose of Gabapentin does concern me. 3 different drug sites said the dose for nerve pain relief for a 44kg dog is anything from 145mg to 485mg. That's a lot less than 2 x 300mg tablets twice a day!

[Janus]

I'm so sorry.
I don't know about these dogs but years ago we had a dog who had anaemia and given tablets. Was told by the vets that this is WAY more serious for a dog and the percentage that survive was not good. We thought ours was getting better as after having medication he got up but he died later that day, few last breaths and passed away by the fire.
We hadn't seen it coming and it was heartbreaking, I'm so sorry.