My dog has just suddenly died!

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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.

That's a beautiful picture of your gorgeous old boy. Love his grey chops!

So sorry you've lost him, there must be a big hole in your life right now

What a beautiful boy. I'm glad you were able to spend a little more time with him

So sorry for your loss. Hope your boy is running free at 🌈 bridge now 🐶💜

Oh he was a handsome chap. Such wise eyes

So sorry for your loss op

So sorry you're going through this but take comfort from the fact he passed away at home in your arms. Am dreading the time coming with our boy.

Your dog was gorgeous.
It's one of the things playing heavily on my mind as to how I will deal with it when my dog too dies. He's not quite as big a dog, but too big to be hidden from my kids as and when.
I feel hugely disloyal even typing this, but I need a plan, right?

How devastating for you. Please take as much comfort as you can from the fact you were with him when he slipped away. He was so lucky to have such a loving owner. So sorry for your loss.

Thank you everyone. Don't know where the time goes, considering all this happened this time last weekend! As soon as the pet crematorium staff collected him I cleared his stuff out - water bowl up, lead and toys away in the spare room, duvet cover off the sofa. Like ripping a plaster off. They were too triggering to leave in place.

I feel surprisingly OK (which I feel weird about), even went through all the photos of him today and smiled. His bed (that he never used since discovering the sofa/view combo ) and food went to a local dog rescue on Tuesday, his crate that his bed was in was folded down and the furniture moved about a bit. The photo I posted is now a framed print in my lounge, and where it's positioned it looks like he's looking out into the garden . Had an unexpected wobble yesterday when I received a condolences card from the vet. Such lovely staff there and so many of the local dog owners praise them too.

"I feel hugely disloyal even typing this, but I need a plan, right?"
itsazoohere I dont think it's disloyal to consider the practicalities in the event of a pet's death as I'd imagine it would make the ending easier. No running around like a headless chicken trying to figure out what to do whilst consumed with shock and grief. Also, and stop reading now if you're at all squeamish as I found out, dead animals quickly go through chemical changes (sorry) and having a plan of what to do with them should they die at home at a weekend like Kai did would make things more pleasant. I admit I do have a rather matter of fact attitude to the biological aspects of death (thinking of the relationship I had with a much loved pet is more upsetting than looking at their bloated body) - I said to him, "Kai, I love you, but you are starting to smell bad, the sooner you go the better". He died on the rug and in hindsight I should've moved him onto tarpaulin not just put folded towels under him in certain places; I've just washed it for the 2nd time and hopefully the smell will be gone now! Sorry, it's grim, but it's the reality. A plan is good.

Shizzlestix, I shall consider contacting Aru, thank you, although a few days ago I had decided not to persue any research that may show a mistake was made, either by the vet or myself. I think if that was the case I'd find it so so hard to get over. It was bad enough dealing with a vet misdiagnosis (different practice) with my 2nd Rottie, who was being treated for IBS when in fact it was bowel cancer. That poor dog suffered more than she should've done and that was very hard to deal with.

Very sorry to hear you lost your beauty big boy but that time you have with them is so precious (until they start smelling) We've found it important for other pets to witness and realise goodbyes too. But anyone planning home death needs to be aware of those practicalities as can be very distressing if not expected and not the way you would want to remember. That awesome photo sounds the perfect thing to memorialise.