Hi All!

I wanted to share my sad news with you all and wondered if anyone could give me any advice as to why this happened? Our beloved family dog 'Ellie' died suddenly last Wednesday, she was a 6 1/2 year old West Highland Terrier. We are all devastated and have been thinking about whether or not we could have prevented it. Ever since we've had her (from 3 months old) she has had a very sensitive tummy. We found a dog food that suited her (which was a very bland food). Any time that she ate anything out of the ordinary (food that was dropped on the floor that she got to before we had chance to pick up) she would have an upset tummy. We tried her with leftovers too but had the same problem. She has been on chappie almost all her life but recently (within the last couple of months) she's not been eating it but would still scrounge for our food and constantly look for food. Her weight has been up and down since birth too. We changed her food again a few weeks back and she seemed to love it and her motions were fine too. Ellie lives with my mum and my mum was very worried that she was very thin so she made an appointment at the vets last Tuesday. Ellie ate her dinner the night before and her motions were fine. She took her to the vets and told the vet her symptoms and the vet gave her 2 injections. (My mum said they were given to her to 'boost' her up a bit). Her temperature was taken and the vet noticed a little black on the thermometer when she pulled it out. She gave Ellie the 2 injections and mum and Ellie left for home. When mum put Ellie down on the floor to walk outside the vet she just stood there and wouldn't walk. Mum picked her up and took her home. Once home, mum put some Chicken and Rice down for her (which she loves) but she never touched any of it. She laid on the settee and stayed there all evening. Around midnight mum thought Ellie was dreaming (jolting out her front paws), twitching and breathing slowly. While laying on the settee Ellie suddenly went to toilet and the motions were black. Mum said it looked like black tar. Ellie laid motionless on the settee and then around 2am her breathing became very slow and she died. My mum is blaming herself, but isn't totally sure why. She wonders whether she was ill for some time and the stress/shock of going to the vets was too much for her or it was the injections that maybe took her over the edge. It is such a coincidence that it happened 8 hours after going to the vets. We just don't know what to think? The vet said we could have a post mortem done but we just didn't want to put her through anything else. We miss her so, so much and are totally dumbfounded as to what happened...

Many thanks, Louise

I'm vary sorry for your loss. 
Without a post mortem I doubt you will ever know but it sounds as if she had internal bleeding before the visit to the vet.

So sorry for your loss.

I have known of a Westie with pancreatitis that died suddenly in a similar sort of way, but there are all sorts of other illnesses that could have been the cause, and it sounds as though you did everything you could for her, which is the important part. A post mortem might not have given you an answer anyway.

Run free Ellie.

Just to say I am so sorry for your loss, it comes as such a terrible shock when we lose them so suddenly. You all obviously loved Ellie very much and had nursed her funny tum with great care.

So sorry for your loss. Love and Hugs to you all.

sorry~to~hear~about~this

Do you think this is vaccine damage due to many dogs have been died after vaccination

Sorry for your loss.
Sometimes these things happen and there's nothing else you could of done to stop it.

So sorry to hear this .  It sounds like there was nothing you could have done
When we lost our first cavalier she also passed black tarry stuff. The vet said it was her liver being broken down ( she had heart failure which I assume made her other organs fail)

Oh Louise
Don't let your Mum blame herself. She sought out the Vet to try to make Ellie better. Unfortunately something was obviously very wrong. So sorry to hear that you lost her.

So sorry to hear of your loss :(

You and your mum must remember, the vet examined her and with all his/her experience found nothing to mention or he would have certainly kept her in for more tests, the injections as he said would just have given her a boost, your mum did everything she could and should not blame herself.

So very sorry to hear about your sad loss :-(

So very sorry. we always try to find blame when these awful things happen and more often than not its ourselves we blame but what more could you or your mum have done. You really cared for your girl. There is no doubt about that.

i'm so sorry that your darling ellie has died.you all did right by her,there's no doubt about that.everyone has these feelings that there must have been something they could have done.black stools suggest digested blood,perhaps a blood vessel was leaking.i'm so glad she died at home while your mum was with her,though it must have been an awful shock for your mum.ellie can eat whatever she likes now and as much as she likes.don't forget,it's not over between you,she'll be there when the time is right.x

I am so sorry to hear of your sad loss and just want to send lots of hugs to you all.  Dear Ellie was obviously much loved and very well cared for.

So very sorry for your loss.  Thinking of you and your mom. 

Run Free at the Bridge Ellie

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts...

Mum is coping better then I thought she would and I do think it was so sudden that there just wasn't anything we could do to stop it. Darling Ellie knew she was loved very much (and was probably sick of all the cuddles we gave her!) :-)

Love you lots Ellie xxx

Have just read this, so sorry and sad, RIP Ellie.

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of dear Ellie at such a young age.  Your mum did all she could but some things are not meant to be.

I have a westie too so I know how you must feel.

Run free little Ellie.

Snowflake

So sad to hear of the loss of little Ellie.Run free little one.

So sad to hear of the loss of little Ellie.Run free little one.

Just wanted to say I am sorry (((hugs)))