Last night I came home from my girls All-Star softball game to find Dutchess unable to walk.  She started last week with some vomiting water and loss of appetite.  She had destroyed one of her stuffed toys (she loved to chew a hole and unstuff them) and I thought she may have ingested some of the stuffing.  She was moving her bowels so I wasn't very concerned because she has done this before.  She also came into heat last week.  This week she wasn't acting herself.  She would wake up around 0230 and whine until we left her out to go to the bathroom.  Thursday she left our yard and went to the neighbors.  She has never done that.   Yesterday am she refused food. I prepared Satin Balls for her and boiled some chicken and she wouldn't even lick it.  Not like Dutchess at all.  She would gobble food except when she was in heat, then she had a small appetite.  I called the vet and he wasn't in so I scheduled an appt for today at 0915.  Her bleeding from her heat cycle was heavier and darker than normal and the vets office said she was probably going through menopause. 

I took her to the emergency vet and she was incontinent of urine when I carried her in.  They took her right back.  The doc asked if she had any contact with rat poison and what else had been going on with her because she was really pale.  I went outside to call my husband to find out if she had any exposure to rat poison as he had her at our cabin last week and again on Thursday.  Next thing I know the tech comes out and is telling me that she went into cardiac arrest. The vet said he did an ultrasound and her uterus was large and she had blood coming from her vulva so he thinks she was septic from pyometra but  she never had any drainage other than the dark bloody drainage.  I have been awake most of the night wondering how I missed the pyometra.  I thought that happened a few weeks after the heat cycle. Last night was the first that she looked really sick.  The rat poison sort of fits the picture.  She was very thirsty last week but she also goes through spells where she drinks more than I think she should.  Her bleeding did increase after they were at the cabin last week.  Guess I won't know and feel horrible that I missed something. 

She was  a sweet girl. Her tail was always going and she had kisses for everyone.  She will be missed but she will be with her original owner who loved her dearly.  We had a great year with Dutchess.

I am so sorry. There is no easy way to lose the dog we love, but having it unexpectedly like this is even worse. My sympathies.

Jean

My heart goes out to you, so sorry for your loss. It is very hard to lose a beloved" furry "member of the family, we just went through that last Feb.my prayers are with you.

oh Deb I am so very sorry!
Having met Dutchess I can tell you all that she was a very quiet, regal girl. So friendly and even tempered. She hardly gave Xara a second glance even with me bringing a strange puppy into her home.
I know Benelli will wonder where she's gone off to and stick tight to you all for a few days. Soak up all the love she has to offer and keep the good memories of Dutchess alive in your hearts.
I've dealt with pyometra before with my Chow Chow and I know how hard it is to diagnose at times. One vet said she had nothing more than a UTI, but when she got sicker I took her to a different vet who diagnosed the issue and took care of her and managed to get her well again. But even he said, at times it is very hard to know because not all the signs are there until it is too late. Goldie's uterus was ready to rupture, we caught it just in time.
You really could not have known Deb, please don't feel as though you should have.

I don't know how I missed this!! Sending you hugs and kisses and doggie snuggles to help heal your broken heart.