Why Did Our Healthy Puppy Die?

Annie arrived at our house at the end of November 2011 when she was eight weeks old. The kids were so excited. She was an early Christmas present from Santa. I couldn't believe how quickly she became a member of our family. I can’t believe how quickly she was gone.

Annie has had all her visits to the vet. I was told she was healthy. Three days ago, Annie was spayed. At 4:30 this morning, I heard a strange noise from Annie’s cage. I went down to her kennel and she was not moving. I was beside myself. I couldn’t figure out if I try to give her CPR. I put her on her back and pushed on her chest. She was jerking a bit but not breathing. She was our puppy and just turned six months today.

I had the forms from her spay surgery still on the counter. I called the emergency line. They said that since she was not responding to anything, I needed to bring her in. I picked her up. She was like a rag doll.

It was about 4:45 am now. My husband was traveling for work. Do I get the five kids out of bed? I started the car and put a lifeless Annie in the passenger seat. This was not looking good. I ran upstairs and told the kids, “Guys. Something is wrong with Annie. Get on shoes. We need to take her to the hospital”.

Of course the kids were confused. We drove ten minutes to the Animal Hospital and parked in the emergency zone. I needed to unload the kids and Annie. I went inside and set her on the counter.

They looked at me grim.

They asked if wanted CPR performed. I still needed to get the kids out of the car. I said, “Probably not.” I think I knew that Annie was gone and I started to cry.

By the time I got the kids unloaded and into the Animal Hospital, I was being led to ‘the room’. This was a room with pictures of animals with plaques below. There was a couch, some fake plants and it was so supposed to be comforting. I was already in the bereavement room.

The vet came in. He said, “I don’t know what to tell you.” He said that without performing an autopsy, we would not know for sure what happened. I said that would not be necessary. It wasn’t going to change anything. Our puppy was gone.

I asked if they bring her back in for us to say our good byes. She looked asleep. She was wet. They had already given her a bath.

We said our good byes. I chose our ‘after life’ options. They said they would send me her paw prints in the mail in about a week. I swiped my debit card. I loaded up the kids. Annie was gone.

I got home and I was so confused. She had just had surgery. Was that the cause? She had gotten sick once last night. Should I have not put her to bed? Should I have known she was not okay?

I put my older two kids on the bus. They asked me why Annie died. I said, “I am sorry, Dear. I have absolutely no idea.”

The kids asked if we can get a new Annie. We probably will. In the meantime, I will try to process why our six month old, healthy puppy died.

We miss you, Annie!