11yo Jrt Sudden Death

[Brian_Newcastle]

My JRT collapsed dead the other morning with no apparent health problems prior. She was happy and running around and barking as per normal the night before. She was an unspayed female, 11yo. She was taking Advantix and Sentinel Spectrum monthly. No evidence of snakes or spiders around which may have bitten her. Is an 11yo age an average age to die? According to Google, 13 to 15 years is the average lifespan for the JRT. I chose not to get a necropsy done as it may not provide answers even if I did get it done. Anybody have any comments on JRT lifespan or experiences with the sudden death of dogs with no apparent health problems?

[persephone]

Brian..it is always awful when this happens .... and worrying/wondering can drive us crazy ...

SO many things could have happened ..and everyone here may guess differently. I'm not even going to try.

At least she was home ... and everything was happening as it normally did around her that night and she knew you were home..

[Erny]

As per what Persephone has written.

I am sure you would still be reeling with the shock of this, but anything could have happened. Under the circumstances I think you would find it easier to let your mind rest on the matter and accept that this was "her time". She left without interruption to routine, carrying on her usual activities at home where she would have been comfortable and confident.

I'm sorry for your loss and send you best wishes through what I can imagine would be a pretty tough emotional time.

RIP, little JRT. Run free.

Edited March 2, 2014 by Erny

[*Avanti*]

I have no clues sorry, but wish to offer my condolences. Rest in Peace little JRT.

[Sandra777]

So sorry for your loss.

We lost a dog just about one year ago. He wasn't quite three and in the peak of condition. Necropsy showed he had died of a pulmonary haemorrage due to an anuresym of the pulmonary artery. He had shown no signs that he had any problems. It is always hard when they go and we always blame ourselves because we think we should have known but if you think about the number of apparently healthy people who 'just die' from things like stroke, heart attack, anuresym etc it makes it a little easier to accept that sometimes we don't know and there's nothing we could have done.

11 is not old for a JRT but remember that an average of 12-13 means some live to 17 and some to 7.

[espinay2]

I am sorry for your loss. It can be so hard when this happens.

My immediate thought with sudden death incidents is to look first at the heart.

There is often some kind of pulmonary/cardiac event IMO in these types of cases.

You can't know for sure without a necropsy.

Just remember the good times and try to find some peace in the fact that right up until her death she was enjoying life and did not suffer.

[denali]

Yes, this happened to my CKCS. He was 7 and died one morning. Seemingly peacefully. But he was fit, healthy and had no prior issues.

The vet suspected heart attack, or stroke, though i also chose not to get a necropsy done.

So sorry to hear about your girl. RIP

[Brian_Newcastle]

Thankyou for your kind words. It is good to be able to talk to people who can relate. Being sudden with no prior signs led me to believe something related to the heart, but that's just a guess. I am glad that she wasn't sick or suffered before she passed.

[Sares]

Sorry to hear of your loss!

My best friend had a JRT-cross, he was 5 years old when something similar happened to him. He was healthy and acting normal and just died suddenly and unexpectantly one day. We have no idea why.

[fbaudry]

So sorry to hear about your loss. Is she a different dog from the one you mentioned in the rainbow bridge thread?

[Brian_Newcastle]

So sorry to hear about your loss. Is she a different dog from the one you mentioned in the rainbow bridge thread?

No, she is the same dog. Just posted here as I wanted to see if anyone else had had the experience of JRT's or any other dog for that matter just dropping dead one day when being seemingly healthy and behaving normally.

[Tassie]

Brian - what a shock for you - so sad.

I knew someone whose young (under 2) Golden Retriever just dropped dead walking round out in the backyard - no prior warning. turns out it was a ruptured aortic aneurism. Horrible for the family in what seemed like a healthy bouincy young Golden.

I am glad that she wasn't sick or suffered before she passed

. I think that is the only way to look at it. From the dog's point of view there are a lot worse ways to go - and even for the owner. i never know what is worse, a sudden death or having to agonize over when is the right time to make the hard decision. Hopefully you have years of happy memories of your little dog.

And yes - this is (although occasionally it might not seem like it) an enormously supportive community of folks who 'get' how we feel about our dogs.

[Loving my Oldies]

I don't have anything to add to what the other posters have said, except to truly sympathise and offer condolences for your loss. Kirby was obviously a much loved girl and she would have known that until the very end.

My experience is pretty limited but I've had a very young dog die of congenital heart disease, one youngish die of cancer, but the rest of my dogs have been elderly and all have been toy breeds.

What I have noticed though is that, in the amazing manner of dogs, you think that a dog will go on forever and suddenly the wheels fall off and the downward spiral can be very fast.

[Chris the Rebel Wolf]

So sorry to hear of your loss, Brian. Thoughts with you.

Different animal experience but when I bred cayvs and one of my healthiest, most promising one year old girls died without any prior symptoms I opted to get an autopsy done. It revealed she had serious cancer in several organs. I was so shocked by how bad it was, when up until the day she died she was so happy and healthy... you never really know what is happening inside, sometimes.