yesterday my 11 year old maltese suddenly died...why...the doctors say they don't know.

[joohee218]

A year ago she had most of her teeth extracted & sometimes she would throw up after drinking water. So before her death, I can't remember exactly, but she wasn't energetic so I thought a treat would cheer her up. later heard she yelped as if choking. so I tried to help her and then she seemed fine. either later/the next day, about 3/4 days, she was having trouble breathing & sometimes she made weird coughing sounds like she lost her voice. On July 23, 2011, we scheduled an appointment. For the past few days she could walk and pee but that day-no. on the way, saliva kept coming out & there, I asked for water but she wouldnt drink. saw FOAM in her mouth-I remembered she looked so scared as they said it was probably HEAT STROKE-10/15mins. pass they call us in. I was anxious to see her okay-but the doctor came in alone. My mom asked what the COD was-her answer: We don't know. As soon as we took her back she let go & she died. Now, me & my mom were suspicious that Angel dyed from a shock from the cold water. she kept saying that it was probably internal cancer & also her age. she said Angel coughed blood before she died. i dont know if she said this only to cheer us up: Angel was holding on for you guys because she loved you because as soon as we took her to the back, she was struggling and she just let go. online there was something about maltese's getting mouth disease-my dog's teeth werent in good condition & I remember before her death, I tried wiping her teeth with a q-tip there was blood and she reacted to it since it probably hurt or felt sensitive. But I'm not sure if this had anything to do with her death. She just breathed abnormally as if she were gasping for air- she lost her appetite- became weak- and sometimes gaged as if something were coming out - only nothing did. if it were true she died of internal illness, wouldn't  there be symptoms earlier?

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I am very sorry for your loss!

I can only speculate about the cause of your dog's death because only a post mortem exam (autopsy) could give a definitive cause of death.

But, from the symptoms you describe I believe that your dog may have had an hidden heart condition, from which she eventually passed.  The heart condition could have been caused by peridontal disease, a heart based tumor or many other causes.  Cold water would not have caused enough of a shock to cause a problem.  Aspiration pneumonia is also unlikely.

[ripleymt]

Hi,
First I want to say I'm very sorry for your loss. I know from experience how hard it is to lose a pet. I am not a doctor, but I do medical transcription. Unfortunately, believe it or not, bad teeth to the degree of bleeding gums, infections, etc. can cause major problems in not only dogs but also in humans. The plaque buildup and infections can spread throughout the body to the bloodstream and to the heart, causing heart failure and other organ damage. In our older pets, it is important to give them something to break up that plaque on the teeth and/or brush their teeth. I'm sure your vet could give you more info, but I just wanted to let you know that the teeth could very well have been the cause of death.  Also, the dog could have had aspiration from the dog treat if he/she didn't have teeth to chew it, but with the bleeding gums more than likely it caused extensive problems to the dog's heart with the breathing problems (sounds like heart failure). Hopefully, you will know what to look for in the future with other pets and anytime you're in doubt just call and ask your vet or do an online search for more info. I hope this helped & once again I'm really sorry for the loss of your dog.