My dog died suddenly

[Toniette]

My golden who was nine, was very active and a lovable dog. The day before he died he was active as usual. Never had any symptoms of being ill as my other golden died of lymphoma 6 months ago at age 11. Friday morning getting ready for work I notice Buster was not himself, he was breathing heavy, weak, and did not want his morning food. I checked his gums and notice they were white. I left for work and called my husband to see how he was. He said that the dog was outside lying down and he was trying to get him in. Buster weighed 130lbs but was a very tall dog. Almost the size of a great dane. As my husband and I were conversing over the dog, he mentioned to me that the neighbor's handyman had sprayed for poison ivy because he was allergic to it.Red flags went up in my head and I called the vet. I was to bring Buster in imediatly but was an hour from home. I called my husband and son in law to bring him in. By the time the dog got to the vet, Buster had to be carried in. White blood count was off the chart. Buster had to be put down as he was now having heart failure. My vet said that had it been poison from the spraying, He would have been vomiting and diahrea. His diagnosis was cancer. Yesterday I was talking to the neigbor and the handyman was there and Nancy and I spoke abour the ground hog who has been causing havoc with the kids coming out. The handyman said not worry about that rodent anymore, he took care of it............I felt the first time Buster been poison and now after that statement really feel he was poisoned. My question is....can a poison cause a lukemia ?

[Terri627]

I'm sorry for your loss. My parents just lost their dog, I took him to the vet for them.
It was just too difficult for them. I am really sad, but I know their sadness is deeper.
My heart goes out to you.

Terri

[Red931]

Keep them both in your heart and they will always be with you.

God Bless

[Toniette]

Sad to say I did not have a necropsy done, I was at work when Buster passed and did not know about his death till I got home. needless to say, I was a basket case. I can not bring him back, I can only remember what a wonderful dog he was. My husband being a Viet Nam vet. Should I say more. If he felt that the handyman had his hand in it, I shudder to think. Again, thank you all for your support. It means alot to me.
Toniette

[have 2 kids]

I'm sorry for the loss of your golden.    Dogs will not always vomit or have diarrhea when poisoned.   Are you havning a necropsy done?

[Red931]

Ghilly had more helpful information for you. I did not think of a tumor rupturing, but I agree that the only way to find out is a necropsy.

[Red931]

I have to say I don't really know lately. I am very sorry for your loss.

I have to say that I really don't think that your dog died from cancer that just came over him that quickly. You would have noticed some other signs of the disease prior I would think. My opinion, based on what you have said is that he very well may have been poisoned. I am saying that because of the WBC.

The only way you can find out for sure is to have the dog's remains examined and I am assuming it is too late for that.

That handyman needs to get some help also. There are agencies that can be called to deal with the Ground Hog in a  humane manner. That animal is just as afraid of the children as they are of him. He could be relocated rather than killed. I can stand it when people are so ignorant.

I am sorry about what happened to you best friend as well as the recent loss of your other dog.

God Bless

[Ghilly]

I am so sorry to hear that you lost a beloved pet.  Buster sound like a beautiful dog.  I'm sure he was very much loved and will be missed.

To answer your question about poison causing leukenia, chronic exposure to benzene has been proven to cause leukemia.  

Was the vet's diagnosis leukemia?  Or was it just a general diagnosis of some type of cancer?  The reason I ask is because you said that Buster's gums were white.  Since there was no blood loss because of a wound, the white gums indicates that he was bleeding internally somewhere and, in fact, had died from blood loss.  In these types of cases, it is often that there is a cancerous tumor that has ruptured, causing death from massive internal blood loss.  The only way to tell for sure what type of cancer it was would be to have a necropsy performed.  

Again, I am very sorry for your loss.  No matter how long we have them with us, it is never long enough.  

Ghilly