Sudden death of our seemingly healthy, 4 yr. old golden

[doggie_lover]

Today our beloved Golden Retriever died suddenly, and without warning.  He was 4 years old, and in seemingly perfect health.  My mother was in the yard where he was running and playing happily.  She turned her back on him for no more than a minute.  When she turned around and approached him, he was lying on the ground without life.  There were no external indications of trauma or struggle.

We are very saddened by this loss, and even more so by the seemingly random nature of what happened.  The thought of an autopsy, however, discomforts us, and so are not choosing not to have one.  I believe, however, that we would gain a sense of closure in knowing the cause of his death; to know that in fact, what happened was not random and senseless.  

In a brief discussion with our vet, he mentioned a number of potential heart conditions, focusing on a fatal arrhythmia.  Could anyone please provide any further information, or any documented cases such as ours?  Thank you.  

[lonewolf07]

I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your Golden Retriever.

Can understand and respect your decision not to have an autopsy.  Could he have had bloat?  Dogs hide their pain and bloat is often overlooked.  Did he, by any chance, have foam coming out of his mouth?

Most likely you are hurting over the loss of your dog (I've been there) but please know that you gave your dog a good and happy life and I'm sure he felt loved and wanted by his "human family" in the four years he had with you.

Please post here anytime if you are in need of support or just want to talk about it.

lonewolf

[aggieone]

I am so very sorry for your loss, to lose one of our babies is so painful, especially when there is no warning.

I have no clue as to what happened; the exact thing happened to our friends' golden.  Laurin went out to feed him and Johnson came running toward him, stopped, seemed to have a seizure which lasted a few seconds and then he  died.  They were devastated.  If I am not mistaken, there is some older posts that describe the same circumstances.  Maybe you can go back and read.  

Hang in there, I hope you can piece together what happened to your baby.  Stay on this site, as all who come here are wonderful supporters and great friends.  Aggie