I am not really sure where to start. I had a 3 1/2 year old chocolate lab. He was a very healthy dog that never ate people food and was very well exercised. I planned on breeding him but never did so I took him to get neutered. He came home from the surgery and was lathargic but I didn't think anythign of it since he had been under anestesia that day. He acted the same the next day (saturday) so I called the vet and told them. They said if he did not eat by monday to bring him in. Sunday afternoon he collapsed but was still awake. He was breathing very heavily and seemed like he was not all there. I called the emergency clinic and rushed him there immediately. The vet there took him in on a stretcher and came out not but 5 minutes later and said he did not respond to any of the drugs and he was dead. I was SHOCKED. The vet that neutered him supposedly did an autopsy and said his stomach filled with blood and his blood was no coagulating. I still do not understand why or how this could have happened. So a few months after he died, I started looking through pictures of him. I noticed that in his last year of life (between 2-3yrs old) he seemed like he had aged 10 years. His facial hair turned gray, he gained weight and just looked unhappy. I am constantly beating myself up over what I could have or should have done and why didnt I notice. He also panted a lot but was very active so I didnt think it was bad. Do you have any idea what could have happened to him? A fairly young and healthy dog should not die from being neutered. Please help!
I'm very sorry. That is really a tragedy; not only because of your pet's untimely death but also because it may make more people fearful of neutering their pets.
Obviously there was a problem with him prior to the surgery. I can't say exactly what (there are a couple of diseases which could do this) but it caused him to have an inability to coagulate his blood properly.
Please do not feel guilty about what happened. You did nothing wrong. If the vet wasn't able to detect a problem prior to (and during) the surgery, then YOU definitely could not have detected it.
I'm sure your pet had a great life with you, even though it was such a short one. You did the right thing about getting him neutered. I hope all his memories stay close.
