Bulldogs World

My beloved English bulldog, Abby, recently died at age 3 of aortic stenosis.  I received her as a puppy, a gift from my daughter, and her vet discovered this condition during her first physical.  After also consulting with a veterinary cardiologist, I came to understand that her life expectancy was short, and that nothing could be done to cure this condition.  So, as have many of you reading this letter, I committed to giving her whatever life span she might be granted, and also committed to enjoying every day with her.  I was warmly rewarded for this decision, and was honored to spend 3 years with this intelligent, funny, unique little soul.

Her death, however, was not what I had expected…and this is why I am posting this on several sites.  I had been told that her death would be sudden - perhaps I would find her dead when I awoke in the morning, or she might simply drop while interacting with several of the deer who regularly visited her front yard.  But, unfortunately, this was not how her life ended.  From when Abby first began to struggle for breath, it was 2 hours before she died.  I now understand that her lungs were slowly filling with fluid, giving her a much more lingering death than the sudden ventricular fibrillation that I had been told expect.

I think that this information is important for others to know, as had I realized that Abby might suffer, I would have had an ‘action plan’ – perhaps had some medications on hand that could ease her breathing, previously arranged with several friends that I might need them suddenly to help carry her to the car for euthanasia, made sure that, even in our small town, there was some way to get a veterinary response during the late night hours.  Certainly, I would have taken more note of her lack of appetite earlier in the day.  But expecting a sudden, immediate death, I wanted her to be able to die at home.  So when she began to struggle, I simply held her, believing that she would pass at any moment.  Sadly, those moments turned into minutes and then into hours.

Abby was a wonderful companion.  To honor her memory, I want to urge readers who have dogs with this diagnosis to have an action plan for the end.  While your beloved pet’s death will probably be quite sudden, there is a chance that your dog might die a more lingering death, needing human help to pass.  With accurate information comes the ability to plan, and I know that Abby would want you to have that gift.