Bess 10-19-18.
Out of the blue, she foamed and slobbered at the mouth. She then threw up copiously and walked around groaning in obvious distress, apparently abdominal, for several minutes. I realized after several moments that she had defecated nearby. I followed her around talking to her, hoping that she would get relief after upchucking. Minutes later she retreated to a corner and vomited foam. At one point she rolled on her side and flailed. Weeping, I called several vets at 8 pm on Friday. None were available for house calls. I called my sister and my neighbor. She cleaned, he massaged her, and we talked to her for 45 minutes. Her breathing came increasingly fitfully and faintly. She died.
My dog Cookie died, 3-4 years of age, October 10, 2016. I’ve shown pictures of Cookie’s box of ashes in previous posts. Bess died, 3-4 years of age, October 19, 2018. What’s with October? I’m wondering if there’s something in this environment that condemns my dogs to premature, catastrophic failure. It’s difficult to process this event. Literally one hour before her death I was kicking Bess’s big round ball to her in the livingroom, and she was blocking it with her ass, growling and swatting it with her rubber bone, and cutting off my every shot with extreme dexterity — her favorite game.
I post this with inexpressible sadness.
EthicalDative 
I’m so sorry to hear. I lost my dog unexpectedly too – he had a stroke while playing frisbee.
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Oops not quite finished – I just wanted to say that they’re such wonderful, sensitive companions and I can only imagine the hole that’s left.
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Thanks so much. I’m sorry to hear about your loss. Others’ words are comforting. I was so distraught last night. The vet who picked up her body today surmised that she suffered a torsion of the stomach after eating — I think that was his term — a twisting or flipping. He said it tends to happen to the larger breeds, and that a dog that doesn’t get attention quickly usually doesn’t survive. I was desperately calling around trying to get urgent care for her, but after hours and approaching a weekend it was a lost cause. What haunts me most is her groaning and obvious distress before she collapsed and faded away. The bouts of tears come and go more or less unpredictably. The suddenness makes it harder to process. My last two dogs have expired catastrophically in their prime. I’m left with my elderly cat, Spot. I think I’ll retire from dog ownership for the foreseeable future! Thanks for looking in and commenting. It occurred to me that it might be awkward for a visitor to “like” an announcement of a pet’s demise, but I welcome the gesture of attention, nonetheless, from the kind persons with whom I commune in blogdom. It’s not endorsing the tragedy, but rather a sign of taking note.
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I’m so sorry JMN. I’m sure it was comforting to her your being there and talking to her at the end.
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Comforting words. Helps to try to find positives. Thanks so much. Must get back to blogging!
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