Our little girl pup, Atreyu, died today around 1PM, comfortably at home with her first family surrounding her; Stefan, I, and Arjax cuddling next to her like always. We believe she died of an accidental intestinal complication.
She had eaten a pot full of garlic alfraedo-covered noodles in the middle of a table on her hind legs. She had never eaten food off the table before--that was the first time I had ever caught her. Since garlic is toxic to dogs, we believe [we aren't able to say 100% anything since the only option to know what exactly was wrong was exploratory surgery with a grim outlook. The most we could do was make her comfortable] that was a part of it along with the fact that she had a lot of pain from gas. I didn't know this but bloating is the second most common cause of death in dogs after cancer. Their digestive track just can't get rid of what it needs to, and it is toxic from there as well. We will miss her terribly and are so sad since it was such a fluke accident and happened so quickly, leaving us completely stunned! She wasn't always an angel dog, but she was spunky, energetic, cuddly, and fun, and we loved her. Here are a few pictures I'd like to share:
Our spunky Atreyu-hanging out upside down on the couch in 2007. She always had such a funny personality!
Cuddling with best bud, Arjax. (Atreyu is on the right.) This picture isn't just a coincidence, they really did snuggle every day together. Arjax even cuddled up to her right until she passed. 
This picture was this Labor Day, when Stefan had the day off. Our daily ritual is to take the dogs out for a walk/run/swim and they love retreiving balls in the water.
She had eaten a pot full of garlic alfraedo-covered noodles in the middle of a table on her hind legs. She had never eaten food off the table before--that was the first time I had ever caught her. Since garlic is toxic to dogs, we believe [we aren't able to say 100% anything since the only option to know what exactly was wrong was exploratory surgery with a grim outlook. The most we could do was make her comfortable] that was a part of it along with the fact that she had a lot of pain from gas. I didn't know this but bloating is the second most common cause of death in dogs after cancer. Their digestive track just can't get rid of what it needs to, and it is toxic from there as well. We will miss her terribly and are so sad since it was such a fluke accident and happened so quickly, leaving us completely stunned! She wasn't always an angel dog, but she was spunky, energetic, cuddly, and fun, and we loved her. Here are a few pictures I'd like to share:
Our spunky Atreyu-hanging out upside down on the couch in 2007. She always had such a funny personality!
Cuddling with best bud, Arjax. (Atreyu is on the right.) This picture isn't just a coincidence, they really did snuggle every day together. Arjax even cuddled up to her right until she passed. 
This picture was this Labor Day, when Stefan had the day off. Our daily ritual is to take the dogs out for a walk/run/swim and they love retreiving balls in the water. Why am I writing this so soon? I guess it will just help. I guess I don't know. I guess I'm just sorry she died so quickly and I needed an outlet. Whatever it is, I know that although she did have her naughty moments (that usually involved rolling in what we'll call 'foreign objects') we still loved her, taught her tricks and obedience, exercised her, and simply found a lot of joy in the pair of them together.
Some of our favorite things about her: her growly-ness (very funny noise she would make, akin to a cat purring); her many many nicknames (Trey, Chewy, Choo-Choo, Spunk, Street Rat--okay that last one has some funny memories to it!); her willingness to let Lukka run her up and down the hallway for hours on end "walking her"; her cuddly times--trying to be a lap dog that weighed almost 70 lbs!
The thing I think Stefan and I will miss the most about her, is what she symbolized to us: spirit. I know this must sound silly but we are hard-core dog people, so bear with me, but when she was able to run freely, you could practically hear the wind behind her. She had no inhibitions when she ran like that. She was the fastest dog I've ever seen, and she would leap like a deer across snowbanks or over water. I am only sorry she wasn't able to enjoy the ocean and mountains as much as we know she would have!
Watching her run excitedly around would sometimes just leave Stefan and I speechless, yet laughing. She gave us joy. She was our little pup. We're going to miss her so much.
Comments
Those pictures made me want to cry. So sweet.
Its actually beneficial to them.
Read the books of Dr. Ian Billinghurst. They are about healthy nutrition for dogs.
Hope that makes you at least feel a bit better.
Again, very sorry.
Our dogs have been on a BARF diet for over a year--we think because the penne pasta + alfraedo sauce had 1/2 weeks worth of fat (for a dog) and a LOT of wheat grains--it must have stopped her up and her intenstinal tract must have done a flip flop--since she died of severe bloating and gas pain. Since that (obviously) wasn't a part of her raw food/meat diet, her system couldn't handle it.
Also, garlic is supposedly toxic to dogs just like onions--it causes their red blood cells (when consumed in high doses) to basically erupt, causing internal bleeding.
A freak accident, and something she had never done before! We're very sorry to have lost her, but thanks for your comments.
*Thanks to everyone else, too, we miss her! *
Sarah M