# Vaia is dead. Possibly related to Trance's mystery injury?



## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

Just found her dead. 

When I brought Trance in for his mystery injury, I put her in his spot because it's the coolest during the day. There is an old wellhouse that the dogs love to sleep in. I am thinking that whatever did this is in there. Maybe a spider??

This is all very strange I am still in shock.


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

OMG I'm so sorry!!! Vaia is the puppy correct? It could have been a black widow or brown recluse... I'd have a necropsy done! She wasn't showing signs of illness beforehand??? If she was outside it could have been heat stroke? I'm so sorry!

Check for snake bite marks too!


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## American_Pit13 (Apr 23, 2007)

I am so sorry! I lost some animals last year to unidentified bites I know how shocking it is.


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

pitbullmamanatl said:


> OMG I'm so sorry!!! Vaia is the puppy correct? It could have been a black widow or brown recluse... I'd have a necropsy done! She wasn't showing signs of illness beforehand??? If she was outside it could have been heat stroke? I'm so sorry!
> 
> Check for snake bite marks too!


I honestly don't think it could be heatstroke, it is heavily shaded, she was in the wellhouse which is VERY cool. Plenty of water. No Sign of a struggle....

Yeah she was the puppy.... It's just so suspicious that Trance is in the condition he is coming from that SAME spot. And when I found Trance he wasn't in the wellhouse where he usually is. Maybe he realized that whatever got him was in the wellhouse??? I don't know... I don't have the money for a necropsy..I wish that I did. A dead puppy was NOT what I was expecting to see...


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

Sorry for your loss. Do you have any poisonous snakes or bugs?


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

aimee235 said:


> Sorry for your loss. Do you have any poisonous snakes or bugs?


Yeah we have quite a few of both. There was no swelling that I could tell....or puncture wounds. I didn't look close enough for evidence of spider bites to be honest. I don't think it was a snake. We do have recluses and black widows...

I can't find anything on Trance, its hard to tell on him because he still has a few small wounds from before.

Sean is going to call pops when he gets a break at work to tell him the news....he's going to be heartbroken. I am still shocked.


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## Wingman (Oct 21, 2009)

Well I would count out the spider bite to be honest. Most spider bites take a minute to actually kill you, plus there would be a huge a** bump somewhere that would have disolved tissue around it. 

Is the wellhouse underground? As like...you go inside and step down a bit? If so it could be a gas. Call your local fire department and ask them if they'd be willing to come out and check for different gasses. Could be something like that.

I'm sorry to hear about this though, it's always tough to lose a pet


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

Wingman said:


> Well I would count out the spider bite to be honest. Most spider bites take a minute to actually kill you, plus there would be a huge ass bump somewhere that would have disolved tissue around it.
> 
> Is the wellhouse underground? As like...you go inside and step down a bit? If so it could be a gas. Call your local fire department and ask them if they'd be willing to come out and check for different gasses. Could be something like that.
> 
> I'm sorry to hear about this though, it's always tough to lose a pet


She was only 25lbs. I'm not sure about the gas. It's a sulphur spring wellhouse. It's not very deep in the ground, maybe 12" inset into the hill.

I don't know what could have happened.....its very odd.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Aw girl I'm so sorry  R.I.P. Vaia. Dang you've had it so hard I'm so sorry *hugs* Do you think she would have eaten a spider? My bobcat bubba was playing in the garage and found a black widow. He always ate bugs and flies so he probably thought it would be fine. He was so so sick I thought he got poisoned and rushed him to the vet. They had him there for almost a week. He was on IV's and before he came home they gave him a big shot of fluids that made him look like a hump back. They said if we had gotten home a half hour later he wouldn't have made it.
I'm so sorry girl keep your head up *more hugs*


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## aus_staffy (Nov 10, 2009)

What a terrible thing to happen. I'm sorry for your loss.


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

Is it normal for a dog to bite through it's tongue after it dies?


Thanks everyone for your support. I am determined to get to the bottom of this. We are burning the wellhouse this weekend.


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## FloorCandy (Feb 19, 2009)

OMG I'm so sorry! What a terrible tragedy.


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## DueceAddicTed (Sep 28, 2009)

OMG nO ! I can't believe this ... I'm sooo sorry for you loss I loved me some Vaia. 
R.I.P Baby girl


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

FloorCandy said:


> OMG I'm so sorry! What a terrible tragedy.


You've been through it too. Its hard.

I went and did a little forensic investigation. I found quite a bit of vomit. The first vomit contained partially digested dog food and bits of rawhide I had given her with her food. Then there were at least 2 other spots that were also vomit. They were pure, slimy looking liquid that had the sheen of a snail's trail, kwim? There was a lot of this.

She also had a tick, but it appeared to have been there for a few days.

Good Bye Little Girl.....


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Oh girl so sorry. If she bit through her tongue them I'm willing to bet she had a seizure. Our American Bulldog had seizures. He had to be put down but one before he passed he bit through his tongue and it took a long time to heal. Do you know if any dogs related to her had seizures? That could be what happened. One of Mack's caused brain damage and we had to put him down cause of it.
*more hugs* so sorry


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## fortyfootelf (Feb 2, 2010)

it could have been alot of other thing other than bugs or snakes. where do you liveat like the city or the woods? someone could have spilled something from their car, or the fact that alot of people dont like pit bulls. someone could have easily had poisoned him. 

now for snakes, ive seen a young pup get bitten by a velvet tail rattlesnake around the age of 10mths old but the only thing that had happend was her head had swollen up to the size of a basketball.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

I'm guessing if she bit through her tongue it was a seizure a necropsy will tell for sure.
once again *hugs* so sorry for your loss.


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

I checked her for bites. Nothing. Nothing at all. We live in the country and there's no one around really. I don't get why out of all the big scary males while they would choose to poison a puppy. She was on a tie out so she didn't get into any chemicals.

What about the rawhide????


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

If she puked it out then that probably wasn't it. When rawhides mess up a dog it's when they digest them and it goes into the intestins. She may have had a heat enduced seizure. Is it really hot where you are?


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## FloorCandy (Feb 19, 2009)

I was thinking seizure as well, but I believe heat stroke and anaphylaxis could cause seizures so the only way to really know is a necropsy. The suggestion of the dogs having eaten a spider seems plausible if no marks are present. We don't have any really poisonous spiders out here, but I am so allergic to even safe spiders that I had MRSA for almost a year and the doctors thought I had a spider problem in my house and the boils I had were from spider bites lol. So the range of reaction can be pretty wide. There might be a nest, and the baby spiders just hatched, which would make the bites small and hard to see, if the pup was in ground zero so to speak she may have had multiple bites from many baby hatching spiders, and the adult may have been further away and only got one, and was basically rendered immobile, and wasn't able to get close enough to the others.


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

We are going to bury her when Sean gets home in a couple of hours. My main focus now, is Trance, who has not improved. It may be time for a trip to the vet.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Please let us know of the updates and once again I'm very sorry for your loss. Your family will be in my prayers tonight and I hope all goes well with Trance at the vet, Keep your head up girl I'll be here for you PM me and I'll give you my # if you need anything or just some one to talk to.


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## Cujo's Mom (Feb 3, 2010)

sorry for the tragic loss of Vaia... our prayers are with you! and we hope all goes well for Trance.


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

Nikki, all I can say is I'm sorry and that poor Vaia deserved better. You may never know what really happened but, as everyone says, she is in a better place now. D*mn, I hope so. You and your family take care and keep us informed about Trance.


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## Sydney (Aug 14, 2007)

I would really try to find out what happened to her and Trance only because I would not feel comfortable putting my dogs back outside until I knew what was going on...


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## Krystle_Ann (Apr 3, 2010)

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss.


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## ThaLadyPit (Oct 12, 2008)

Nikki, I am so very sorry for your loss of Vaia, and I extend my deepest condolences. I know you said you don't have the money to have a necropsy done, but maybe you can work something out with your vet to make payments on the total once it's completed!? Just a thought. Definitely sounds like Vaia had a seizure, but it's hard to say what would have caused it w/out having the necropsy done. If/when you do take Trance to the vet, please let us know what you find out. I'm not sure what effects any gas leaks would have on the dogs, but that's definitely something to consider as well. I do hope you solve this mystery, and keep us updated on what you find out. You and your family are in my prayers.


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## apbtmom76 (Nov 4, 2008)

Oh Nikki, I have just read this, I am truely sorry for your loss, RIP Vaia, run free at the bridge baby girl.

Nikki, I really like Bev's idea, see if you can find some vet to help youwork on a payment plan or something, but I do understand about not having the money. I am with Krystal on the seizure thing though, since my Penny is an epi, I have seen her bite holes in her tongure from her siezures. Please know you and your family are in my thoughts, tons of hugs and let us know how Trance is doing.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

GTR said:


> Is it normal for a dog to bite through it's tongue after it dies?
> 
> Thanks everyone for your support. I am determined to get to the bottom of this. We are burning the wellhouse this weekend.


No that is not normal and sounds more like a seizure. IMO it sounds more like poisoning, vomiting and a seizure that caused her to bite her own tongue. She got into something or something go to here like a frog or possibly even a snake. If she dies from a snake bite it cold have happened fast and the skin did not show more than a puncture and it killed her too quick to kill of tissue.
I m so sorry that happened! RIP little girl


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## meganc66 (Mar 6, 2009)

I am so sorry to hear this!!! Vaia was so cute, I loved seeing photos of her. I hope you can find out what happened to her and you can get Trance better as well. 

RIP Vaia, sweet puppy.

PS: I agree with the above post of keeping the dogs inside until you figure it out... but that's just me.


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## davidfitness83 (Jul 7, 2009)

sorry to hear that =( RIP puppy girl..


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## Carley (Mar 18, 2009)

sorry for your loss rip pretty girl


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## Sydney (Aug 14, 2007)

performanceknls said:


> No that is not normal and sounds more like a seizure. IMO it sounds more like poisoning, vomiting and a seizure that caused her to bite her own tongue. She got into something or something go to here like a frog or possibly even a snake. If she dies from a snake bite it cold have happened fast and the skin did not show more than a puncture and it killed her too quick to kill of tissue.
> I m so sorry that happened! RIP little girl


OOOOOoooo Frog! I forgot about these little buggers...is it possible there are frogs in the wellhouse? A dog eating a frog can actually be deadly...another members dog died from that a couple of years ago...


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their support. This community has always been a great resource for myself and my dogs and I just wanted to say thanks again.

So far, this is the general collection of facts I have surrounding her death. Most of which are pointing to seizure, although the cause of it is unknown.

1) Vomit, evidence of dry heaving vomit
2) When I found her body, there was liquid stains in the dirt around her mouth and rear end with a small poop. Caused by convulsions? I don't know.
3) Her tongue was hanging out to one side with her jaws heavily clamped down on it. There was some blood here. 
4) There was only one tick, it appeared to be dead, though still attached. 

She was buried last night. We were up until 4 in the morning. It was gorgeous outside. The stars and moon were out, scattered clouds, it was very bright. The temperature was perfect. We buried her next to the old fence, white flowers everywhere....it was really pretty...


Trance is not doing any better. He has a healthy appetite and thirst, but still having significant issues with his leg. It twitches a lot when he's laying down. I am beginning to suspect a tick-born disease. We are taking him tomorrow to the vet. I was going to take him today, but we only have one car at the moment so my husband took it to work. We didn't get to sleep until about 5am. 

I will keep you guys posted and let you know what the vet says. I am going to confide in her about Vaia and see what she suspects.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Aww Nikki *hugs* I'm very sorry this happened and little Vaia and Trance will be in my prayers. I hope everything goes good at the vet and the poor boy has a speedy recovery.


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

kg420 said:


> Aww Nikki *hugs* I'm very sorry this happened and little Vaia and Trance will be in my prayers. I hope everything goes good at the vet and the poor boy has a speedy recovery.


Thanks girl  :hug:

I'm sure he will be fine I couldn't go a day without my Tranceman. Gotta think positive thoughts and keep moving forward.


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## Sydney (Aug 14, 2007)

GTR said:


> First of all, I want to thank everyone for their support. This community has always been a great resource for myself and my dogs and I just wanted to say thanks again.
> 
> So far, this is the general collection of facts I have surrounding her death. Most of which are pointing to seizure, although the cause of it is unknown.
> 
> ...


When an animal or anything dies it looses control of its bowels...poop, pee, drool? She may have also vomited before her death as well...


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

It could be a tick Bourne disease but I think you might have seen signs of it before hand. Whats going on with both dogs doesn't match up but maybe the vet will be able to give you some insight to what is going on.

As far as her death it still sounds like some sort of seizure and the cause could be poison (intentional from someone or something like a frog or other toxin she got to like a mushroom)or another medical condition you didn't know about. The releasing of the bowls is normal at death but also can happen in a seizure.

I really hope the vets can figure out what is going on and please keep us posted! :hug:


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## PrairieMoonPits (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh Nikki!! I haven't been on in a bit so I didn't see this!! I'm so sorry girl!! I hope everything is alright with Trance  poor Vaia she was such a lovely girl  I'll be thinking of yah if you need just pm if you need someone to talk too. I'm so sorry this happened to you girl some dogs are just taken from us way too soon  Praying all goes well with Trance


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## bluefamily (Aug 8, 2007)

OMG I am so very sorry...there are no words,...she knows she was loved. RIP...please keep us posted...you are right about this wonderful community, there are a lot of great resources here


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## fortyfootelf (Feb 2, 2010)

im sorry for your loss


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## GTR (Mar 5, 2010)

Thanks everyone, again. I appreciate your support. We are all leaning towards natural gas poisoning. The wellhouse is home to an open spout to a sulphur spring. Meaning that if there's natural gas, it probably has been collecting heavily in that little building. I am doing some research to see how I can figure out for sure. We live out in the boonies and I'm not for sure the FD would even bother coming out :/ I can always do the lighter test though, thats pretty cheap

....JK! 

Good news though, Trance is doing worlds better!! He can go up and down stairs, he can get around really well. He is still a little sore sitting down and getting up, but he is coming back to his old self like gangbusters! Looks like he just pulled a muscle after all. 

Vegas has decided since the other dogs are having problems that he's going to join in too. He has nasty green boogs in his eyes and his skin on his belly and under his neck, feet, and around his eyes is red, puffy, and losing some fur. Looks like a topical infection combined with an allergy. Yay! So inside crate time for Vegas. I gave him an oatmeal and baking soda bath, sprayed him all over with dermoplast and a tasty benadryl. I'm hoping this course of action sets him straight. I already have put $3k in him so I'm totally going the home remedy route first. I'm dog broke. heh. Gotta love em'


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## PrairieMoonPits (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh Nikki I'm happy to hear Trance is getting better and I hope Vegas now shapes up and gets well


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

GTR said:


> Thanks everyone, again. I appreciate your support. We are all leaning towards natural gas poisoning. The wellhouse is home to an open spout to a sulphur spring. Meaning that if there's natural gas, it probably has been collecting heavily in that little building. I am doing some research to see how I can figure out for sure. We live out in the boonies and I'm not for sure the FD would even bother coming out :/ I can always do the lighter test though, thats pretty cheap
> 
> ....JK!
> 
> ...


Nikki, I guess the saying "when it rains, it pours" is holding true. It sucks that all I can say is I'll pray for you and I know your in hell right now but.....I'll pray for you! Take care and chin up


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

So sorry for your loss. The pic makes me want to cry. It's so hard to lose a baby. If there were no marks on her and she was vomiting a lot how was she before all of this. Normal acting? I never give my dogs rawhide because it's a choking hazard. Especially puppies. I don't mean to upset you just looking for answers for you. BTW maybe I missed the other thread but what happened to the first dog that was chained there?


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

I did a little research and wondering if you smell rotten eggs in the well house? This is what I found so far.
Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic and flammable gas. Being heavier than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Although very pungent at first, it quickly deadens the sense of smell, so potential victims may be unaware of its presence until it is too late
Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, nausea, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. 
If exposed to hydrogen sulfide, children are more vulnerable than adults.

# High-level exposures of hydrogen sulfide result in more neurologic and pulmonary symptoms.

* Cough
* Dyspnea
* Vertigo
* Confusion
* Nausea and vomiting
* Possible loss of consciousness
* Hemoptysis

# Very high concentrations lead to cardiorespiratory arrest because of brainstem toxicity.

* Myocardial infarction
* Sudden loss of consciousness ("knockdown") 
* Seizure
* Cardiopulmonary arrest


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

This for you......Again I'm so very sorry.

There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills and valleys with lush green grass.

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. Her bright eyes are intent; her eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly she begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, her legs carrying her faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.'


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