Savannah Jan 17 2010 - May 19 2011

[savvynme]

Our Savannah went to have surgery to repair a torn Cruciate ligament in her right rear leg. During surgery, the vet said her heart stopped, and after performing CPR, they were not able to bring her back. I can't help but feel so guilty about her death. The last words I said to her was "you go on now" as they went to take her to the back because she kept pulling towards me. I should have gotten down and hugged her, told her I loved her, kissed her floppy lips. Her death is such a shock to us, she was a healthy, 1 year old, her pre-anesthetic bloodwork looked fine. We did the surgery to fix her, make her feel better so her leg wasn't in pain, but now I just feel like I killed her. We've lost our first child.

Her memory will live on inside of us forever. She was the best dog I've ever had. She never chewed anything she wasn't suppose to, she loved everyone and was always happy. My husband and I were just married on May 15, so this isn't the way we wanted to start out our marriage. We talked about how we were such a pretty, happy little family and he joked about Savannah being our kid's best friend when we decided to have one. I'm not sure I'll ever get over losing her so suddenly, or get over the guilt I have of leaving her there and shooing her away like I did.

I know now she is in a large field, chasing moths and squirrels, which she loved to do so very much. When she would catch a moth, she'd bring it inside, and open her mouth, and out flies this moth!!!! Then she would just watch it, and wag her nubby little tail.

[Lizzie]

I am so very sorry for the loss of Savannah.

[kkee]

I'm so sorry for your loss Did they vet use acepromazine, by any chance? That's the only time I've heard of something similar happening.

[Mama's Boys]

I'm so sorry for your loss. RIP sweet girl.

[savvynme]

No they didn't use Ace because we knew she was extremely sensitive to the drug because of a previous time that she had a bad reaction to it and the Dr knew of this. However, they did use Telazol, and I've never been a fan of the drug. I've only ever seen it used before a euthanasia of a high strung or aggressive dog to make the process go more smoothly, but never as a pre-anesthetic. I don't know for sure if they used it, but he mentioned it at our surgical consult. They used Propoflo as an induction and Iso for maintenance. She never had any issues under anesthesia for her spay, and her pre-anesthetic blood work was normal.

The doctor said that her heart just suddenly stopped during the surgery, and suspects that either a clot blocked an artery, or she had underlying heart issues that we had not been able to diagnose because it didn't show symptoms yet. She's had plenty of exams, every time I took her into work with me she got an exam just to be sure. (I'm a Licensed Tech in Virginia, so I worked at a clinic before my husband and I moved to Florida) I had her scheduled to have an ECG done at the hospital I work at here in Florida with the cardiologist. Just wish I went sooner if it was her heart.

Thank you for all your kind words. Sorry I'm venting on here, being a vet tech, I can't help but try to research what might have happened, seeing as how rare it is that a dog's heart just stops during surgery.

[Cami]

I can't even imagine the shock you are in.
So very sorry for your loss.
Losing a family member is never easy and something so tragic as this must be as if you were totally blindsided.
Run free sweet girl.
I wish you and your new husband peace.

[johann]

I can't imagine how heartbroken you must be to have lost her so young and so unexpectedly.

My thoughts are with you and your family.

Run free Savannah.

[GDOGS1]

So sorry for your loss of Savannah,will keep you in our thoughts and prayers during this most diificult time.run forever free Savannah and Godspeed.

[BostonGeorge]

I'm so sorry to hear the news of your sweet girl. I can't imagine what you must be going through. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this very difficult time.

[Murp.mm]

Oh my goodness. What a shocker!! You guys must be devasted. Don't blame yourself. She needed that surgery. I am so sorry for your loss. Hugs.