Postmortem info re GSD `Eowyn

[E's]

As posted earlier, on the afternoon of 1 February my daughter Nan came home here in Austin to find Winnie dying... by the time I could drive over from my apartment complex nearby, Win was gone... this was totally unexpected: when I saw her the afternoon before, Winnie was frisky and playful... my son-in-law says the dog ate her morning feeding avidly Wednesday, as always. The vet Nan phoned as she held Winnie's head and tried to determine what was wrong made the tentative diagnosis of a bleed-out from rupture of a hemmorhagic mass in the spleen...

We felt that as a family we needed to be as sure as possible of what had happened, and I wanted to be able to inform the breeder and Winnie's New Orleans vet for their records. We transported Winnie to a clinic just up the road from Nan's home (but which is not the regular vet for the family's pets) where Dr. Campbell and staff waited for us. The doctor confirmed her diagnosis on the phone that same evening, and added to this on Thursday 9 February when I picked up the casket containing Winnie's ashes:

Transcript of statement handwritten by Kellee K. Campbell, D.V.M. of Dessau Veterinary Clinic 12315 Dessau Road, Austin, Texas 78754 (512) 339-3177 regarding unexpected death of German shepherd dog “Winnie” (`Eowyn of Colmar) b. may 27, 1996
_____________________________________________
2/9/06
To whom it may concern:
“Winnie” Bradford collapsed and died suddenly on February 1, 2006. An autopsy revealed that she had many masses, some of which had ruptured, in her spleen. The abdomen was filled with blood. Lacking histopathology, the presumptive diagnosis is Spleenic Hemorrhagic Sarcoma, with secondary intra-abdominal blood loss and collapse as cause of death.
(signature)
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Winnie did not suffer: the rale Nan heard was the automatic lung action after the dog had lapsed into unconsciousness. Also, I asked the doctor, that if Winnie had had her usual midyear exam (which would've been about September 1st last year) would the condition have been evident? Dr. C said no, probably not, unless for some reason extensive blood work had been done... All I noticed was that Winnie seemed to be getting thinner (normally she weighed about 97 lbs) but I thought this was because of living with the other dogs and having a somewhat different feeding program... her New Orleans doctor had alwasy wanted me to keep the dog's weight in the mid 90s as she aged, so I thought this was a good thing...

Sorry this is so long and rambling. I am doing okay but still having some difficulty adjusting...
Dot Bradford

[Tambrey]

I am sorry for your loss of Winnie...but it is good to know what happened and that she did not suffer in the end...
Peace Be With You...
Tambrey

[Marty]

God bless...my prayers are with you.

[Beth Va]

I am so sorry. My prayers and thoughts are with you.

[k9Karen]

I know how hard it is to lose a very loved furry family member. I guess there is some small comfort in knowing that there was no way you or anyone else could have known or anticipated this. I know you miss her. Dot - it just has to get better. You've had much too much more than your share of pain. Take care.

[momPaws]

This is the first I knew about this...Am so sorry, E's...my prayers are with you and your family.