Could CPR have brought my dog back to life after she passed away?

Hello. I am so, so sorry for this terrible loss of Frankie. It is difficult to say what actually killed him, but if it came on so suddenly & he passed so quickly, no amount of CRP was going to bring him back. I applaud your bravery to try CPR, but this is just often unsuccessful, especially since you did not have access to all the ancillary drugs we can use to try & resuscitate a pet. He was obviously not a very healthy puppy & being so little really makes it difficult to save one of these tiny patients. Please accept my condolences for your loss.

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog! I know how hard it is to have a pet pass away suddenly like this, without any warning. From what you're describing here, I would be suspicious of a sudden cardiac arrhythmia, or a tumor in his heart or abdomen that may have ruptured suddenly - both of these are relatively common causes of sudden death in middle-aged or older large-breed dogs. With either of these problems, there is usually nothing anyone can do - even if it happened in the lobby of your vet's office and they were able to start working on him immediately, it's unlikely that this would have made any difference at all. So try not to feel guilty. It sounds like you did the best you could, and I don't believe it would have changed the outcome even if you had left immediately for the vet's office. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss. If you think it would help you to have piece of mind, you could ask your veterinarian about arranging for an autopsy to be done (called a necropsy in animals). This would be the best way to determine what the cause of death was.

If the puppy is deceased then there is little to no chance of regaining a heart beat. If the pup has a heart beat but not breathing then gently blowing breaths into the nose / mouth may stimulate breathing. Also using a nasal aspirater to suction any fluids from the mouth and pharynx can be helpful. Of course taking the pup to a veterinarian immediately would be it’s best chance of survival, but the chances are still very low. I’m sorry you are going through this. Take care and thank you for using Pet Coach.

I am very sorry for your loss. if he is still at your vet clinic in the freezer it is still possible to have a necropsy done although i am not sure it's something you want to have done if you already know the cause of the illness.

I am so sorry. I know that must be hard. Unfortunately, without a necropsy (autopsy), I can't tell you what could have happened. Many causes of sudden death in pediatric pets is due to a congenital heart disease.

I am very sorry your Missy passed. It is safe to say the the teeth cleaning under anesthesia 6 months ago was not the cause for this, especially since her pre-surgical exam and blood work did not show any abnormalities. Seeing that she was fairly old, there is a possibility she developed a heart condition in the past few months, or she also may have had a sudden blood clot that was fatal. The only way to find out would be to send her to a pathology lab for a post mortem. Again, I am very sorry you lost your baby. At least she did not suffer with a long painful condition.

First off, I'm so sorry Choko died! It sounds like you were seeing agonal breathing, which can occur right before death. It's a sign the body is not receiving the oxygen it needs, and is indicative of cardiac arrest. More than likely, his heart rate was pretty slow at first so that it was hard to detect, and then Choko entered his final stages of life before passing away. This can happen in animals as they pass away, and I've personally seen it myself. It can be upsetting to see, but it is considering a natural behavior if that makes sense. It doesn't mean he died twice, so you don't have to worry about that. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss, please accept my condolences.