Is my dog brain dead after seizure and coma? What about necropsy?

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It's possible that he may have had a stroke or blood clot secondary to his heart disease that traveled to his brain. Or, if he was regularly having collapsing episodes due to his heart (syncope), what you saw may have been one of these that was especially severe, as this is a common cause of sudden death in dogs with severe heart problems. If you want to try to get a more definite answer on what the cause of death may have been, you would need to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to let you know where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

The necropsy would show an aneurysm or a bleed from a ruptured aneurysm that could have caused a seizure. As a seizure is an electric phenomenon within the brain, it does not show up in post-mortem examination.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Wow! How scary for you! You stated that he is a mix breed but can you specify what breeds? Some breeds are genetically predisposed to have over long soft palates, which can cause an upper airway obstruction. We may never know what caused this episode. An ischemic event is possible or a brief vestibular event or even seizure (focal) since he seemed mentally inappropriate. Watch him closely and god forbid if he has another episode try to catch it on video to show to your Vet. I wish you the best!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the primary cause of her passing was. There could have been a primary infection that led to her untimely passing. She may have been suffering from a primary neurological condition or infection in her brain as well. It might be best to speak with the veterinarian that had been treating her to see what his / her thoughts were on what was going on so you can get some closure. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would need to ask a bunch more questions and would be happy to do a consultation if you’d like but let me give you a few ideas. 1) be sure it’s not heart- Fainting spells can look a lot like seizures. Consider a cardiology consult to make sure it’s not that. They’ll do an EKG and ultrasound of the heart to make sure nothing is amiss. 2) weird fungal diseases- I’m from Arizona, land of valley fever - a fungal disease that can - and often does- cause seizures. Other fungi like Blastomycosis and Histoplasmosis can do similar things. If Bella has traveled out of Texas- even for just a day or two- these are considerations. 3) Bella is simply an atypical epileptic and needs more/different medication. Just like in people, it can sometimes take some time to find the right combination of drugs to get the seizures controlled. 4) weird drug interactions- double check especially about any anti-anxiety or behavior modification medications and pain medications. 5) hypothyroidism, tick fever, other weird stuff. If you’ve done an MRI, you may have already consulted with a neurologist. If not? That would be the next step along with the cardiologist visit. Best of luck to you and Bella!

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.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry!! It is very hard when puppies are this young. The most common cause of illness and death in puppies are infections and congenital issues. Common infections that can affect the respiratory system and or the neurologic system are: Herpes, distemper, bordatella, influenza. Sadly I recommend doing special testing on the next puppy that dies to find out the cause. I would request PCR swabs to send off for a respiratory panel and biopsy any abnormal tissues on autopsy. Sometime we can not save them when we do not know what the disease is. If you can not get to the Vet in town go to a specialist or local Veterinary school. It is important to know what is going on. I hope this helps and I am very sorry this is happening. I suggest that the 3 currently ill puppies be seen at a more specialized hospital. I wish you the best!