My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel died suddenly. Was drooling a sign?

20-40% of adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have heart murmurs, most commonly due to hereditary problems with the mitral valve. While many go on to develop congestive heart failure, other dogs may be asymptomatic for a long time, or may develop another disease before the heart is significantly affected. Not all Cavaliers die from heart disease.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry about Chandelle! There are many possible causes as she was a senior dog. Heart failure, a seizure that caused aspiration or non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, choking, a severe allergic reaction, twisted stomach or an internal bleed. With out an autopsy we will never know. Again I am so very sorry for your loss!

Hello. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. He, unfortunately, suffered a severe cardio-pulmonary event, either from the presence of heartworms, cancer, or severe cardiomyopathy. He was probably sicker than you realized, & also sicker longer than just the past 6 weeks. We all try to do the best we can for ourselves & our pets & sometimes we just run out of time to do anything. I know you feel bad, but you have to be honest with yourself & know that even if you had the money, he may have been too sick to do much for him. If you loved him with all your heart up to that last day, then he had a very good life. Please accept my condolences on your loss. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Since he is a Cavalier I worry about heart disease. Unfortunately heart murmurs and heart failure are genetic in this breed and almost all Cavaliers develop murmurs. Since his breathing has changed even when he is awake I would have him examined by your Vet and have chest X-rays done. If a heart murmur is heard I would definitely take X-rays. If the X-rays show heart enlargement I would start him on medications and have an echocardiogram done by a Veterinary cardiologist. I wish you and Simon the very best!

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.

Hello. I am so sorry for your loss. I am so sad for you. Without a complete medical history, it is impossible to determine causation, but sudden death can be brought on by heart failure, drug or toxin ingestion, electrocution, a ruptured spleen, blood vessel or undiagnosed tumor, severe anaphylaxis, or some other congenital problem just waiting to happen. A sudden death is always shocking & I can understand your need for answers, but sometimes things just happen & they are totally out of our control. Again, I am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Duke. First off, I'm so sorry you lost him suddenly. Please accept my condolences for your loss. If he had a build up of fluid around his heart, I suspect he may have heart disease or even a tumor around the heart. Unfortunately heart disease and cancer are common in older dogs. Eating spoiled scrambled eggs would cause GI upset, like vomiting, diarrhea, and blood in the poop, not fluid around the heart. Eating those did not kill him. I hope this helps, and again, I'm sorry.