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Why did my dog pass away suddenly with coughing and wheezing?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | West Highland White Terrier | Female | spayed | 11 years and 4 months old | 25 lbs

Need an answer to why my baby passed, I can’t rest & don’t want post moretom. She sometimes coughed, ate and drank normal, pooed and weed normal sometimes poo 3/4 times a day, licked her nose lots, slowed down on walks, sniffed lots on walks, slept normal, slept on her back, snored, sometimes panted and always sounded like she was wheezing in her breathing like a high pitched noise almost like a cry. Someone please help?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Megan, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian

Published on January 18th, 2018

I am so sorry to hear of your loss of sweet Tilly. It is never easy to lose a part of the family. It is definitely hard to say for sure as to why she passed away without knowing the whole story, any tests that were run and what happened when she passed. From what you described above, my biggest concerns would be the cough and wheezing. This could have been from heart disease, heart worms, asthma, or even lung cancer. Since she was eating and drinking normally, it makes me more concerned that something acute happened like that ruptured chordae tendineae in her heart or a pulmonary embolism. If you would like to discuss her whole history with me, then I would be glad to do a consult with you and give you my best educated guess as to what happened. Unfortunately, no one will be able to tell you for sure without an necropsy and sometimes those even come back inconclusive. I am again so deeply sorry for your loss. Stay strong Tilly would have wanted that. Hugs!

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