Here is my story:
January 2015 - I burried my 16 year old goldie. After too much heartache (about 2 weeks) we decided to get a new puppy - this time a BC.
Roxy was 8 weeks old when we got her, chocolate/white female. She had the most gentle, submissive/timid personality that loved everyone. She developed a relationship with water, in that she liked to stomp moving water and bite at it. We thought it was "cute" in that she was fishing. Few times we brought her to streams with melt water but she quickly started shivering so we took her out at about 5 minutes of play - this saved her.
At 6 months old, 2 weeks ago, wife took her to a lake to walk and go "fishing". After an hour of stirring water and biting at it, it was time to go home - about a 12 minute walk to the car.
1. At 4 minutes, she started walking funny, stumbling.
2. At 6 minutes, Roxy barfed water and a bone she ate for lunch. At this time, wife thought she was just sick from the bone.
3. At 12 minutes, Roxy was in the car on the way home, salivating and closing her eyes
4. At 26 minutes, Roxy got home and when I opened the car door, her eyes dialated and she was becoming listless. I immediately sped to the hospital with her.
5. At 34 minutes she was in the doctors office - he ordered blood work, thinking it was just a seizure. He, nor we ever heard of water intoxication. Also, we were thinking it could have been toxic algae. Her pupils were non-responsive and the doctor was worried about brain damage.
6. At 44 Minutes the blood work came back with low electrolytes.
7. At 45 minutes, Roxy's heart went up to 295. Doctor administered IV with sodium and other stuff, plus drugs to suppress her heart rate.
8. At 50 minutes Roxy stopped breathing and was put on a ventilator.
I left the hospital to drive wife home and to tell our child that Roxy was not going to make it. I drove back to hospital hoping that by the time I got there, a miracle was going to happen and Roxy was going to come around.
So when I got back in about 30 minutes, Roxy was pronounced brain dead or severely brain damaged as she did not have primary reflexes. Her eyes we open and dialated, she was not breathing on her own. Doctor recommended that I put her down. In 5 minutes, I was holding her paws as the doc administered drugs to put her down and she died in my arms. From frolicking in water to death in 45 minutes, the light of my life was gone.
After much research we came across this post, and it felt like seeing a "bridge out sign" too late. I will forever blame myself for not doing more, for not knowing, for not driving faster, for waiting for the blood work ... for .. anything and everything.
I will miss my Roxy forever.
-M