Joy at Home Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 First, let me say that anyone sensitive, especially about pets, please let me say that this is pretty graphic. You may not want to read further. About a week ago our black lab disappeared. She sometimes wanders to the horsefarm behind us and comes right back, so at first I didn't worry. But after a day and she didn't return, we reported it to the police, local vets, neighbors, etc. Yesterday, I couldn't get away from a very foul smell coming from our woods. I also noticed the chickens, who usually free range close to the house, kept disappearing into the woods. I wandered back there and found our dog's body, badly decomposed. It was too far gone to figure out what happened. I don't know if it was some kind of trauma, or poison, or what. I think I was in shock, and I reached down to try to pull the body toward me out of the woods, and her body just literally fell apart, and I realized just how badly her body was decomposed. There was infestations of maggots all around her, the reason the chickens were drawn to her. I think I'm still in shock. I've never seen anything like it before, and I'm both heartbroken for her and shocked over what I saw. I haven't told me kids yet. I'm wondering if it's just best to let them believe she's still missing and maybe found a good home somewhere. I'm so sorry for the graphic description, but I do have a specific question. Should I be worried that the chickens have been eating from around the carcass? They are not meat birds but layers. I'm worried about them somehow becoming contaminated. Should I be? Again, I'm so sorry for the images this post may leave with some of you. Blessings, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I don't have chickens, so I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm sorry for the loss of your dog! And finding her like that, of course, makes it worse. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesloonybin Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 :grouphug: I am so sorry that you lost your pet. There has to be some way for you to find out what killed him. I don't see how it could be that far gone in such a short amount of time. I have no real advice, just sorrow for you and your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 That is so sad. I'm sorry for all of you. I would definitely not tell your children. We needed to rehome one of our dogs and I told my son he was on vacation in Hawaii. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 (edited) Hi, sorry for your loss. I don't know about the chickens. I'd contact your vet & perhaps the agricultural extension office. Perhaps his body can be picked up. It is very mysterious that the body has decomposed so fast; they may be interested. You may want a necropsy but I expect you'd have to pay for it unless the ptb are interested enough to do some samples. I would tell your children the dog has died. My kids understand that animals die. We mark their passing. ETA - ooops, missed the 'week' part reading the first time around. I thought it was just a day or two... that decomp doesn't sound strange now, esp in this season. Edited August 9, 2009 by hornblower Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 It was dead for a week....I would think it was plenty of time to decompose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I am so very sorry. (((Momto5girls))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Sorry for your loss. RE: the decomposition... that doesn't sound unusual to me, especially since it's very probable the decomposition was helped along by other animals, over the course of the week, eating the corpse. I wouldn't worry about the chickens having picked at it unless you see them getting sick (which would indicate perhaps the dog was poisoned). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingM Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I'm sorry about your loss. That sounds heartbreaking. That level of decomposition in the summer is not unusual. Also, you don't need to worry about eggs because of maggots the chickens had been eating. Really, even if it had been poison, the maggots could not have eaten a fatal dose or they would have died, and by the time a few have passed through chickens and then through their eggs, there wouldn't be anything left. Psychologically, however, you might find this disturbing, to think that you might be somehow consuming part of your dog. Perhaps you could toss the eggs for a few days. Again, what a sad thing. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 As someone else said, I might worry about poison being transmitted to the chickens. You might check with your vet. I don't really think it's likely, but it might make you feel better to check. I sure wouldn't tell the kids. Sorry for your loss, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I'm sorry for your loss. (HUGS) How are you sharing this with your dc? I worked for a vet for 5 years. Even though I left that job years ago I still have memories of things I chose not to share because of their nature. I hope you have someone IRL that you can discuss this with openly as you grieve. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I would be more concerned that YOU touched the dog. What a horrid experience. And no, please don't tell your kids. If you do, please spare them the details. I would think the chickens and the eggs would be fine, but it also won't hurt to toss them for a few days. Chickens are natural bug eaters. This is likely not the first carcass they have eaten bugs from...you have to think about where a bug has "been" in its lifetime... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom3tn Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I'm very sorry that this happened, too, and that you had to find the dog like that. If it were me, though, I would tell the kids that he had been found and that he wouldn't be coming back. Spare them the details, maybe telling them that he looked like he died peacefully. I just wouldn't want them to keep hoping that he was going to show up one day; and if they don't know that he's dead, they probably will keep waiting and hoping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 one thing I do know is that sometimes a dog will run away to be by itself if it feels/knows somehow that it's going to die. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: It's SO hard to lose a pet. I mourn the loss of all of mine - even called dh at work in hysterics when my sweet gerbil died. Honestly, I would keep the details from the kids but I'd tell them the truth. When I was a kid I had a dog that kept going into the river behind our house to fish, would eat the fish eyes and leave the rest of it. She was a sweet, sweet dog and I never thought anything of it but it bothered my mother. Apparently one day the dog brought home a dead deer and my parents immediately brought it to the humane society. They told me about the deer and told me they brought it to a farm where it would have room to roam and be happy. Something never felt right and I was always bothered. Always. I was far into my adulthood when I found out the truth and I was devastated but finally could put it all to rest. It bothered me for years - decades! I always think honesty is best. I wouldn't tell them about being decomposed, falling apart, maggots, but I would tell them that you finally found the dog and it had died of something in the woods, maybe a heart attack, seizure or stroke, but that you wouldn't allow the kids to see it so you........ did you bury the dog? Anyway, that's my opinion. The kids would have closure if they knew the dog died. :grouphug: I had the SWEETEST chicken who would come to the house DAILY for cheese and canned catfood. YES, catfood. I don't remember how it started but it was funny. I told the kids NOT to keep her eggs. I'd throw away the eggs for a week or so and then wouldn't worry. Chicken DO eat meat - the LOVE bugs! Well, it's a type of protein anyway.... I'm so sorry and can't imagine how traumatic that experience was for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 So, so sorry for you loss. I would go and cover the dog in a mound of dirt. Thick enough that you won't see remains as the wind and rain reduce the dirt. Do not give them details that you don't know for certain. This can create irrational fears of things that are just subjection anyways. I would tell the kids the dog died, you found it and buried it. Let them go to the grave and mourn. They need closure too. Denying them the chance to mourn doesn't simplify things...it just prolongs the inevitable uncertainty. Talk about the circle of life, talk about how each living creature lives on in memories and in enriching the earth. I like to plant a living reminder after death, so if the kids want to remember the pet they can to a living reminder instead of a tombstone. I like trees, shrubs, flowers like daffodils (easily replanted if you move) or flowering bushes (like roses). When friends lose loved ones, I find a plant that blooms in our region in the month that the person died. So, when they remember the loved on on the anniversary of their death, they also have a living blooming plant to remind them of the joy the person brought the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I would tell the kids the dog died, you found it and buried it. Let them go to the grave and mourn. They need closure too. Denying them the chance to mourn doesn't simplify things...it just prolongs the inevitable uncertainty. . :iagree: And I'm very sorry for your family's loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I am so sorry for your loss. I would tell the kids and make a time to remember your pet; have the kids prepare a ceremony and give them closure. best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 It was dead for a week....I would think it was plenty of time to decompose. Especially in the summertime. Definitely time enough for decomp. And I read about this stuff all the time. Summertime is the 'worst' time for that stuff. In winter, the bodies last longer. But blowflies will show up in winter too. And as a big fan of forensics, and one who wants her body to go to the bodyfarm when she dies, I was NOT shocked or offended by the description. I would just tell the kids that Fluffly died. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. Honesty is fine, brutal honesty is NOT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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