Update on the dog family at Lucille's

I have been very sad lately: I adopted a beautiful bulldog from a shelter before Christmas and he was a great dog. The day after I got him I spent $300 at the vet getting him checked out and he was fine. He was doing great and fit into the family beautifully. All the dogs had time to play, got brushed, got great food (I recently switched to Innova which is ridiculously expensive but I think it's a great food).
Then one day a couple weeks ago I woke up and he was dead. It was a real shock, he had gotten the best of everything and I had looked forward to a long time with him. There was no reason he should have died, he was absolutely fine the night before, he must have had an underlying problem that the vet didn't detect. My other 2 dogs are fine.
I really liked having 3 dogs since the Shih Tzu is older and not always wanting to play although even as teeny as he is, he is the Alpha dog. But I was too sad to think of getting another dog.
A few days ago I found out about a stray mixed breed that really needs a good home. There are millions of these and he doesn't have a good chance as there are too many homeless strays in the world. I have ambivalent feelings, one can't replace a dog in your heart just as each human is unique, so is each dog. But this little guy needs a good home.......

Lucille, I'm sorry to hear about your bulldog. That's very odd that he just passed like that. Are you going to take on the stray? In my experience strays sometimes make the best of pets. Follow your heart and I will help you with any problems that you may come across. Art

Lucille, I'm really sorry to hear about your bulldog passing. That seems really odd that he would just die in his sleep like that after being fine the day before. His name was Winston, right? Did the vet offer any ideas as to what may have happened?

It was very odd. Since the other 2 were fine I did not take him in for a necropsy or call the clinic, I chalked it up to a possible underlying health problem of which bulldogs seem to have more than their share..
I hear from time to time of foul play with dogs but my back yard is about 200 feet from the main street and we do not get many strangers; as well I do not leave them unattended for long periods of time outdoors.
My home is decorated with dogs in mind and they really can't get into much trouble inside.
It was a shock because I do take such care with them.

lucille said:

It was very odd. Since the other 2 were fine I did not take him in for a necropsy or call the clinic, I chalked it up to a possible underlying health problem of which bulldogs seem to have more than their share..
I hear from time to time of foul play with dogs but my back yard is about 200 feet from the main street and we do not get many strangers; as well I do not leave them unattended for long periods of time outdoors.
My home is decorated with dogs in mind and they really can't get into much trouble inside.
It was a shock because I do take such care with them.

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I guess that I would doubt any foul play as well. Most poisonings (at least the ones that I've seen) are evidenced by a sick dog either throwing up or having diarrhea. I'm not familiar with bulldogs, but I imagine that just like any other breed can have it's drawbacks, perhaps bulldogs have a weakness too.

Again, I'm really sorry to hear about your loss. I know how hard it is to lose a dog that means so much to you.