A veterinary report has provided insight into the cause of death of the dog discovered deceased alongside Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. The report, obtained by the Associated Press from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s veterinary lab, points to dehydration and starvation as the likely reasons for the female kelpie mix named Zinna’s passing.
Zinna was found inside a closed dog crate with a mostly empty stomach, showing no signs of disease, trauma, or poisoning. However, the state of decomposition of the body may have hindered the detection of these factors.
Hackman, aged 95, and Arakawa, aged 65, were found deceased in their Santa Fe home last month. Hackman appeared to have suddenly fallen in the home’s entryway, while Arakawa, a pianist, was discovered in an upstairs bathroom with an open pill bottle nearby. Zinna’s crate was found near Arakawa’s body.
All three bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, indicating that they had been deceased for several days or weeks. The couple’s two other dogs were found alive and roaming freely.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Arakawa succumbed to hantavirus, a disease transmitted by rodents, around Feb. 11, while Hackman passed away a week later due to heart disease, with Alzheimer’s disease playing a significant role.
The couple’s veterinarian, Robert Gruda, recalled that Zinna had recently undergone major surgery and was supposed to be confined in a crate while recovering. Gruda described Arakawa as a caring dog owner who lavished attention on her pets.
The surviving dogs, a German shepherd named Bear and an Akita-shepherd mix named Nikita, are in good health and are currently being cared for at a dog day care facility where they have stayed before.
