Weeks after Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home, the cause of death for one of their dogs has been revealed.
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The Associated Press reported that the Nevada Department of Agriculture’s veterinary lab determined that Gene Hackman’s dog likely of dehydration and starvation.
Those who studied the animal’s remains detailed partial mummification and noted that while the severe decomposition may have obscured the changes in organs, there was no evidence of an infectious disease.
The report further revealed that the dog’s stomach was mostly empty. It had small amounts of hair and bile.
The dog, identified as a kelpie mix named Zinna, was one of the late couple’s three dogs. Zinna was found dead in a crate inside the bathroom closet. Arakawa was discovered in the bathroom as well.
The two other dogs survived.
Gene Hackman’s Wife Allegedly Died Days Before the Late Actor
Meanwhile, it was reported that Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy, 65, died days before the late actor did. While she was found in the bathroom, Betsy had also been surrounded by medication.
Although the Santa Fe medical examiner confirmed that an autopsy revealed Arakawa died of hantavirus, it was originally believed that she passed on Feb. 11.
However, a doctor that Arakawa was in contact with stated that he had spoken to her the day she allegedly died.
“She’d called me a couple of weeks before her death to ask about getting an echocardiogram [heart scan] for her husband,” Dr. Josiah Child of Cloudberry Health said. “She was not a patient of mine, but one of my patients recommended Cloudberry to her. She made an appointment for herself for Feb. 12. It was for something unrelated to anything respiratory.”
Child then said that Arakawa had canceled her appointment two days before she was to meet with him. She said the reason was due to her husband being ill.
“She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon,” Child added. “We made her an appointment, but she never showed up. She did not show any symptoms of respiratory distress. The appointment wasn’t for anything related to hantavirus. We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply.’”
Hackman was found on the floor of a utility room just 20 feet away. His pacemaker revealed that he died on Feb. 18.