Animal Control Report Settles Question on Hackman's Dog

An examination of the dog found dead along with actor Gene Hackman and his wife in their Santa Fe home shows dehydration and starvation were likely what led to the animal's demise. A report obtained by the AP from the Santa Fe County animal control agency detailed partial mummification and noted that while the severe decomposition could have obscured things, there was no evidence of infectious disease, trauma, or poisoning that could have resulted in death. The report noted that the dog's stomach was mostly empty except for small amounts of hair and bile.

The kelpie mix named Zinna was one of the couple's three dogs. It was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Betsy Arakawa's body, while two other (uncrated) dogs survived. Authorities confirmed last week that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's disease about a week after a rodent-borne disease—hantavirus pulmonary syndrome—took the life of his wife. Hackman, in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's, apparently was unaware that his wife was dead—or that Zinna was crated in the room with her body and unable to get out. (Hackman's estate doesn't want photos from the scene released to the public.)

(More Gene Hackman stories.)