First responders who discovered Gene Hackman and his late wife, Betsy Arakawa, dead in their New Mexico home last month say one of the couple’s two surviving dogs aided paramedics in locating the late actor’s body.
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found in a state of decomposition in their Santa Fe home, but the medical examiner determined the late couple had died a week apart, from different diseases. One of the couple’s dogs, a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix named Zinna, was also found dead, locked inside a crate at the home.
Veterinarian Robert Gruda told USA Today that Arakawa had taken Zinna for a “major surgery” in January, and had been told to keep the dog confined to a crate while she recovered. Gruda said his veterinary practice “knew something was wrong” when Arakawa didn’t come in to pick up Zinna’s prescription food on time.
“She was an excellent dog owner, excellent caretaker to those dogs,” Gruda said. “She really doted on them.”
The couple’s other two dogs, Bear and Nikita, survived and were found roaming around freely.
First responders located Arakawa quickly, but were searching the house for nearly half an hour to see if anyone else was in the home, Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told the outlet. One of the two surviving dogs ran up to them, and paramedics first thought the canine wanted to play, as it was barking and running off. Then it dawned on them that the dog was trying to tell them something.
“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’,” Moya told the outlet.
The dog led first responders to the mudroom, where Hackman’s body was found on the floor, with signs of decomposition, Moya said.
According to the medical examiner, Arakawa died on or around Feb. 11 from pulmonary syndrome caused by hantavirus, a disease commonly transmitted from rodents to humans via the feces of an infected animal. Hackman is believed to have died on or around Feb. 18 of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; Alzheimer’s disease was noted as a contributing factor.
Joey Padilla, owner of Santa Fe Tails dog day care, said earlier this month that Bear and Nikita were “healthy” and in the care of his facility while he waited to hear from Arakawa’s lawyers about her wishes for the dogs.
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He also remembered the bond she had with Zinna, whom she had adopted from an animal shelter.
“She was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship to watch flourish over the years,” he said. “Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy’s hand.”