Trying to determine my best friend's cause of death

I'm trying to determine if my dog was severely constipated when he passed away & if this might have led to his death.

His passing was so sudden & I don't know why. The only hints I have to go off of are his recent history of strokes, the question below, and that his back legs must have become limp (there was no rigor mortis after passing).

After passing, his body released roughly a "large softball" sized amount of feces (~12" circumference).

Is this normal? It seems like an absurdly large amount.

So sorry about your loss but yes this is normal for some dogs to let there bodily fluids pass out of the system. One of my shepherds did this. I am surprised your vet didn't tell you this might happen. Sorry once again.

As Brenda says it's not unusual for dogs to lose control of their bodily actions when they die, it happens to humans too. Also rigor mortis isn't instant it takes a while and depending on how long after he died that you saw him it wears off again. It starts about 3 hours after death and is complete within 12 and lasts a few days.

In my dog's case however, his hind legs took significantly longer to stiffen compared to the rest of his body. His body stiffened after ~3 hours, but his hind legs remained completely limp & only started to stiffen after maybe 6-8 hours. Isn't that unusual? What would cause that?

(I'm not a doctor but I'd think this indicates some sort of nerve/circulatory/muscular damage. That's what I'm trying to figure out.)

Thanks for your reply. I understand it's a normal process, it's just the sheer amount of it that I'm unclear about. I don't know if this amount is normal or if it indicates constipation. If the amount is normal for a dog his size, then I can stop worrying. (Amazed I can't find an answer on the internet).

I'm trying to figure out if he had completely lost control of his bowels and if this might have been nerve/muscle/circulatory damage related.

He hadn't pooped in 2 days which was unusual but not necessarily alarming for him. We tried what we could for constipation including pumpkin, mineral oil, & karo syrup (not at the same time obviously).

If nobody knows, I'll call a few vets on Monday.

You said he'd had a stroke, strokes affect the circulation and nerves which is frequently why people are disabled by strokes.
We're not pathologists, maybe you should have got a post mortem if the cause is that important.

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. It sounds like he may have had some nerve damage in his rear and this could be a reason behind his constipation. It could be connected to the strokes or to some other issue in the nervous system.
If constipation were the cause of his passing, other symptoms like crying in pain, straining, asking to go outside, shivering, walking in a stiff manner, ect would most likely be present. If these didn't occur, then the constipation was likely another symptom of a different cause.

Again, I am so sorry for your dogs passing. I hope this helps explain.