Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s dog Zinna’s cause of death has been revealed.
The Australian kelpie likely died due to dehydration and starvation, per a report from the Santa Fe County animal control agency obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, March 14.
The report notes that the canine experienced partial mummification. While the decomposition leaves some room for error, officials didn’t see any evidence of disease or poisoning. The 12-year-old dog’s stomach was empty except for some hair and bile.
Zinna’s cause of death comes one week after it was confirmed Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome on February 11, about a week before Hackman died. The actor, who was 95, passed due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor. Due to Hackman’s Alzheimer’s condition, he may not have realized his wife passed. Both of their bodies were found on February 26, and Zinna was found dead in her crate.
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At the March 7 press conference where the couple’s causes of death were confirmed, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Zinna’s body was being examined.
“On February 9, 2025 she picked up Zinna from Gruda Veterinary Hospital. There was a procedure that was done with the dog, which may explain why the dog was in a crate at the residence,” Mendoza offered.
Dr. Erin Phipps, the New Mexico state department veterinarian, assured journalists that dogs cannot get sick from hantavirus and noted that starvation was not out of the question. “I don’t think we know the answer to that, but given the timelines presented, it is a possibility,” she said at the time.
Zinna was one of three dogs in the couple’s care. The two surviving dogs, German shepherd Bear, 4, and Akita-shepherd mix Nikita, 7, eventually helped first responders find Hackman’s body when they arrived to inspect Arakawa’s body. (Maintenance staff spotted her body through a window.)
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While local members of the Sante Fe sheriff’s department searched the couple’s home, one of the dogs started running up to the officers and running away. Chief Brian Moya said the deputies eventually figured out that the dog wasn’t trying to play.
“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’” Moya told USA Today. The dog led them to the mudroom, where Hackman’s body was located.
Bear and Nikita are being cared for by a Santa Fe Tails, which is owned by Joey Padilla. The owner told Fox News Digital earlier this month that Arakawa had been very close with her pups.
“These dogs were attached to Betsy. Anytime Betsy had an errand to do, they went with her,” Padilla explained. “These dogs loved going on a ride in the car with Betsy, and it didn’t matter if it was going to the store, even when we would go to dinner. We’d go to dinner and the dogs would be in the car. They were very much attached to Betsy.”
