Cause of Brutus' Death Indeterminate

The final results from Brutus' spleen are back from the veterinary pathologist, and no sign of cancer was found, other than that the spleen was enlarged. However, hemangiosarcoma is not distributed throughout the whole spleen, and researchers warn that unless the entire spleen is examined it is impossible to know whether the spleen was cancerous. Unfortunately we were unaware of this possibility when we sent pieces of the spleen to the pathologist. All we knew was that the spleen was enlarged. In dogs, 75% with enlarged spleens have hemangiosarcoma. Thus chances are good that Brutus, too, endured this fate.  One symptom is that the animal loses its appetite.  Is that why Brutus starved? Unfortunately, we'll never know for sure.