SANTA FE, Marc 6 — Investigators initially misidentified a deceased dog while looking into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to a pet care expert.
According to The Associated Press, Hackman and Arakawa’s German shepherd, Bear, and another dog, Nikita, survived, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, was the one that died, said Joey Padilla, who runs Santa Fe Tails pet care facility.
“The dog that died was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,” Padilla said in an email statement.
Deputies first reported the deceased dog as a German shepherd but later corrected the mistake, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila confirmed.
Authorities discovered Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies in their Santa Fe home on Feb 26, and believe the couple may have passed away about two weeks earlier.
Zinna was found inside a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, and officials decided against performing a necropsy, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning and found no major gas leaks, though a stove burner had a tiny, harmless leak.
Detectives are reviewing personal belongings taken from the home, including cellphones and a planner, while medical examiners await toxicology results to determine the cause of death.
