Gene Hackman's dog was misidentified as other mysteries persist around actor's death

Morgan Freeman speaks about Gene Hackman with an image of Gene Hackman on the screen during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

SANTA FE, N.M. — Authorities misidentified a deceased dog while investigating the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to a pet care specialist.

The couple’s German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs' care.

The dog that died “was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,” Padilla said in an email statement Tuesday. “Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy’s hand.”

Authorities have been searching for answers after the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered on Feb. 26 at their Santa Fe home. Hackman and Arakawa may have died up to two weeks earlier, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.

Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a “deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine.”

Avila acknowledged that sheriff’s deputies initially misidentified the breed of the deceased dog.

“Our deputies, they don’t work with canines on a daily basis,” she said.

USA Today first reported on the mistaken identification of the dead dog.

Arakawa’s body was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom countertop, while Hackman’s remains were found in the home’s entryway.

The two bodies both have tested negative for carbon monoxide, the colorless and odorless gas that fuels home appliances and can be fatal in poorly ventilated homes. No gas leaks were discovered in or around the home.

On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office also said that a more extensive utility company inspection found that one burner on a stove in the house had a miniscule leak that could not be lethal.

Authorities retrieved personal items from the home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones that will be analyzed. Medical investigators are still working to clarify the cause of deaths but the results of toxicology reports aren’t expected for weeks.

Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud and Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix contributed to this story.

Morgan Lee, The Associated Press