RESUMO
Com o objetivo de avaliar a expectativa de vida dos cães na área metropolitana de São Paulo e as causas relacionadas com a morte destes, foram analisados dados correspondentes a 2.011 animais provenientes de um hospital veterinário universitário, de clínicas particulares, de canis e de proprietários particulares. A idade mediana de sobrevivência dos animais foi de 36 meses. Os animais de porte médio, grande e gigante tiveram maior longevidade que os cães de porte pequeno. As fêmeas viveram mais que os machos e os animais castrados viveram mais que os não-castrados. Não houve diferença na expectativa de vida entre os animais de raça pura e os animais sem raça definida. Constatou-se que as causas mais importantes de mortalidade foram, em ordem decrescente de ocorrência, as doenças infecciosas, as neoplasias e os traumas. Pode-se concluir que a expectativa de vida dos cães foi menor que a observada na literatura internacional e que as doenças infecciosas constituem a principal causa de óbito.
In order to evaluate the canine life expectation in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, as well as the causes of death of these animals, data related to 2,011 dogs attended at a University Veterinary Hospital or collected from veterinary clinics, kennels and private owners were analyzed. It was observed that the median age of the dogs at death due to all causes was 36 months old. Dogs of medium, large and giant breeds had longer longevity than the small ones. Female and neutered dogs lived longer than male and intact dogs. There was no difference in life expectation related to the fact that the animal was from a pure breed or not. The most important causes of mortality were, in decrescent order of occurrence, infeccious diseases, neoplasms and traumatic injuries. Canine life expectation found in this survey was shorter than that observed in other countries and infeccious diseases constitute the major cause of death.