Former veterinary nurse Joan Mary Crowhurst was found dead on her living room floor, having taken an overdose and left a handwritten note on her mantelpiece that read: "You stole my dog, you stole my life," the 'Daily Mail' reported.
Crowhurst had adopted Dalmatian Gemma six years ago from a rescue centre near her home in Whippingham on the Isle of Wight. In June last year, Crowhurst was hospitalised after collapsing at home and the dog was taken back to the centre, the Isle of Wight Coroner's Court heard.
Crowhurst, who kept dogs throughout her life, was in hospital and then a care home for around a month before she was allowed back to her house in Campfield Road. She killed herself two weeks later, the report said.
Sue Hemmings, who runs the centre, told the hearing that she had visited Crowhurst after she came out of hospital and believed she was not up to looking after the dog.
"On two or three occasions she told me she didn't want to have the dog back. She was phoning me eight or nine times a day; one minute it was 'I don't want the dog', then it was 'someone has stolen my dog'.
"In every conversation I was trying to calm her down and express that Gemma was OK. I think the dog was a major factor in her thoughts. I was concerned about her. It was never my intention not to let the dog go back," she said.
An entry written by a carer on the day she died read: "Still saying she does not want to live without dog."
The inquest also heard a psychiatrist's report saying Crowhurst may have been suffering from the early stages of dementia, however Coroner John Matthews said the distress caused by the loss of her dog had affected her.