A son was devastated after his 56-year-old mum died before he had the chance to tell her she was due to become a grandmum.
He suffered a double tragedy when his fiancée had a miscarriage a month later, adding to his heartbreak.
Wendy Ullathorne had not been seen for weeks before neighbours asked firefighters to check on her, Hull Live reports.
The crew discovered her body next to her King Charles spaniel Maisie, which died sometime after Ms Ullathorne.
How the 'healthy' Ms Ullathorne passed away is still a mystery, with an inquest in Hull failing to establish a cause of death.
The coroner said this failure was due to the condition of her body, although there were no suspicious circumstances around the circumstances of her death.
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Her adopted son Cameron Ullathorne described the devastation of losing his mum.
After the inquest, he said: “I was very upset and didn’t see this coming. It was such a young age.
“It was a very difficult time as my fiancée suffered a miscarriage just a month after my mum died and I never even got the chance to tell her she was due to be a grandmother.
“She was down-to-earth and someone you could talk to and would listen. She was a loving and caring mum.”
But Ms Ullathorne changed after he husband left her in 2006.
Cameron said: “It was good when my parents were together but my mum changed when dad left.
“She became withdrawn and didn’t go out much. It was a real shame.
“I didn’t see her as much as I would have liked as I lived a few miles away.”
A post-mortem carried out on Ms Ullathorne’s body proved inconclusive but natural causes was the most likely reason she died.
Fire crews broken into her flat in Riverside Court in Rawcliffe, near Goole, where she was found lying near the doorway with Maisie by her side.
Ms Ullathorne worked all her life in the job centre before taking early retirement.
She had no significant medical history or any recorded issues with mental health.
She married and then adopted Cameron in 2006 when he was 22 months old.
Cameron said when he last saw his mum, she appeared in perfect health and there was nothing out of the ordinary other than open bottles of alcohol which he said was strange as she rarely drank.
Senior Coroner Professor Paul Marks delivered an open verdict.
He explained: “While it is likely the cause of death was contributable to natural causes, I cannot make that call as the pathologist report says it was unascertained.
“But there is no evidence of trauma or suspicious circumstances and it is reasonable to suggest she passed away naturally.”
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