die like a dog, to

die like a dog

To die in a manner that is unpleasant and demeaning. I know you dislike Tommy, but I refuse to let anyone just die like a dog, sick and homeless. He needs our help!
See also: die, dog, like
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

die like a dog

OLD-FASHIONED
If someone dies like a dog, they die in a painful and shameful way. The film begins with our hero stealing cars and ends with him dying like a dog in the street.
See also: die, dog, like
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

die like a dog

die in degrading circumstances.
See also: die, dog, like
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

die like a dog, to

To meet a miserable end. Actually, to lead a dog’s life is no better, a fact pointed out about the same time that “die like a dog” first surfaced in print. “He lyved like a lyon and dyed like a dogge,” wrote John Rastell (The Pastyme of People, 1529). In ancient Greek times dying like a dog was even worse because it signified being left unburied, a fate regarded with dread. See also a dog's life.
See also: die, like
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • die like a dog
  • die by
  • die by (something)
  • die on
  • die on (someone or something)
  • die on someone
  • it's to die
  • die with (one's) boots on
  • die with one's boots on
  • die with your boots on