Next stroke of fate
Ex-football professional’s dog dies of poison
November 24, 2025 – 8:33 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Dennis Diekmeier and his wife are currently worried about their daughter’s life. Now the family dog also died of poisoning.
Former professional soccer player Dennis Diekmeier and his family mourn the loss of their dog Diesel. As Diekmeier’s wife Dana announced on Instagram, the family dog ate poison while walking in the forest and died as a result.
“Unfortunately, our beloved little Diesel, who was with us for almost a year, didn’t survive,” wrote Dana Diekmeier about a total of three photos of the Dalmatian. “He left us far too soon. We are incredibly sad,” Diekmeier continued.
However, the Diekmeiers’ other family dog named Dexter was lucky. According to Dana Diekmeier, he had also eaten the poison but was able to recover from it in a clinic.
Dana Diekmeier told the “Bild” newspaper about Diesel’s death: “I don’t want to talk about it like that yet. It hurts a lot. He was with us for exactly a year and gave our family a lot of love. We all miss him very much.”
The stroke of fate hits the Diekmeier family at an already difficult time: daughter Delani is currently fighting for her life. The 14-year-old is suffering from a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer that has also spread to the lungs. According to “Bild”, doctors only give her a five percent chance of survival.
As Dana Diekmeier told “Bild”, her daughter had just had 50 metastases removed during an operation on her left lung. A CT scan should then show whether something has grown back.
36-year-old Dennis Diekmeier played a total of 203 Bundesliga and 135 second division games during his professional career. He played for 1. FC Nürnberg, Hamburger SV and SV Sandhausen. He ended his active career in the summer of 2024.