Yes very strange- would be nice to know where those 35 cases are from too- hantavirus deaths are extremely rare- My first thought was ‘cover-story’? The dead dog adds to the mysteriousness of the case- Gene apparently had alzheimers or dementia of some kind- so it’s possible he didn’t know what was happening if she died first- but 2 deaths from the virus? Possibly 3? Why not the other 2 dogs?
I assume the dog died from thirst / dehydration. It was found in a crate / kennel or in a closet.
So the wife died first, the dog maybe 3-4 days later. And then Gene died from a heart attack. He had advanced Alzheimer’s, so he wasn’t able to take care of himself or call for help.
Dogs don’t get Hantavirus. Two of their dogs are fine, the third one that died was in a kennel and likely died from no water/food.