Dog died after surgery.

Last Monday our dog Ben began throwing up. He also stopped eating. It lessened on Tue/Wed- but we took him to our vet on Thursday. She thought perhaps it was something related to his endocrine system/adrenal gland? They took blood and while his liver numbers were slightly elevated, there was not much more she saw that was concerning. Anti nausea meds were prescribed. Nausea stopped but he still would not eat.
After speaking with the vet several times deciding how much longer we should wait before taking further action we ended up going to the emergency vet Sunday morning, as our vet was closed. From speaking to her, I thought they would give us something to put on his gums to boost sugar/electrolytes or give him IV fluids.
Instead, we learned from xray that he was sick because he had ingested pieces of his rubber ball. One piece appeared to be in his stomach, the other in intestine. After going over options and hearing the vets opinion that the items would likely not come out on their own, combined with nearly a week of not eating we decided to do the surgery to remove.
Surgery was successfully completed on Sunday evening, however 6-8 inches of intestine was removed as it was so damaged from the object.
As it was an emergency vet, we had to pick Ben up the following morning at 7am- which we did. They went over after care, explaining we would need to take him to our regular vet where he would likely be put back on IV and monitored until they said he could go home.
Our vet did not open until 9, so we asked if he would be ok to bring home and wait or if we needed to take him somewhere right away. They reviewed his chart and said he was stable and that waiting for the vet to open at 9 would be fine. The only thing that was said was that his body temp was a little low, so they had him wrapped in a blanket.
The ride home was a little rough. He was on my lap, clearly uncomfortable. He had been given pain meds before we left as the nurses had said he was beginning to get a little vocal about his discomfort.
When we got home, we decided he would be most comfortable in his own bed in his crate. We laid him down- where he barely moved. Approx 30-40 min later we left for the vet. We decided to move him as little as possible, so we just lifted his whole crate and put in the back of the car. We reached the vet within 10-15 min. It had been about 1.5 hours since we left the emergency vet. When we opened the back to get Ben he had passed away.

We have gone over and over this in our head. Our sweet Ben was a rescue. He was so timid and so gentle and so very afraid of everything- but young and perfectly healthy had it not been for swallowing his toy. Still we wonder if his ever present stress could have killed him? Should we have just kept him at home and let him calm down? Should I have held him in my lap instead of having him lay in the bed? Is it possible that he died from the stress of the surgery?

I can't help but think we did something wrong. We asked multiple times if it was ok to wait until 9 to see our vet. They told us he was fine. Everything in the report given to us indicates the surgery went fine. He stayed there overnight after surgery and he was fine. But- was that it? Should we have found another vet that was open and taken him right away? How much time do post surgery dogs need to be on IV?

If he had had an infection of some sort, wouldn't that have been obvious to them? Fever? Symptoms?

This all happened so fast. We never thought in a million years he would die and it just doesn't make sense.

Thank you for your response. It's a little comforting to know that our decision to wait, even a brief amount of time, for his vet was likely not the cause.

I've also read a fair amount about peritonitis. Is that something that could have been undetected at the time he was discharged and developed in the time between going to his regular vet?

Also, in the case that stress or shock was a factor- would holding him and calming him in my arms in the car have made a difference? That's the one thing I'm still having a hard time with. I only put him in his bed in the back because I wanted him to be more comfortable- but I wonder if it just made him more anxious and was the catapult to his death. I'm just not sure how stress and shock works in animals, is it something that they can be brought down from?

That really helps me. Thank you. I just have one more question and then I'm just going to have to let this go, but...

I know you didn't personally treat him, but just knowing that he had been lethargic and not eating or drinking for a week, that the vet who looked at the x rays said he did not think the obstructions would come out on their own and that when they did operate they found the intestine was so damaged they had to have portions removed...do you believe that even though obviously something went wrong, surgery was his best option?

Thank you, for all of this.