Please beware...NSAID for arhtritis killed my dog

[weeluvdisney]

I don't want to offend anyone, that is not my goal. I just want to educate someone like me that didn't know NSAIDS are killing dogs and it is a suffering death. A week ago on Wednesday, we took our 9 yr old healthy senior boxer to the vet because he has arthritis and we have alot of steps in our home. I had done a small amount of homework on the internet and saw some claims of dogs getting really sick or dying from rimadyl. At the vet I told her of this concern and she named Previcox as another option. All she mentioned was that it was newer, that rimadyl had been around for quite a while and thats why I would see more complaints about it. She said it may upset his stomach and to call right away if anything changes. We gave him this medicine for 7 days before anything changed. He had diarrhea in the house which he never had accidents in the house and later in the day started vomiting and so i thought...oh there is the upset stomach she talked about. Morning of day 8 he could not walk....had bloody diarrhea. We rushed him to the vet, they did bloodwork and low and behold, a week after good bloodwork he had kidney failure. They hospitalized him...we went back later that night for a visit and he was no better and no worse. Went to see him the next morning to be told they hadnt had a chance to call us yet and that he passed away early that morning. This has broken my spirit and left me so heart broken and so guilty because I was trying to help him and my lack of education in these things and this drug companies drug killed him. I know people will say this happens and it happens to humans and there are always side effects and risks but when you search all this NSAIDS killing dogs you will see pages and pages of this. It's happening way too much and it's not ok. Worse yet is you have no idea if your dog will be like mine, one that this acts as a toxic poison to. Please, if you are a dog owner please research this and be so very careful of these poison medications. If I can save one dog it would help me cope with losing my own.

 

[Kristian]

I am so sorry for your loss. I can understand your feelings of why you and your family are heartbroken....a family dog truly isn't just a dog, but a member of the family. Our dog, Chloe, is a 2 year old American Bulldog and she really is one of our children. I would be just as devastated if something were to happen to her as I would be if it were a family member..simply because to us, she is family. Yes, all medication has risks and I know that right now it is going to be hard to grasp, but you only did what you thought was right. I can't imagine what your going through. Thank you very much for making me more aware of this issue. We probably visit the vet 2 times a year now that Chloe is a little older, but still, you never know when an illness might strike and I like to be informed and aware of issues such as these. Since we do have a dog of the bully breed we always have to think about the risk of arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc and i'm very thankful that you have shared this information. I truly hope that you and your family can find a way to cope during this hard time. From one dog lover to another, I truly am sorry

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm sorry your dog succumbed to this.

That sort of drug has its drawbacks, in humans, too. And sometimes you don't know until it's too late. I, personally, can't take naproxen sodium (Aleve) without risking my life. First doctor who saw me with the symptoms I was having said that I was depressed and fat. Gosh, thanks, doc! Second doc asked specifically if I was taking pain relievers, I remembered the Aleve (I'm sure I had it written down on the intake forms, but no one forces doctors to actually read them) and boom, naproxen poisoning was my diagnosis. It's really rare, but oddly, I have a friend who can't have it either. She knew this, then her specialist went on vacation and the cover doctor prescribed it to her. She took it for a few days before she realized what she was taking! It was especially important for her, as she, at that time, was slowly dealing with liver failure (hepatitis for unknown reasons, diagnosed when she was 13). You just don't know until you know.

My FIL had great success with simple aspirin, glucosamine, and chondroitin for his elderly standard poodle with arthritis. Gave the dog a new spring in his step! The dog was still old, though, and only lived another year, but he felt better for that year. But another dog wouldn't be able to take aspirin (and one of the "don't take this IF" things is if the dog has an allergy to aspirin).

It's definitely hard. But most drugs (and I've noticed that arthritis drugs have some of the longest...have you ever listened to the human drug ads for the dire warnings??? or how about the ones for skin conditions? yikes!) do have long lists of "if you take this that other problem might happen", and you've got to know the risks and either accept or not accept them.

Sure am sorry about your dog.

 

[Missy13d69]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I lost a cat several years ago, to Hartz Flea medication. There are THOUSANDS of cases of it killing animals, and Hartz refuses to acknowledge it.

 

[bearloch]

so sorry to hear about your " family" member thats for the heads up!!!

 

[Schmeck]

I'm sorry for your loss too, but this is really in the wrong forum - it has nothing to do with trip planning, nor Disney for families. Perhaps a mod could put it over on the community board where it belongs, please?

 

[RMAMom]

I am so very sorry for your loss and while I am not disagreeing with you that it was the meds I am wondering if you were giving any new treats to your pup.
Along with the previous mentioned hartz and the meds your talking about we have a huge problem in this country with allowing products from China in and it is killing our pets by the thousands. The sad reality is that you can see on the back of a package that something has a USA address but if you really look for the fine print somewhere it will say "product of China"

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/20/sweet-potato-dog-treats.aspx

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/13/10657635-3-big-brands-may-be-tied-to-chicken-jerky-illness-in-dogs-fda-records-show?lite

I don't understand how "we" keep letting this garbage into our country!!!

I know your heart is broken and I pray that you will find peace with this and the hopefully very soon the good memories of your pup will outweigh the bad.

 

[jennyjinx3]

I am so sorry

 

[spel]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can imagine how furious you must be. My heartfelt condolences to you.

 

[jk2006]

I'm so sorry...don't know wht to say (hugs)

 

[crisi]

So sorry for your loss.

My cat can't be vaccinated (we do the legal rabies, but that's it). She got a vaccine related sarcoma as a kitten, probably from the feline leukemia injection, went through surgery almost as soon as the lump appeared and before it spread and according to the vet, its one of those things, if she gets one, she isn't unlikely to get another.

There is always risk with medications. My dog has hip dysplasia and has had a Rimydal prescription for years, and it lasts years because we seldom actually give it to him unless we know he is going to have, or has had a very active day. The burden on his liver of constant medication isn't worth a little stiffness in he joints.

 

[weeluvdisney]

Thank you for the support. This is harder then I ever imagined. Grief is bad enough and then guilt....it's a killer!

I didn't give him any new treats or food and he doesn't leave the yard and are yard is pet and kid friendly. He also had blood work before the meds and everything was perfect. Vet is positive it was the Previcox and once I saw all the websites of all the dogs these NSAIDS are killing, I wasn't surprised. I also think it's terrible about all tainted food and treats from China. So many dog food recalls. We use to feed the dogs Diamond Naturals until they kept having recalls and we got scared.

You may not think this belongs on the DISNEY family board but some Disney families have dogs that they love and adore and if I can save one dog I will be happy. I already put this on the budget and community boards and I'm so happy 328 people have viewed this on the family board. Just trying to save lives and spare grief and guilt. Thanks again to those of you that showed love and sympathy, it does help.

 

[jazz0007]

I am so sorry about your sweet puppy. There are so many things out there that we just don't know harm them. My dog has been in liver failure since last summer. The vet thought she'd be gone by Oct/Nov and miraculously she is still with us. I have wrapped myself in so much guilt these last months.....was it the food I feed her?, the treats I've given her? (yes I had given her the Waggin Tail before the news came out), was it the pack of kids gum she got out of their room? etc etc etc..... Gosh, you just can't keep up with all the recalls and warnings!! It's so frustrating. When we first found out how bad she was the vet said to just feed her anything she'd eat...thinking she only had weeks maybe to live. So everyday I've made her meals of rice/barly, chicken/tuna, carrots and green peppers...cottage cheese, eggs sometimes. And wouldn't you know she just keeps chuggin along!! I just thank God for the moments we still have with her. I know how very hard it is to go through this. I'm so sorry you lost your boy. I know only time can take some of that pain away. But you did what you thought was right to help him. You can't feel guilty for that. ((((((hug))))))

 

[weeluvdisney]

http://www.k911.biz/Previcox_Emails/main.php?g2_itemId=1328

My dog Mack's picture and story on a site started by a lady that lost her dog in 2007 to Previcox. Many others have since been added also. Thank again for the support and sorry to those of you that have went through what I have went through.

 

[3happydancers]

Thank you for the support. This is harder then I ever imagined. Grief is bad enough and then guilt....it's a killer!

I didn't give him any new treats or food and he doesn't leave the yard and are yard is pet and kid friendly. He also had blood work before the meds and everything was perfect. Vet is positive it was the Previcox and once I saw all the websites of all the dogs these NSAIDS are killing, I wasn't surprised. I also think it's terrible about all tainted food and treats from China. So many dog food recalls. We use to feed the dogs Diamond Naturals until they kept having recalls and we got scared.

You may not think this belongs on the DISNEY family board but some Disney families have dogs that they love and adore and if I can save one dog I will be happy. I already put this on the budget and community boards and I'm so happy 328 people have viewed this on the family board. Just trying to save lives and spare grief and guilt. Thanks again to those of you that showed love and sympathy, it does help.

So sorry to hear about the loss of your pet. We have a bulldog and would be devastated it anything like this should happen. to you and your family. I for one am glad you posted here. Our pets are part of our family!

 

[my3sons77]

I am so sorry about your dog How early did you get there that they didn't have time to call you? I would think that, that would be an immediate call. Day or night.

To add to a pp post, I had given one of my cats the hartz flea drops after a bath and the next day he went into full on seizures and almost died! I did some research and come to find out that Hartz is having that effect on ALOT of cats!

And they still sell it in stores for someone to pick up thinking that they are going to help their cat Horrible!!!

 

[Glennie5]

Just wanted to say I am so sorry about your dog. They really do become a part of your family.

 

[weeluvdisney]

I am so sorry about your dog How early did you get there that they didn't have time to call you? I would think that, that would be an immediate call. Day or night.

To add to a pp post, I had given one of my cats the hartz flea drops after a bath and the next day he went into full on seizures and almost died! I did some research and come to find out that Hartz is having that effect on ALOT of cats!

And they still sell it in stores for someone to pick up thinking that they are going to help their cat Horrible!!!

He died between 2 and 5 am and we got there at 11:00 am. Thank you for your sympathy. Thank you also Glennie5