Three weeks ago, I took my 15 year old lab-mix, Copper, to the vet I have used for 15 years because Copper's back legs just seemed to be getting weaker.

"Doc, I keep seeing ads for arthritis medication," I said, (clearly remembering one print ad in which a sweet old dog looks longingly up the stairs at her companion ....obviously unable to go up the stairs on her own.) "Should we put Copper on one of these meds?"

Just like that, my vet recommended Rimadyl, drew some blood. He said the vet techs would do the bloodwork and let me know the next day if Copper's liver functions were ok. So, I went home and started the Rimadyl regimen. I called the vet's office the following afternoon and was told that Copper's liver function was slightly elevated but not much, so everything 'should' be ok.

I gave Copper the recommended doses of Rimadyl like clockwork, determined to help my sweet dog regain some of his youth. After two days, Copper and I went for a walk and he practically skipped along the road. I couldn't believe how much stronger his back legs seemed to be!

A neighbor saw me, came over and we talked about our dogs. I could tell from the look on her face that she felt that Copper was in serious condition.

I felt as if he was dying! We got inside the house, I had carried him upstairs and laid him on a mat beside me and went online. I did a Google search for Rimadyl and THANK GOD...I found so much information about adverse affects that I went into action. (THANK YOU EVERY WEB PAGE THAT TOLD ME WHAT I NEEDED TO KNOW!)

Copper and I got into the car (I had to carry him) and drove to the vets. I told one of the 3 vets at the clinic that Copper was having an adverse reaction to Rimadyl but I could tell, no one really believed it! They wanted to test for some disease you can get from picking up something in the woods. "Fine, I said, "but I tell you, this is related to the Rimadyl."

The rest is such a blur. The clinic did bloodwork and other things- I don't know what- and sent me home with Denosyl, telling me that as soon as the results of the testing were in they would call. I waited all afternoon, then got the call. I found out that Copper's "numbers" had skyrocketed. The vet was concerned now! I took him to the clinic again and they admitted him for an overnight stay. He would be on an IV drip to flush his liver and system of the Rimadyl- they now believed that he WAS having an adverse reaction.

When I went to pick Copper up the next day, Friday, he was not any better. The vet who prescribed the Rimadyl came in to see Copper. He actually said, "That's why we tell people that if the dog goes off his feed or starts to vomit, stop giving the medication." My mouth dropped! He NEVER told me about side effects, he had never said those words to me. Now he was talking as if he had! I just shook my head.

So that Copper would not have to be in the clinic on an IV over the weekend, I brought the IV equipment home. I had Copper on an IV at home for the next five days. Because we had snow and ice on the ground everywhere, going outside several times a day to pee was VERY hard for Copper. I had diapers on him almost the whole time he was "sick." Because of the IV drip, he was eliminating large amounts of urine, but he was so weak he could hardly stand let alone go outside on the snow and ice. The whole thing was a nightmare.

I panicked one day and drove him 45 miles to the MSPCA Hospital where he was treated with incredible care. The vet at the hospital empathized, and more importantly, took my story seriously! It was around this time that the vet at my regular clinic told me that she had never had a dog have adverse effects from Rimadyl so she didn't know what to expect. I asked her if she was going to file an adverse affects report with Pfizer and she said "yes" Later she told me that the Pfizer vet told her: "one in ten thousand dogs has adverse reactions to Rimadyl," as if that made it all better.

Little by little, Copper improved. Every day, I felt like we moved one step closer to wellness. With the never ending doses of Denosyl, antibiotics, sucralfate, glucosamine and an IV drip, Copper finally headed toward recovery!

I still carry all 50 pounds of him up and down all of the stairs in and outside the house. I laugh when he stops in front of the steps and looks at me. I tell him I'll carry him anywhere.

My feeling about all of this is: Copper was not meant to die from an arthritis' medication ... so I did everything in my power to help him get through this. I promised, that if he began to suffer too much and if it seemed as if ending his life would have been the right thing to do FOR HIM, then I would have done it. But truly in my heart I felt that Copper had more time to live.

When the vet at the MSPCA Hospital told me that she thought we should work towards having Copper up and about to enjoy another Spring, I KNEW that she believed that it was possible, and so I did what I could to make that happen.

Copper is sleeping by my side right now. We have had slow and easy walks by the river and up into his favorite field. On Sunday, he took a significant interest in a young and pretty yellow lab who passed by. I might even say that he became amorous in spite of himself! The white lab's companion and I just laughed. "Well, your dog may be old,"said the man, "but he isn't dead!"

If he only knew.

Denise Schwartz

3/16/04

June '04 Update: The more I think of it, the more I know that Rimadyl's affect were the cause of his ultimate decline/demise. He was never the same.

We did have good moments after his "recovery" for a couple of weeks, and I treasure those moments...but in the end, if he had not been given that drug, he would have had a different ending.