On Friday May 16th 2006 my beloved companion had to be euthanized for which I believe were deadly side effects of drugs.

On May 8th my Sam was unable to lower his hind leg and I got him to our vet huddled in the back seat of my car. The vet came out gave him an injection and sent me home with a container of some pills. He said if he didn't respond to the pills, his hip would probably not get much better. They were Rimadyl. Rimadyl is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated for use in relief of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Read about the lawsuit for suspected deaths from Rimadyl

Nothing else was told or given to me about these pills. Mind you this vet has been my local vet for over 20 years so I was not concerned. He has been treating Sam for 9 years.

Close friends of mine and Sams suggested and helped me get him to their vet for a second opinion and an x-ray since my vet had not done one. The new vet checked him out then sedated him with a turbugesic injection and took x-rays and said he had degenerative hip disease in the right hip and arthritis and to continue with the Rimadyl. They suggested a FHO procedure to the right hip bone along with physical therapy to help him if medication did not work.

They also said he would need something for pain. They asked if I would pay $125 for pain patch (called Fentanyl Transdermal 100 mcg) on his skin. They told me it was better and easier than trying to get pain pills down him and would last for a few days. I agreed it would be easier. So they shaved the area below his neck and put the patch on. They also gave me 20 mg of Famotidine to take with the Rimadyl for any possible stomach upset. Mind you, I did not receive one iota of information verbally or in writing about any of the medications given or possible side effects. When humans get a prescription, we get the whole nine yards from the druggist about contraindication and adverse reactions. Not here. Not at the vets.

When I got home the dog was getting visibly worse over the next day or two. I was up all nights with him. He was severely agitated, having diarrhea every 2 hrs,(what a joy that was to clean off the rugs) drinking huge bowls of water excessively, not wanting to eat. Dazed, lethargic and seemingly confused. At rest, his breathing was slow and labored and otherwise he panted continuously very hard and fast.

I called and they said it was all pretty normal. They had hoped he would respond better to the Rimadyl but give it a little more time. I just felt it was the patch as all the liquid they told me would fade over several days looked to be gone. So I took the pain patch off him and he seemed to be less agitated but not better with any of the other problems. Then on Monday May 15th I noticed that he developed a sore on his arm by the elbow joint. I immediately called the vet and they said to bring him in which we did the next day with great difficulty. He was still not able to walk or put weight on his hind leg.

They guessed he developed this lesion probably due to the weight he had been putting on it lying down the last few days. They said to wait there hour as they would have to remove the skin and tend to it and then I could take him home again.

A half hour later the vet comes out and says it was much worse than she thought. She had to take a huge amount of skin off and it was infected. (No culture was done to determine infection, nor was there any fever at any time) She said she gave him antibiotics and would be best to leave him there for a while so they could attend to the wound, drain and dress it. So the night of Tuesday May 16 he stayed at the clinic.

I spoke to them on Wednesday and they told me they were treating the diarrhea with metronitzale, giving him tramadol for pain and cyprofloxicyn for the infection.

They asked if I wanted to bring his Rimadyl for him, I told them I suspected the Rimadyl was not helping but hurting him and did not want him on it. They wanted to put him on Dermaxx, (Also known to cause severe reactions) which was a newer, hipper, more up to date but similar drug, which I declined to do.

My intention was to take him home and try natural remedies along with diet and supplements to treat the hip. I was already making calls to an acupuncturist and another vet in Stuart .

On Thursday May 18th, the vet called and said Sam looked down, and threw up a dark brown color so she took it upon herself to do some blood work and found there was a problem with his kidneys and told me he would have to have fluids immediately. I had them fax the blood work to the Stuart vet for a second opinion and he said the elevated levels were not that bad and certainly he would not die from them but fluids would not hurt him and to go ahead.

I then went to my vet of 20 years to see if I could get him moved over there as I was already suspicious and non trusting of these vets. My vet said that he was not equipped for it and best to leave him where he was.

So I had no choice but to let them do it to try and help him. They offered no reason as to why his kidneys were starting to fail. She said if they are blocked to prepare my self to lose him. I stayed with this poor animal which they laid out on a cold grated stainless steel table and pumped bags of fluids into him. She also put a tube in him to see if the fluids would flow out, and she said they were, so they were not seemingly blocked, as she had feared.

At 6 pm closing time I left. He was so down and visibly weak I was concerned to leave him alone there and on the IV. They told me they have 24 hr monitoring of the animal with a camera and would be able to get to him quickly if anything occurred during the night. The next morning Friday May 19th I called the minute they opened and the receptionist said he was doing fine. I said I would be by to pick him up in a little bit. Then at 9:30 the vet calls and tells me that there is a serious problem and he has to be transferred to a critical care facility. He was now developing swelling in his chest and stomach. They did not have the specialized antibiotics nor 24 hr care he would need if he were to survive. I rushed over to find this poor animal on death's door. He did not even recognize me. He lay limp in the cage with intravenous tubes running through him. They had shaved his chest and stomach and I could see the swelling, black and red marks all over it. He was barely breathing, visibly suffering and probably in pain. There was no way my poor beloved Sam could be lifted and carried out of there, taken on a 45 minute drive and survive that in his state. After crying and stroking him at his cage for 30 minutes I made the difficult choice to put him down.

I am certain the drugs were the leading cause of his premature demise. This dog was extreme healthy. Never sick a day in his life. Yes, he did have some arthritis in his right hip, but not serious enough to die from it.

It is my belief that the pursuit of greed and the privilege of not being held accountable for their actions is a contributing factor as to his death. While this is not about the money, I feel the first bill of close to $400 and the second at $1250 was pretty astronomical.

I am now convinced that vet(s) have totally disregarded the health of yet another dog and prescribed Rimadyl and a opiod, the Fentanyl transdermal pain patch with no pre-testing and furthermore no client information sheet for the dog or me. There is special handling of the patch I was not aware of and could have been injured as well.

There was a class action in 1999 over the many deaths related to Rimadyl and its maker, Pfizer. It was settled but Pfizer is well aware of the ongoing problem. http://hometown.aol.com/sn1154/rim1.html

Even worse, I found out yesterday from the manufacturers of Fentanyl (Sandoz & Mylan Labs) that it is not recommended, been tested or approved for animal use at all and is a serious Class II drug which should only be administered to opiod tolerant people.

Here is the really frightening part when I called the Florida Board of Veterinarian medicine, I spoke with a Dr. Ruben and he told me that vets can legally use what he termed any OFF LABEL drug they want on animals.

How can this be possible??? Who is selling vets drugs for humans that were not tested or made to be used on animals is what I want to know and find out and I will. This is a multi billion dollar business, the care of animals and someone needs to expose this to the public.

In July 2005 The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health advisory on those patches designed to relieve pain and is investigating about 120 deaths that may be related to their use. Please take a moment to read the FDA Warning/Advisory on Fentanyl .

As I also research animal laws in this country I am outraged that our companions have no more rights under the law than a TV set although that may change.Please take a moment to read this eye opening article: Harming Companion Animals: Liability and Damages.

People need to know these things. Vets can give an animal any medication they want with no information or consequences whatsoever. If the animal dies, well that is just too bad.

This is not about blaming these particular vets, but any vet that can so recklessly prescribe medication and not be held accountable for the consequences. An animal has no way of telling you how they are feeling.

I am kicking myself in the butt over and over again for being so trusting. I could have never imagined I would lose Sam this way. Pfizer told me I should have had a necropsy done on Sam to determine the cause of death. At the time I did not know to do this. We just took him home and buried him. Conveniently when it came time to put Sam down, neither vet was there at the clinic. The assistant even had the merciless audacity to ask me to pay the bill before they euthanized Sam.

This dog was my best friend and protector. He was a companion as well as a member of my family. He celebrated and grieved with me over the short 9 years, always by my side, more faithful and loyal than most people in the world. He did not deserve a death such as this.

Shame, shame, shame on the veterinary medical profession and the people in this country who will not protect those helpless creatures who cannot speak for themselves.

Sincerely
Lola Quinlan
Jupiter, Florida

Companion Animals - More than just Personal Property

PLEASE SIGN SAM'S PETITION

The goals I am seeking is to change the laws governing our companian animals to allow for Recovery of Common Law Damages for Emotional Distress, Loss of Society, and Loss of Companionship for the Wrongful Death of a Companion Animal.

Urge government to create a Department of Welfare for Companion Aminals.

To mandate that any prescription medication given to companion animals be accompanied by a client information sheets about possible adverse reactions and side effects.

My website dedicated to "Sam"