Avery was my beloved companion for almost twelve years. He came into my
life as an 8 week old puppy. He was the centerpiece of my life and I am
blessed to have known him.

On Monday, July 12, 2004 Avery passed away from an adverse reaction to the
drug deracoxib (Deramaxx). He had only taken 5 doses. Here's his story:

The Monday prior to Avery's passing I took him to my veterinarian for a
routine check-up. We did a complete blood work-up and everything was
normal. Avery had elbow dysplasia and had been having some tenderness in
his right elbow. My vet recommended Deramaxx. I had lost another dog to
a Rimadyl adverse reaction 7 years ago so I was skeptical about the
Deramaxx. But my vet convinced me it would help Avery, so I gave in. We
gave him his first dose right there in the office and then went home.

By Friday Avery was showing signs of some sort of discomfort. But he
still had an appetite and seemed pretty much himself. So I watched him
carefully. Saturday morning he seemed fine. But Saturday night he was
restless all night. Couldn't sleep and couldn't get comfortable. This
continued all night and into Sunday. I began to suspect the Deramaxx so I
did not give him his Sunday dose. Sunday afternoon I called my vet who
said he might be having some abdominable discomfort, suggested a Pepcid
and said to bring him in on Monday. But at 9:30 Sunday night he took a
turn for the worse and began vomiting. I rushed him to the emergency
hospital where the veterinarian's working diagnosis was ulcers from the
Deramaxx. They kept him overnight, gave him pain meds and treated him for
ulcers. On Monday morning I transported Avery to my regular vet. Between
the two offices he spiked a fever. My vet treated Avery with antibiotics,
more ulcer meds and continued to observe him. By 3 pm the plan was to
send him back to the emergency hospital for an ultrasound. But that never
happened. By 6:30 pm my vet decided he had to do exploratory surgery.
The surgery revealed a pinhole perforation in his abdomen and severe
peritonitis. During the surgery Avery's blood pressure kept dropping and
eventually his heart gave out.

My veterinarian is 100% certain the Deramaxx caused the perforation that
led to Avery's death. This has been a horrible experience, not only for me but for
my veterinarian and his staff.

We all loved Avery and he should not have died.

Avery had been a healthy, happy dog and one week later he was dead.

His last days were agonizing. At least he is no longer in pain.

Lillian