CBS 3 | kyw.com
Bad Medicine For Dogs?
Apr 7, 2005 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Serious questions are being raised tonight about another Pfizer drug.
As CBS 3’s Tom Negovan reports, the concern surrounds the safety of a popular pain medication for dogs that could actually be killing thousands of animals.
Bonnie Wood treats her dogs like family.. so she immediately noticed something was wrong with one of them: “He had a staggered gait, he was confused at time, loss of appetite, weight loss, he
It started shortly after "Spooky" began taking Rimadyl, the most widely-prescribed pain medication for dogs.
Five months later, he had to be put to sleep.
Now, Bonnie can barely watch a home video of “Spooky” struggling to get up and walk. She thinks any drug that can do such things should be taken off the market.
So does Monica Guffy. She says her dog died shortly after starting Rimadyl: “If we'd known it could kill her, we would never have given it to her."
Denise Dost of Port Richmond is trying to do something about that. Her dog was given Rimadyl for a painful joint: “He started showing problems, where he didn't want to eat as much. He was having change in his bathroom habits. He was vomiting. By the end of October it was time to put him down."
Negovan reports that these are not isolated cases. Since it was approved in 1996, the Food and Drug Administration has received 12,000 reports of dogs getting sick after taking Rimadyl. 2,300 dogs have died.
However, the FDA maintains the drug is safe and has only been able to directly link Rimadyl to a small percentage of cases involving adverse reactions.
Experts say it may come down to communication.
With human drugs, federal law requires pharmacists to hand out information sheets about side effects and drug interactions.
“That isn't a standard yet that we have in veterinary medicine,” said Dr. Gail Smith of the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School.
"That’s what Dost wants. She’s lobbying for a law requiring vets to make sure people are informed.
In the meantime, Pfizer, the maker of Rimadyl, insists it is safe and says the number of adverse reactions reported is a fraction of one-percent of the nearly 15 million dogs that have taken the drug.
Pfizer provides a dog owner information sheet about the benefits and possible side effects of Rimadyl. It is important to remember to make sure your vet gives it to you.
© MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc., All Rights Reserved.
http://kyw.com/special/local_story_097232458.html
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - Apr. 8, 2005