Hi all and thanks again. If Jazzy's death saves one dog or makes one vet and owner discuss/question the potential side effects of any drug, then her passing has not been in vain.
Jazzy was taking Metacam for her lower spine as it had become quite painful - maybe a type of spondylosis. She was yelping at times when she got up - I guess like a lot of us do after age 50 or so... The vet checked her over, went over spine x-rays with us, showed us how good the flexion still was in her hips, (despite a bit of calcification) and he prescribed Metacam for her back.
What he didn't do was to tell us that it had potentially fatal side effects in a small number of dogs. Hepatic toxicity. He didn't tell us what side effects to look for, and even though we are health care professionals, we didn't see the jaundice until the day we took her to the emergency visit for the on call vet.
We're not blaming him, although we will follow up his condolences phone call of last night with a letter asking him to educate masters about researching the drugs he dispenses. We'll also ask him to ask masters to do follow up blood tests following prescribing medications like Metacam. We should have researched the medication by Googleing it as I did this morning - I would have found out the side effects and what to look for.
We would have done follow up blood screening following the 4 day trial as well - it may have showed early signs of toxicity. It too, was recommended on the website I found.
But we learn from our experiences and we try to teach others.
Jazzy will be buried Friday on our small acreage and we will put a small garden of Jasmine flowers above it. We will treat her with the dignity that she always showed us, and we will protect her as she protected us - till we meet again.
RPM = Reasearch (your) Pet's Medications.
Dana and Brenda
