I call it an exaggeration because we don't know the number of dogs who are probably on or have been on vs the amount of dogs that have died because of the actual use of the drug vs the amount of dogs who are on it with no reaction.

While I don't think Rimadyl is some epidemic, I do think vets are far too quick to script it and send you on your way. The amount of dogs at work who are on it... It's crazy.

Rodeo had to be on Prednisone and Metacam for quite some time before we realized it was a food intolerance. (My personal diagnosis is eosinophilia gastroenteritis, but they never "officially" diagnosed him with anything) And it was hard for me to see such a young puppy on such hard medications for such a long time.... But we had no choice, because without it he couldn't function even somewhat normally.

As an owner you need to take responsibility of researching on your own. Any medication has negative side effects, and you need to educate yourself and decide if giving that medication really is medically necessary. Personally- I avoid Rimadyl unless I seriously have to.

Kelly I haven't been on much lately but I am so sorry that you had this trouble with poor Nicky, I sure hope she is feeling better by now!

I'm still a little worried about Nicky. She seems to be healing fine and still on all her meds, but is very whiny, which I can't blame her much. She circles trying to get comfortable and cries a lot throughout the day. I check her incision and it looks ok. Her appetite isn't back either. I've had her on boiled chicken breast and white rice since Friday night. She still hasn't eaten more than half a cup since the last time I posted. She is starting to turn her nose up to it. She acts hungry and after she eats her small portion of food, she will take her nose and try to burry what's in the bowl with her blanket, like trying to cover it up. She's only pooped three times that I know of too. Is any of this normal or should I be worried?

Edit: I know it's good that she is resting, but she has been non-stop resting since Friday! She wants nothing to do with playing or outside or have anything to do with Hayden. The only kind of playing she will do is when she grabs her little rubber ball and she will cry the entire time it's in her mouth. She just wants to lay down and cry or sleep. I talked to a gentleman at the dog part and he said his puppy was back to normal bouncing off the walls the very next day!

Well I'm not sure, when I had my lab spayed she was 6 months and had not had a heat yet. She did very well, until she had an allergic reaction to a couple of her stitches which caused boil like things yuck that had to be lanced. But that dog did not lose her appetite at all, then again she is a lab ! I do remember her being a bit out of it for a couple days, not exactly feeling great. But nothing like you are describing. She was only on pain meds for one day, which I wondered about but she wasn't whiney.

Working at a pharmacy though I can tell you that pain medications in humans can make them lose their appetite and they definitely can cause constipation.

Is there another vet that could check her out? It would probably make you feel better too! Again, so sorry this has happened to her. AS a side note she has turned out so gorgeous!

That does sound really odd. Our two were both desexed on Friday (a week tomorrow) and were both eating normally the next day and were trying to run around as they normally would. We've had a hell of a time trying to keep them quiet like the vet wanted. Milla's (female) incision is a lot lower and a lot smaller (but she is 6months) and the sutures were definitely better done than those. I hope that she starts to feel better and good luck finding a new vet. Neither of ours came home with any pain medication at all, the vet said they like them to be aware they've had surgery and don't want to mask the pain, just to try and keep them quiet. Milla had pain on the Saturday and was less active but since then no troubles. They are both looking forward to getting their stitches out so they can get there splash pools back again (middle of summer here)

Thank you June for the advice. I'll give our new vet a call and see what they think.

Yeah June has a very good point with the pain meds and constipation, and I can tell you from firsthand experience that it is not comfortable. That may well be the issue, I'll spare you the details but I didn't know about that after my first ankle surgery and I wound up getting sick. Try giving her some pumpkin and see if that helps move things along.

I hope she feels better soon!

With the incision being so high up, that dr must have had a really interesting time popping the ligaments to the uterus, I'm sure she is incredibly sore. The fact that her appetite hasn't come back yet worries me. Take her to a new vet and get her examined as soon as possible.

ETA- I really want to know what the hell they did to Nicky. I'm starting to get upset. This isn't normal and I'm worrying right along with you.

I plan on taking her in if she isn't doing better by morning. She is eating, just very little.

I started giving her organic pet virgin coconut oil yesterday, that's suppose to help her coat and heal wounds. She loves that stuff and eating it like candy.

This is what her incision look's like as of today



I did get copies of the surgery report, but only part of them, because the vet still didn't have them finished!

Their surgery reports, I believe are a legal document and they have to be finished, unless they're really hiding something..

Go in there, demand them, make a scene. I'm getting an idea of what kind of vet this is. You'll have them within minutes. Document EVERYTHING that's happened while she's been home and also conversations with the techs, vets, and receptionists; you might need to turn them into the board of veterinarians.

I'll PM you in a bit Kelly.

Jennet&Embry wrote:

Their surgery reports, I believe are a legal document and they have to be finished, unless they're really hiding something..

That's what I thought too and found it very odd the report wouldn't be finished that very day, especially when something happened after surgery. One would think they would want to make a note of something like that while it was fresh on the mind.

When I brought that to the vet tech's attention on Saturday, she said the Vet who performed Nicky's surgery isn't alway's there and she ALWAYS does her notes over the weekend and it wasn't unethical.

I find this all to be a crock of shit to be honest.

The documents need to be done and filed before they leave for the day. This vet can probably get their licence taken away.

I'm so sorry you're having to go through with this all, and I hope it gets all sorted.

If there is grounds for reporting them, then I say do it! Call it revenge for poor treatment of your pup

The whole thing is just really frustrating, because my family has been using this same vet's office since my mom was a teenager. Never had any problems, until now. I know the owner and seriously thinking about calling him up and letting him be aware of the situation.

If this were happening to ME, I would do EVERYTHING in my power to get some sort of punishment for that vet. Almost everything that has happened to you is completely unethical and I would be raising hell at this point. I hope your baby will be okay. That hack job on your baby makes me cringe looking at it.

Sheba&Kennedy wrote:

If this were happening to ME, I would do EVERYTHING in my power to get some sort of punishment for that vet. Almost everything that has happened to you is completely unethical and I would be raising hell at this point. I hope your baby will be okay. That hack job on your baby makes me cringe looking at it.

Oh trust me, I plan on doing whatever it takes to get some sort of justice out of this! I'm so furious with these people!

On a more positive note, I offered her some fish oil and a powdered form dog supplement and she downed the entire bowl of it. So that's good news.

Good news! I've been thinking about Nicky, and I hope she starts feeling like herself soon! I'd definitely bring it to the attention of the owner of the practice, but wouldn't stop there regardless of what he says, good or bad.

Poor Nicky! How is she doing today?? Did you go back in and raise hell with the old vet and get her checked out with the new vet?? I've been worrying about you guys so much the past few days

I just came across this thread- how is Nicky doing today? I work in a vets office in NY and I agree- although her incision looks like its healing well, its higher than I've ever seen. I would definitely call and speak with the owner of the practice. Personally, I think you absolutely HAVE TO find a different vet- regardless of what they say. Huskies tend to be more "whiney" after surgery- so do dogs on pain meds, but NOT after a week! Is your vet AAHA accredited? That might be something to look into as well. You can look it up online, it means that your vets office meets a huge set of ridiculously high standards.lol. as for coughing up the "brown stuff" -I have never seen that before. When I read your first thread and you said they asked if she had been coughing because her tonsils were swollen, the first thing I thought of was the tube. Sometimes when they intubate an animal it will give them a sore throat, esp. if its the wrong size tube! Anyway, I agree with everyone on here- document EVERYTHING, get your records and find a GOOD new vet ASAP. lol. Good luck, and PLEASE let us know how Nicky is doing! I hope she's doing well!

Any updates on Nicky??

Yea I've been researching WV laws on vet practices so if you are interested in pursuing, you can do it in the right sequence.

Yes been wondering Kelly, how is Nicky??