Dear Mel,

I read your story about Rowdy and the Previcox in tears as I thought about my own dog. Tippy, my Lhasa Apso, was only 4 years old and just died this morning.

She was having back problems about 9 months ago and went through surgery and came out better than ever! Suddenly, just a few days ago, I noticed that she was shaking and I took her to the vet. The vet said that her pain was probably related to her back and prescribed the Previcox saying it would make her feel better.

Me being only a fourteen year old, didn't think anything of it and accepting the medication greatfully. They also administered a shot which made her seem much better.

She was happily running around and eating as usual. That is until I gave her the pill. The prescription said to give her half a pill daily, which I did, but only for one day. I gave her the half she was to take with some yummy treats and she ate it. She seemed fine, but the next morning, she had no appetite, so I didn't give her a pill.

Then the following day she still had no appetite but was very thirsty, AND my mom noticed blood in her feces. Still I didn't give her a pill. We contacted the vet and he said that the blood could have been a sign that the medication was too strong and to cut back on it or cut it into even smaller portions. I did, but that was unnecessary...

The next morning, another one of my dogs Blu, was barking at 5 in the morning. I went to see what was going on, and nothing seemed wrong. I was in the bathroom, and Tippy walked in looking very tired and worn out. I told her to come up to my room with me, but instead she stayed downstairs, so I let her stay.

Just 2 hours later, my dad came to wake my up for school. We noticed little trails of bloody diarrhea on the carpet. My dad went downstairs and walked right past Tippy. I bent down to look at her and felt no heart beat. Her front legs were stretched out straight and stiff and she wasn't moving. I started to panic. "Daddy! There's something wrong with Tippy! She's not moving!" I yelled to him. He came over to me quickly. "Is she breathing?" he asked. The answer was no, and we immediately got into the car and drove to the vet.

We waited until 7:30 when they opened and went in. The person at the front desk looked surprised to see us come in in PJ's carrying a dog wrapped in a towel walk in. "I think she's dead." I said. She went to get a stethoscope and came back. "Yes. She is." she said after checking for a heartbeat. She looked at the medication and said that she didn't think that was the cause because they gave it to all of their animals as a simple pain killer, and nothing like this had ever happened.

We left Tippy's body there and went home. I immediately told my mom and I broke into tears. We went to wake up my little brother who was heart broken as well when he found out.

Well enough of my story. My questions are, what did you do about your dog? Did you hold the vet responsible for giving you the medication? What do you suggest I do about my situation? Should I contact the company that made the Previcox? Should I change vets?

At the moment I am just very confused and emotionally unstable, and was hoping you would have some advice for me.

Thanks, and I'm sorry to hear about your poor Rowdy. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel. :(

Aja M.