Previcox Emails

In less than 30 days, my 78 pound German Shepherd/Border collie Mix died from taking Previcox. I had researched “Osteo” prior to taking him to the vet, but it wasn't until I researched “Previcox side effects” that I stumbled on your website.  By then, it was already too late.  I don't believe the vet could've stopped it because within a few hours of finding this information he was gone. 

Boots was born on May 6, 1999. He was a pup of one of our dogs so we actually witnessed his birth.  We watched him grow until he was 4 months old.  We were such sticklers about who took our pups that we saved him for a family member in Oklahoma.  We drove him from NC to OK and then 4 months later found ourselves rescuing him from same relative!

His story continues on how we brought him back into our world, but let's forward the story to 9 1/2 years later.  Boots very suddenly developed a limp.  I figured he jumped wrong or otherwise slightly injured himself.  I watched him daily (and quite rapidly) getting worse and worse to the point we were physically carrying him up and down the few steps to go outside.

We took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.  We tried Rimadyl which did nothing for him so we took him back to the vet and he gave us Previcox.  He gave us a two week supply to try. 

Well, miracle of miracles, it actually worked (so we thought)!  The limping completely subsided and all was well…until about a week and a half later at which time the limp came back.  His limp was so bad that it just broke my heart watching him trying to get up and down. 

We went back to the vet and this time he prescribed a 30 day supply of the Previcox  227mg, 1x daily as needed.  Basically, it cost us $100 for a 30 day supply and the vet thought it was rather expensive, so he suggested we give it to Boots for 4-5 days. If the limp improved then we were instructed to discontinue until the limp came back. 

Upon our first administration (sample from vet) of this drug, we did notice that he began drinking excessive amounts of water -- not like him at all.  I also, in an effort to help him, switched his food to Bil Jac Low fat as he is too heavy for his frame and I knew that if he could lose just 5 pounds it would help his arthritis tremendously. 

A series of events happened that I did not associate with the drug.  One thing was that he refused to eat.  I thought he was protesting the low fat dog food.  I rode this temper tantrum out for about 2 weeks before I found myself giving in and bought his normal Bil Jac dog food.  The odd thing was that when I filled his bowl, he smelled the food like "Oh, thank goodness!", but he still wouldn't eat.   

Also, he began, for the first time in his whole life, to just lie around.  He had no interest in going outside, little interest in going to bed with us at night - all he wanted to do was lie on the floor and do absolutely nothing.   

He began throwing up a bit here and there nothing major, but I knew that he wasn't feeling well.  Two days before he passed we took him for a car ride, which was his very favorite thing in the whole world.  He loved to ride with his head out the window and his ears flapping in the wind (we called him bat dog) and biting at every car or truck that passed.  

This car ride was different.  For the first time ever, Boots *sat* in the seat just watching the cars -- he had never done that before.  His last day with us, he was still not feeling great and we were taking him to the vet the next day.  When it came time for bed that night, we said "let's go to bed" (you have to understand, Boots was the FIRST in bed everynight), but this night, he just laid there.  

We rubbed his belly, gave him love and went to bed.  I checked on him a couple of times in the night and he was the same.  Resting peacefully on the kitchen floor.  When I woke up at 1:24 a.m. I noticed my Boots lying on the floor next to my side of the bed (where he would sleep when he would get out of the bed after his belly rub) with the fan blowing on him.  I thought to myself this is good and that perhaps he was feeling better.  I laid my hand on his belly to see if he was still breathing hard and I didn't feel anything -- wait, I didn't feel ANYTHING. 

With the fan blowing on him, I still wasn't sure, so I said his name fully expecting him to look at me as if to say "do you have any idea what time it is"?  Again, nothing.  I turned a light on and began touching his size 10 paws, then his shoulder, his ear -- nothing.  It was at that point that I realized my beautiful bouncing baby boy had passed. 

As sick as he was, he found the strength and energy to get up and position himself with his family the same way he had done his whole life.  He got comfortable in his own sleeping spot with the fan blowing on him and left us quietly in the night.   

He will be missed terribly.  There is no substitute for an animal that has become such an important part of the family.  He will be missed from Coast to Coast.  Everyone that met him and got acquainted enough for him to *allow* them to rub his belly, fell in love with him.  I cannot tell you the people who have asked for him and he had a whole line of people waiting to fight for custody if anything happend to us!   

If you are reading this and thinking of giving your dog Previcox, PLEASE think again.  It'll either heal them or kill them.  Quite a gamble, wouldn't you say?

I began to research Previcox the night before Boots passed.  He hadn't had a dose of Previcox that day because he just felt too bad to give it to him.  I truly thought, when I went to bed that night, that we had found this information and this very valuable and informative website in time to heal him from the effects of the Previcox.

My Boots, with his two week supply provided by our vet and the additional dosages we later purchased, had less than a full 30 days of this medicine, but it indeed killed him. 

I don't think any animal should be allowed to take this medicine because the risks are too great.  We wouldn't dare give something of this nature to our kids.  Same thing, in my opinion. 

Our Boots was as much a part of our family as I am we didn't rank him lower on the scale of importance simply because he has a little more fur than the rest of us. 

Use precaution and just know that the worse that could happen is your precious pet could die a horrible death right before you very eyes and the worst part of all is knowing that while you were trying to help him, you were willingly giving him the very thing that killed him. 

I applaud you for your website and thank you endlessly for sharing our Boots with the rest of the world so that people will begin to understand that this is a REAL AND SERIOUS problem.

Take care,

Jonna P.