"Tyson"
From: Francesca S.
Sent: Monday, November 3, 2008 7:17 PM

Hi Mel,

I wanted to say thank you for caring enough to share your information with others so that other dogs may be saved. My heart goes out to your family for your loss and pain incurred from seeing Rowdy's pain and rapid deterioration. 

I was lucky enough to have my boy for close to 12 years which helps make his passing a little more bearable. Tyson was a golden retriever and had been treated for Lyme and anaplasmosis tick disease and prescribed Previcox to help relieve his pain from arthritis. 

At first Tyson seemed to be doing better but by the fourth day after starting Previcox he became lethargic, was vomiting, and died. His rapid deterioration puzzled me so I began a search on the internet to try and find out what had happened which led me to your site. Right before Tyson died he went from clenching his teeth to throwing his head back and opening his mouth wide as if gasping for air and would straighten all four legs out.

I do not know if Previcox is to blame but I find the similarities of Rowdy and Tyson's deterioration interesting.  I called Merial and received a case number.  Merial said that out of 128 dogs in their case study 5 dogs were reported to have vomited.  Merial said they would call my vet to get further information and report findings of case study's to the FDA.  I had some reservation about calling but I would suggest to anyone thinking about calling to call. If Previcox is causing dogs to die your reporting may help stop future tragedies.  The customer service employee was very nice and said they encourage people to report about their products.  I also printed out Rowdy's article and gave a copy to my vet.  I called my local poison control who referred me to pet poison hotline who referred me to call Merial.  Thank you again for your information.

Francisca S.