In our August newsletter, we applauded Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) for reversing their original decision not to provide insurance for Bear, the 12-year-old Golden Retriever who risked his life and health to locate people trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Captain Scott Shields, Bear's human handler, tells us that he refused lifetime insurance for Bear until VPI promised to cover all the other search-and-rescue dogs. Apparently, according to Captain Shields, this promise was not fulfilled, and VPI offered policies only to 79 of the more-than-300 teams that worked the site. The other teams were never informed about the insurance. Those dogs and handlers would have given their lives, Captain Shields points out, and it seems highly inappropriate that they were denied such information.

Bear died on September 23, 2002, as a result of his work at Ground Zero. He was given a funeral service as a New York City Fireman. Bear was first on the World Trade Center site and made the only live finds by a dog. He also made the most finds of any man or dog, and he found beloved N.Y. Fire Chief Peter Ganci.

To date, we have had reports that there are seven dogs whose deaths are suspected to be linked to administration of ProHeart6. A potential lawsuit against Fort Dodge, the drug's manufacturer, is being investigated with representation in the states of Colorado, North Carolina, Alabama, and Texas. Other dogs have also been identified who are ill or are displaying some of the symptoms listed as potential side effects of ProHeart6 by Fort Dodge.

If you suspect your dog has had an adverse reaction to ProHeart6, notify your veterinarian. By law, your veterinarian must report such an incident to the drug's manufacturer, Fort Dodge. In turn, Fort Dodge is required to report adverse events to the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the FDA. In reality, this does not always happen as required, and it is necessary for a client to follow up personally with the manufacturer and the FDA. For more information on doing such follow-up, contact Janice Story, E-mail: jstorey1@swbell.net

Dalmatian Taking Rimadyl Has Kidney Failure; Vets Not Aware of Rimadyl's Effects on Kidneys and Advise Euthanasia; Dog Recovers after Rimadyl Is Withdrawn and Therapy Started

From name withheld: "My dog, Petey is a Dalmation mix who is about 12 years old. He was a stray we rescued when he was about a year old. In June 2001, he started to have problems getting up and x-rays showed he had a compressed disc in his lower back. The vet put him on Rimadyl. He did improve, 'though not a great deal. But his pain seemed to be less. In April or May this year he started vomiting and refused food and water. I took him right to the vet and they speculated on a number of possible causes. Since he was amazingly heathly until this time, I questioned the Rimadyl. I was assured that it couldn't be the cause. After about $800, they determined that he had a severe kidney infection and put him on antibiotics. They did IV fluid therapy and they some anti-nausea drugs. He got a little better over the next few weeks. Then, he took a turn for the worse. After another round of tests and about $700, they told me he was near renal failure. They said, based on his kidney numbers, he would have only about 25% kidney function. Again, I asked about Rimadyl and three different vets in the practice told me that Rimadyl is only known to cause liver damager. They encouraged me to continue to give it to him. I did. He would feel better with fluid therapy and try to eat, then get sick again. Finally, in July he got very sick and nothing they did helped. He was hospitalized for a week and vomited every day. He lost six pounds. They suggested my only option was to put him to sleep. I brought him home. I took him off Rimadyl. I gave him sub-q fluids and cooked chicken for him. I continued the Pepcid and Alternagel. Little by little he got better. He had a test in September that was close to normal. Now, I began to suspect Rimadyl. I talked with two other people who had older dogs, who mentioned they had to put their dog to sleep recently. During the conversation, they each said their dog had been taking Rimadyl. Neither suspected it might have caused the problem. I got on the Internet and searched for Rimadly. Right on Pfizer's site they say Rimdayl can caused kidney damage and dogs with kidney problems should not take it. I printed out that information and paid my vet a visit. I spoke with two of the three vets who told me Rimadyl was safe. They were shocked to learn this information. They said they only get information about drug testing that happens prior to the release, but nothing about what happens after dogs start taking the drug. I have since seen the package insert and the information is clearly on there. At any rate, they called Pfizer, and the vets there were very careful not to admit too much. They said that, certainly, Petey should not have been given Rimadyl after his kidney function was impaired, and, yes, in rare cases it can cause kidney problems. They also said there is no way to tell if Rimadyl caused the problem or not. They said they'd have to do extensive testing where they sacrificed many dogs in order to see if Rimadyl was a problem. This is all information relayed to me by my vet. At this point, Petey's numbers are back up, but not as high as they were in July. He's eating some, but not real well. I'm just trying to learn more about how to help him."

"We adopted Cody and Dalton (two Springer Spaniels) in March of 2000, after seeing them on your site. We still have both of them and they are doing well. Cody's health has begun to decline, but with excellent care from our vet, we are hoping he will be with us for a while longer. Dalton is still in fairly good health for a 12 1/2-year-old dog. Thank you for being part of bringing them to our family. Best regards, Betty Dingman"

"The Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center is a city -funded shelter where we try to place the animals who overflow the capacity of the Center with rescue organizations. The Center's Director, Misha Goodman, is wonderful, and the animals here are treated very well. They have medical treatment, grooming and many go to obedience school. The dogs are given two scenic walks a day along the Iowa River by loyal volunteers, indoor kennels with beds and toys, large outdoor kennels, too, on a daily basis, as well as play time with other dogs. Unfortunately, we reach capacity and are a low-kill facility, doing everything we can to place dogs into new homes and failing that, with rescue organizations. We have dogs of all breeds; many appear to be purebred and may appeal to people looking for a particular type of dog, and often many senior dogs looking for a loving friend. We have a great website that shows pictures, stats of each dog, and even some movies of them."

"Thanks for this site. As someone who found an all-time soulmate at his age of 6 1/2, I can attest to the fact you lose NOTHING by getting a dog at an advanced age. I would not trade the six years I've since spent with him for anything. As far as medical expenses for an older dog? PUPPIES are very high maintainence...timely vaccinations, more frequent wormings, spay/neuter costs, obedience classes, updating collar/leash sizes, crates, etc., time spent socializing and daily homework for obedience classes, monitoring the kids' interaction with pups. I love pups, but I really enjoy the company of a devoted adult dog." --Rachel Anderson, gsdk9rat@ttlc.net